The Ezra Klein Show

Episode: "The Week the World Admitted the Truth About America"

Date: January 27, 2026
Host: Ezra Klein
Guest: Henry Farrell (Johns Hopkins International Relations Professor, co-author of Underground Empire)

Overview

This episode explores a pivotal speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Davos 2026, which declared the end of the "old order" and a rupture in the global system, particularly regarding the United States' role and relationships with allies. Ezra Klein and Henry Farrell dissect the implications of this shift, how the US has weaponized economic interdependence, the concept of "inshittification" of American power, the Trump administration's foreign policy, and the broader dangers and dynamics of current global power relations.

Key Themes & Segments

1. Carney’s Davos Speech: A Turning Point

[01:02–05:02]

• Carney’s message: There is a "rupture, not a transition"—the automatic prosperity and security once assumed from US alliances are over.
  • Carney [04:20]: “You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.”
• Why it mattered: As a respected technocrat and Prime Minister, Carney publically declaring this at Davos shocked international elites.
• Ezra Klein’s framing: Carney’s remarks signaled a historic break for America's closest allies and acknowledged the US’s emerging role as a global coercive force.

2. Weaponized Interdependence: How the US Uses Global Systems for Leverage

[05:02–12:43]

• Henry Farrell explains:
  • Globalization created shared systems (finance, supply chains) that the US now uses as tools of coercion.
  • Example (pre-Trump): After 9/11, the US used dollar dominance to cut off banks linked to rogue states (e.g., North Korea, later Iran through oil sanctions).
  • Example (Trump era): Sanctioning International Criminal Court officials—these individuals lost access to payment and tech systems (e.g., credit cards, Google).

Notable Quote

• Henry Farrell [11:16]: "You discover that there’s this entire incredibly boring seeming infrastructure … that is really what underpins our ordinary life. It’s possible to live without access to these systems … but it is a real pain."

3. The Logic of Hegemony and Its Unraveling

[12:43–17:16]

• Farrell references: The "liberal international order" was designed to restrain US power for the benefit of allies—self-restraint encouraged richer integration, mutual benefits.
• Trump-era (and post-Trump) US has abandoned self-restraint, undermining global trust.

Notable Quote

• Farrell [14:48]: "We are seeing the increased inshittification of all of these platforms that the United States provides that the world relies on."

4. "Inshittification": How US Hegemony Mirrors Platform Decline

[14:43–20:58]

• Farrell borrows Cory Doctorow's concept of "inshittification": platforms (Google, Facebook) start user-friendly, then become exploitative.
  • US power is similar: deep integration initially offers benefits, but later the US "extracts value" (e.g., using the dollar’s dominance to extract concessions).
• Trump’s approach: See alliances and order as means for extracting tribute.
  • But, excessive extraction triggers resistance ("weapons of the weak").

Notable Quote

• Ezra Klein [17:16]: "[Trump and team] seem to have seen the liberal world order as something kind of similar, that now it is so hard for other countries to extricate themselves from it, from us, that you can begin to squeeze them."

5. The ‘Sham’ of the Rules-Based Order and Public Recognition of Hypocrisy

[20:58–24:51]

• Carney acknowledged the hypocrisy long known in international circles: the US exempted itself from shared rules, but did provide public goods (sea lanes, security).
  • Key shift: Carney is the first to say this openly, suggesting a break from prior diplomatic politeness.
  • Carney [21:12]: “We knew … the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient … This fiction was useful.”

6. Trump’s View: Hegemony as Transactional and Civilizational

[24:51–38:02]

• US & NATO: US pays more, but also sets the agenda. Trump wants "tribute"—a fairer deal for what America provides, but wants it both ways (to withdraw, and still be hegemon).
• Canada’s position: Once a compliant ally, now fears US as a direct threat under Trump.
• Trump’s fixation on Greenland: Speculation abounds (resources, strategic military interest, psychological reasons), but the aftermath (pushback, no actual gain) shows the limits of this strategy.
• Civilizational rhetoric: The Trump administration increasingly frames alliances in racial and civilizational terms (e.g., "civilizational erasure" in Europe).

Notable Quote

• Ezra Klein [35:31]: "The idea here is that the important alliance, the affinity, is not between two land masses, but between two civilizations."

