USA
Demographics
![Living Through Revolutionary Times](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/60cff82e-c3c8-4fe2-b494-02e919e39717/53814929313_3bf477bfa9_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2430%2C267%2C2192%2C2192&w=290)
Revolutions in technology, politics and economics bring progress — but they also invite backlash. Fareed Zakaria discusses the rise of the modern republic through the Industrial Revolution to the age of globalization, and the reemergence of great power politics.
![Is America Due for a Third Founding?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6874200e-8497-4909-820e-1560b4d07526/53813331777_b9beb549db_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1608%2C11%2C4630%2C4629&w=290)
We the people were not truly “We the People” until the Reconstruction amendments altered our Constitution in a post-Civil War "second founding". As we confront another democratic crisis, what new understandings could ensure our democratic renewal?
![American Inequality? Not So Fast!](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7974ef2d-b869-48e9-9a56-2d04bf4010c1/53013425324_84b3b8f02b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=975%2C0%2C3758%2C3758&w=290)
If one dives deeply into the statistics, the American Dream is actually quite alive and well. In his provocative book, The Myth of American Inequality, former U.S. senator Phil Gramm argues that the facts reveal a very different and better America than the one currently described by policy advocates across much of the political spectrum.
![America’s New Frontier](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0ad554d3-8091-4f12-aa2a-b4aaceb8f3b7/53014389803_85147ffa84_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Join John Hamre, CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for a dynamic exploration of the transformational forces that will shape the global community throughout the 21st century. Unpacking critical mega-trends like global demographics, water stress and food security, the energy transition, technological disruption, and geopolitics, Hamre examines the fa...
![Inclusive Climate Resilience](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f98f6980-868f-4d9a-a5cf-b3b624fe2026/230627_climate_resilence_012.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C666%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
Join Deloitte, University of Colorado Boulder, and Aspen Institute experts for a conversation at the intersection of cutting-edge research and inclusive innovation on climate resilience. As severe weather and climate-driven natural disasters become the new norm, find out how to reduce climate-related risks across geographies and demographics. Presented by Deloitte
![Presented by California Health Care Foundation: Health Equity with a Latino Lens](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7d519b78-0d99-4a50-a6ed-e10a43e9002e/230623_health_equity_017.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=666%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
As the second largest minority group in the country, Latinos represent 19% of the population and play a significant economic, social, and cultural role. They also face disproportionate health challenges, including high rates of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. The absence of adequate health insurance, lack of timely access to care, language barr...
![America's Next Manifest Destiny](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1bc83f72-24b5-4172-964f-f42d80a37701/Plenary2b.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=688%2C0%2C1614%2C1614&w=290)
Migration stories are in the news, but they’re not new. In the 19th century, manifest destiny inspired millions of settlers to move westward across the American continent. What are the forces that will uproot Americans in the 21st century? Join Parag Khanna, the author of “MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us,” for a fascinating look at the deep trends influencing the future of h...
![A Year of Racial Reckoning](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullc8b151c8-dade-47d7-9ac4-7db2a31b18de/48134133167_89ea6b2216_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=666%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
Two weeks before the first woman of color became Vice President, an angry mob that included members of the white supremacist group Proud Boys, stormed the US Capitol. As Ibram X. Kendi puts it, “we’re engaged in this struggle between two forces: racial progress and racist process.” Watch recent conversations that offer ways to recognize, reckon with and repair societal rac...
![Adobestock 175637430](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null9f6c628e-f198-4392-93d9-df7808a55cba/AdobeStock_175637430.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ac473e&q=80&rect=72%2C0%2C2306%2C2304&w=400)
![Adobestock 175637430](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null9f6c628e-f198-4392-93d9-df7808a55cba/AdobeStock_175637430.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=72%2C0%2C2306%2C2304&w=400)
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says liberal democracy has become about “me” instead of “us.” In his new book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, Sacks says we are losing our strong, shared moral code and that’s challenging our sense of community and common good. Growth comes from an openness to others who may not be like us and, he says, developing a moral bo...
![jelani cobb AIF](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null43e15b98-528c-484b-aee0-4618921deb22/28204735707_4b2f7ceab8_o2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=0a7c51&q=80&rect=1354%2C219%2C4261%2C4261&w=400)
![jelani cobb AIF](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null43e15b98-528c-484b-aee0-4618921deb22/28204735707_4b2f7ceab8_o2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1354%2C219%2C4261%2C4261&w=400)
Today race is a more prominent and intransigent problem than ever.
