Yaron Interviewed: Different Perspectives on Socialism with Yaron Brook and Andres Guilarte

This episode aired on June 24, 2023 as Episode 61 of the Think with Lucie Podcast and is a conversation between Yaron Brook and Andres Guilarte who both experienced socialism firsthand. The gentlemen share their opinion on the ideology and the implementation of socialism, how their perspective has shifted and what Americans can learn from history and presence of other countries.

Yaron is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, writer and activist. He is an objectivist and the current chairman of the board at the Ayn Rand Institute. His parents were Jewish socialists who moved to Israel from South Africa. When he was sixteen, a friend lent him a copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, leading him to abandon socialism and to embrace objectivism.

Andres is a political activist for the freedom of Venezuela. He spent his childhood supporting the socialist ideology before he realized this system caused widespread starvation, blanketed the nation in blackouts, and silenced and jailed those who dared to speak out and criticize the government. Andrés had to leave his life in Venezuela and is now living in the United States.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
01:17 Childhood idea of socialism and comparison to reality
13:09 Chavez’s rise to power and people’s sentiment
14:45 Can socialism and free speech coexist?
16:28 Is socialism immoral?
21:59 Why does socialism appeal to young Americans? Can it be altruistic?
30:56 Can we invent a better governance system?
33:15 How can socialism in Venezuela collapse?
37:59 Mental health pandemic-are people on average happier now than in the Soviet Union?
42:56 Is Hollywood culture destroying our mental health?
45:52 How do we solve climate change if we’re all selfish? Is Christianity responsible for alarmism?
52:42 Effective altruism-good or bad? Is Elon Musk acting out of selfishness?
56:15 Are charities effective resource allocators?
58:53 Effect of Foreign aid to Israel
59:45 US debt
01:04:40 How can we reinstate a moral productive society?
01:07:22 Book recommendation
01:08:08 AI-should we be afraid?
01:13:29 Tolerance of dissent
01:15:58 Yoram Hazony and the nationalism debate, meaning of freedom
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