Teaching Gorbachev Capitalism: Jerome Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Michael Boskin Discuss George Shultz, the Economist | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Uncommon Knowledge

Hoover Institution

Politics, History, News, News:politics, Science

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

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Summary

For the second edition of the George P. Shultz Memorial Lecture Series, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice, and Hoover Senior Fellow Michael Boskin assemble for a wide-ranging conversation on the economic mind and legacy of George P. Shultz. From his early career as a labor economist at MIT and the University of Chicago to his battles in the White House cabinet over wage and price controls, the closing of the gold window, and inflation that defined the Nixon and Reagan eras, Shultz emerges as a rare figure who fused intellectual rigor with political pragmatism. The panel explores how his beliefs in free markets, personal integrity, and “trust as the coin of the realm” shaped his actions, from collective bargaining and desegregation to global diplomacy—right up to his famous economic tutorials for Mikhail Gorbachev in the Kremlin. This is a timely look at how one man’s economic philosophy helped steer American policy for half a century. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge. I'm Peter Robinson. In just a moment, a discussion of George
0:05.1	Schultz, the late George Schultz, probably best known as Secretary of State under the Reagan
0:10.6	administration, a discussion of George Schultz as an economist, which is how he trained and
0:16.3	the way he spent his early career. Our guests will include Michael Boskin, a fellow here at the Hoover
0:21.7	Institution, himself an economist with deep government service. Condi Rice, not an economist, but the
0:28.3	director of the Hoover Institution, who knows a thing or two about government service herself.
0:32.7	She, like Mr. Schultz, served as Secretary of State. And Jerome Powell, who, although he
0:36.9	trained as a lawyer,
0:38.3	is effectively an economist. He serves as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
0:43.3	In just a moment, George Schultz, the Murdoch fellow here at the Hoover Institution.
1:00.0	Welcome to the second of three panel discussions in honor of the late Secretary of State
1:07.0	and longtime fellow here at the Hoover Institution, George Schultz.
1:11.6	The first panel concerned Mr. Schultz as a champion of human rights.
1:17.0	The third and final panel will discuss his contributions to foreign policy.
1:22.5	This panel is George Schultz as an economist. With us, Mike Boskin, who has been a Hoover Fellow for about a quarter of a century,
1:33.3	whose public service includes chairing the Council of the President's Council of Economic Advisors
1:39.3	and the administration of President George H.W. Bush,
1:43.3	and his private work involves many board memberships, including longtime board membership of Oracle.
1:48.0	Condoleezza Rice. I'll go ahead with the introduction, just to be, I think everybody knows who Condi Rice is.
1:55.0	Public service includes National Security Advisor and Secretary of State in the administration of President George W. Bush.
2:03.6	Private service includes Provost of Stanford University and Director of the Hoover Institution.
2:10.6	Which brings us to the man who wins the award for the most distance traveled to join us here this evening.
	...

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