Philippe Aghion, the 2025 Nobel laureate whose theory of creative destruction revolutionized model growth economics, joins 2024 Nobel laureate Simon Johnson for an hour-long conversation on one of the defining economic questions of our time: Why does Europe struggle to innovate at the frontier, and what would it take to change that?

Aghion argues that the institutions Europe built to maintain peace and stability are now stifling the dynamism it desperately needs. Johnson challenges him on whether the continent’s politics are capable of delivering necessary reforms and on whether AI is more likely to boost productivity growth or undermine the critical thinking on which innovation ultimately depends. https://www.project-syndicate.org/interviews

Read the written version of this Insider Interview on our website: www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/saving-democracy-in-the-age-of-ai-by-daron-acemoglu-and-michael-j-sandel-2026-03


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