Speakers:
Sidney Milkis, White Burkett Miller Professor, Department of Politics, University of Virginia
Syaru Shirley Lin, Founder and Chair, CAPRI, President, CAPRI USA; Research Professor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia
Moderator: Hannah Knox Tucker, Assistant Professor, Copenhagen Business School
In the final session, speakers reflected on the broader themes of the conference and the influence of current US policy shifts on global geopolitics and democratic capitalism. While these changes may open new opportunities for middle-power democracies across Europe and the Asia Pacific, they also challenge long-held assumptions about the compatibility and mutual reinforcement of democracy and capitalism.
The plenary underscored a series of contradictions that emerged across the panels: individualism vs. collectivism, competition vs. regulation, efficiency vs. quality of life, competing societal expectations on women, monopoly power vs. community-driven engagement, meritocracy vs. structural hierarchy, and innovation vs. sustainability in the AI age. These tensions reflect deeper value conflicts at the heart of our current moment.
Ultimately, the speakers emphasized that our responses to these challenges will be shaped by the values we hold as individuals and societies—values now being tested by unprecedented technological, economic, and geopolitical transformations.