![American Reckoning, American Renewal](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null33902f9a-d0ce-4853-b50a-debba24f7722/48146045446_947eec22f5_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=631%2C0%2C2737%2C2737&w=290)
Our national conversation is increasingly defined by deep divisions, worries about the stability of our political system, and even threats of political violence. Yet, in the midst of our national partisan rancor and political and cultural upheaval, you can find heroes, visionaries, and bold leaders.
![What Gets Lost When Polls Become the Story](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null6e0621f2-6324-4b9b-bd5a-d3096232ed6c/AdobeStock_46072737.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C2593%2C2592&w=290)
When endeavoring to stay informed about a 2020 campaign landscape that features dozens of candidates, it can be tempting to rely on political polling as a shortcut to news-gathering.
![Rural Mythticism: Fake News about Rural America](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null386d57bf-10cf-43d9-9603-1bfe6bc9bb31/48152530477_67cea81f09_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=294%2C0%2C1010%2C1010&w=290)
Rural America has come to the nation’s attention. But much discussion in the media and coffee shops, at conferences and dinner tables, relies on incorrect or no data, largely idyllic or dystopic tropes and images, and opinion uninformed by rural experience. The full picture of rural America is quite different. It has gained population in the last two years. Agriculture emp...
![America’s Next Golden Age: Building the Middle Class of the Future](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullec588d50-b7dc-44a1-a726-a03fa1250006/America_Next_Golden_Age_aif19.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=558%2C0%2C1444%2C1444&w=290)
While incomes are rising, there are questions about gains in short-term financial stability and long-term wealth creation for the majority of America’s working households. Related, there have been debates about the connection between the demise of the middle class and how this could threaten our overall economy and democracy. How can we create a new golden age of middle-cl...
![Reaching Rural Populations](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nulld4a92c83-d808-4dde-acb7-6d41a59b7699/48114705942_44642b1500_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=904%2C0%2C3600%2C3600&w=290)
In thinly populated regions that stretch over vast territories, primary care is often a long journey from home and specialty services may be completely out of reach. Access to care in some isolated communities may be further complicated by cultural or language barriers, limited transportation networks, and poverty. But advocates working in the rural space are talking solut...
![The Kids are Alright (No Thanks to Us)](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/70ba7b67-ab64-4f33-8770-a9649fa1e758/AdobeStock_88900312.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1617%2C0%2C1872%2C1872&w=290)
So many kids these days can be outspoken and inspiring, with world-changing ideas they’re ready to put into action. But in truth, we’ve not been great to the youth of today, leaving many of the most vulnerable behind and leaving the majority ill-prepared for the travails that are coming their way. Though it’s tempting to leave them the job of building the future, we first...
![The Dollar Divide: Wealth Gaps and the American Dream](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/95469eea-fe1e-486d-85f0-4a0be9fc1975/AdobeStock_89649171.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=430%2C0%2C1616%2C1616&w=290)
Capitalism has been a success, though certainly not for everyone. Disparities according to gender, race, and even birthplace have disadvantaged large groups of Americans, and increasing economic and political power among the wealthy leaves the working class — and increasingly the middle class — unable to get ahead. Can we create an inclusive capitalism?
![Reconsidering Rural America: Helping Flyover Country Take Off Again](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/55e33637-9e55-43ec-a2ea-f897d4bf3d99/AdobeStock_64930537.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1031%2C0%2C4138%2C4138&w=290)
Rural communities were once the beating heart(land) of America, places of economic and social power. Today, they seem left to wither as dollars, workers, and priorities shift to the cities. Don’t write them off yet, though — there’s a growing movement that’s bringing innovation and energy to once-forgotten communities, and the reasons behind it are as much rational as nost...
![Bias in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/62d893ec-9a24-4602-894f-03d518268317/43160992521_eee0e4ee69_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
More and more, the decisions that rule our lives are made by algorithms. From the news we see in our feeds, to whether or not we qualify for a mortgage, to the rates we pay for health insurance. And while there are demonstrable biases against marginalized communities caused by algorithms, some say the machines are innocent — they’re just doing math. But as more systems rel...
![The Age of Euroscepticism](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d022cfe3-5d7a-48d7-8565-242f8ad38745/42210184505_3a229bf151_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=530%2C0%2C1939%2C1939&w=290)
The grand European experiment of a shared currency, economy, and joint governance — a Nobel Peace Prize-worthy idea that has kept the continent at peace longer than ever before — today faces unprecedented tests, including Brexit, terrorism, a new anti establishment government in Italy, and rising nationalism fueled (at least in part) by a flood of immigrants from the Syria...