7. Multipolarity, Hedging, and Global Realignment

[38:26–47:26]

• Carney advises allies to diversify (hedge) away from US reliance, making new deals with China and others.
  • Carney [41:39]: “Hegemons cannot continually monetize their relationships. Allies will diversify to hedge against uncertainty ... sovereignty that was once grounded in rules, but will increasingly be anchored in the ability to withstand pressure.”
• The Trump administration, rather than isolating China, has driven allies—reluctantly—toward Beijing.
  • Klein: "It really does seem to me that [Trump] has strengthened China’s geopolitical position almost immeasurably." [46:44]

8. Admitting the Crisis: The Power of Speaking the Unspeakable

[50:13–58:04]

• Carney’s speech invoked Vaclav Havel’s "Power of the Powerless": the system persists via compliance that everyone knows is a lie.
  • Carney [50:23]: “The system persists not through violence alone, but through the participation of ordinary people in rituals they privately know to be false.”
• Davos 2026 became a moment of "admitting what everyone already knows" about America's transformation—from liberal hegemon to unreliable and transactional power, and that "the old order is not coming back."
• Klein: "It feels like we've moved through a sort of a portal of understanding. What that means in terms of action after it is not obvious to me at all, but … I think it's hard to imagine going back to the pretenses."

9. The Coordination Problem: Power Depends on Social Consensus

[61:08–65:09]

• Farrell: Both aspiring authoritarians and their opponents must solve the "coordination problem": create the perception that joining them is the smart option.
• Trump’s "short-term transactionalism" undermines his ability to sustain durable coalitions, both abroad and domestically.

10. The Absence of Ideals in Trumpism: A Vulnerability

[65:09–70:21]

• Carney, invoking Havel, highlights that Trumpism lacks even "the facade of something high." Its naked transactionalism is morally and rhetorically weak.
  • Klein: "I don’t think people want to live in that world. And [Trump] doesn’t pretend it’s a different world than it is."
• Moral consensus and the normalization of resistance can be powerful—historical precedent from Leipzig, East Germany (fall of Berlin Wall).

11. Thucydides’ Warning: Strength, Hubris, and Collapse

[70:21–73:00]

• Carney quotes Thucydides: “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
• Farrell: The original lesson is not that might makes right, but that hubristic, unrestrained power (Athens) leads to its own collapse.

12. Book Recommendations

[73:05–75:32]

• Mary Bridges, Dollars and Dominion
• Francis Spufford, Nonesuch (forthcoming)
• Thi Nguyen, The Score

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On US Hegemony’s Decline:
  Carney [41:39]: “Hegemons cannot continually monetize their relationships. Allies will diversify to hedge against uncertainty.”
• On Inshittification:
  Farrell [14:48]: “We are seeing the increased inshittification of all these platforms the United States provides that the world relies on.”
• On Davos as a Turning Point:
  Klein [55:13]: "It created a moment of collectively admitting what was already in some ways known, but inconvenient to see."
• On Nationalism and Civilizational Politics:
  Farrell [34:51]: "What they mean [by 'civilizational erasure'] is that Europe is going to move from being a white Christian ... to being a system ... majority non-white, non-European, and that this is going to be fundamentally ... destroying their notion of what European civilization is."
• On Systemic Hypocrisy:
  Farrell [21:50]: "The United States has always had an opt-out option... But the fact that Carney is prepared to say this bluntly ... this is new."

Conclusion

The episode paints a sobering portrait: The postwar order—built on American restraint and global trust—has fractured beyond repair. Carney’s speech forced world leaders to acknowledge openly what had been an open secret: the US, under successive administrations but especially Trump, now exploits its systemic advantages purely for gain, disregarding old norms. Allies must adapt—by hedging, building new platforms, or accepting a riskier, multipolar world. The episode ends by reflecting on how nations, and citizens, adapt when the "facade of something high" falls away, and the need for public acknowledgment (even if belated or painful) to begin new forms of collective action.

Key Timestamps

• Carney’s speech and concept of rupture: [01:02–05:02]
• Weaponized interdependence explained: [05:08–12:43]
• "Inshittification" of American power: [14:43–20:58]
• The sham of the old order: [20:58–24:51]
• US as hegemon seen from Canada/World: [26:56–29:39]
• Greenland crisis and the art of the deal: [38:02–41:30]
• Carney’s public warning and multipolar hedging: [41:39–44:33]
• Public recognition/Havel/Power of the Powerless: [50:23–55:13]
• Social coordination and power: [61:08–65:09]
• Thucydides and the lesson of hubris: [70:29–73:00]
• Book recommendations: [73:05–75:32]

Tone:
The conversation is thoughtful, analytical, and at times sobering, with both speakers maintaining a respectful, sometimes wry, but intensively engaged style. Farrell's professorial depth grounds the discussion; Klein’s questions keep it accessible and focused on the implications for listeners both in the US and abroad.

Summary created by an expert podcast summarizer—designed to fully inform both those who missed the episode and those seeking deeper insight.