Did the Greeks actually ‘invent’ democracy? What do we mean by ‘democracy’ anyways? It’s always a caricatured term. How did the Rashidun Caliphates in the early Islamic empire demonstrate democracy? Why did democracy decline from the Abbasids onwards and in China too? Does adopting democracy automatically turbocharge economic development and innovation? Does democracy reduce inequality in society? What are the evidence for all the above claims and counter-claims?My guest today spent the past ...

Did the Greeks actually ‘invent’ democracy? What do we mean by ‘democracy’ anyways? It’s always a caricatured term. How did the Rashidun Caliphates in the early Islamic empire demonstrate democracy? Why did democracy decline from the Abbasids onwards and in China too? Does adopting democracy automatically turbocharge economic development and innovation? Does democracy reduce inequality in society? What are the evidence for all the above claims and counter-claims?My guest today spent the past ...