Fukuyama: It’s hard to build anything in the US with so many rules

Stanford's Francis Fukuyama is no conservative. However, in a wide-ranging interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, he argues that excessive proceduralism in the United States has made it nearly impossible to build critical infrastructure, even for projects aligned with liberal priorities like renewable energy. He warns that this gridlock erodes public trust in government and fuels frustration that can drive people toward authoritarian solutions as they seek leaders who promise decisive action over endless bureaucracy.

"You can't build anything in the United States right now because there are way too many rules... we've lost sight of the need for governments to actually deliver concrete results," Fukuyama tells Bremmer. "Part of the impulse toward more authoritarian government is that people are just fed up with all the rule-of-law constraints on doing stuff.

Watch the full episode: Francis Fukuyama on the new leaderless global order

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).

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