Seib & Wessel: Glenn Hubbard on Why Empires Fall
Glenn Hubbard, the dean of the Columbia Business School and a former adviser to both presidents Bush and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, says in a new book that empires all the way back to Rome fell because they made major economic mistakes and because their institutions and politics proved incapable of adapting to changing times.
It sounds like a recipe for America’s decline, but no so: Mr. Hubbard is actually optimistic that the U.S. will change in time. One of his more provocative thoughts: The more money that flows to political campaigns, the better. It creates competition for the old Republican and Democratic parties.
Here’s a segment from David Wessel’s interview with Mr. Hubbard: