In a conversation at the Sydney Goldstein Theater, Michael Pollan reflected on the implications of President Trump's governance for the recently released book 'Abundance' by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. He expressed that the book's critique of bureaucracy feels obsolete as Trump's administration has aggressively dismantled essential regulations and grant processes aimed at fostering scientific research. Pollan highlighted this dissonance and questioned the future of an 'abundance' agenda in a political landscape marked by Trump's efficiency-driven approach and disregard for previous frameworks.
"It's almost like a sick parody of your book," Pollan said of President Trump's actions in D.C. - cutting a trail through the federal bureaucracy, firing tens of thousands of workers, cancelling the kinds of research grants the book seeks to reform.
The fact that regulations are getting in the way of building the way we need, and then having all the Environmental Protection Agency regulations torched.
Pollan noted that while 'efficiency' is now the game in Washington, the vision of 'abundance' in the book seems increasingly unattainable in this political climate.
Learning details about 'the sclerotic grant process for NIH and medical grants' landed differently now, he said, 'now they've just been torched.'
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