On Jan. 16, the Dartmouth Political Union hosted a debate on political philosophy between academic and former presidential candidate Cornel West and Princeton University professor of jurisprudence Robert George. West and George, who have respectively been described by The New York Times as a “left-wing public intellectual” and “one of the country’s most influential conservative Christian thinkers,” debated the merits of “capitalism versus democratic socialism,” according to DPU president Malcolm Mahoney ’26.
The event is part of a year-long debate series titled “Critical Discourse in the Age of Disagreement,” according to the DPU website. Approximately 250 community members attended the event in person in Filene Auditorium, filling the venue to capacity, Mahoney said. At the time of publication, the DPU’s livestream for the event had 650 views.
Mahoney, who moderated the debate, opened by asking West and George to describe their friendship and differing views on systems of economic organization.
George explained that he and West became friends in 2005 while they were both teaching at Princeton and have remained close since.
“[Our friendship] has been one of the great blessings of my life,” George said.
George said he “comes down in favor of a market-based economy,” adding that markets “can be more productive” and “more efficient” than command economies.
“Historically, and across cultures, the introduction of a market system has often lifted large numbers of people out of poverty,” George said.
In contrast, West — who supports democratic socialism — said of American capitalism that “the professional-managerial class [is] winning over and over again,” but the “masses of poor people are pushed aside.”
“People are suffering, and something must be done,” West said. “We’ve got to learn to see it and feel it and intervene.”
Mahoney then asked George and West, who are both Christian, how their faith has shaped their “economic perspectives.”
George said his beliefs are guided by “the principle of the profound, inherent and equal dignity” of all humans, an idea he said comes from the Book of Genesis’s claim that humans were created in the image of God.
West said the story of Jesus’s crucifixion inspires his beliefs in a “visceral” way. He added that Jesus was “criminalized by the Roman Empire for being in solidarity with poor people.”
“That cross signifies unarmed truth, and the condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak,” West said. “It signifies unapologetic love of everybody, and justice is what love looks like in public.”
After the moderated debate, George and West fielded questions from the audience on topics including “equality of dignity,” democratic socialism “across national boundaries” and the economic effects of technology. Nick Lutzky ’28 asked if the participants believed that their “preferred economic framework is more prepared” to deal with climate change.
West responded that he believes “nuclear catastrophe and ecological catastrophe” are two major threats to “the possibility of our species preserving itself” and that the United States is “ill-prepared.” He added that fossil fuel corporations are “driven by greed and short-term profit.”
George expressed concern over “nuclear catastrophe” but said he is “less concerned about climate change,” citing physicist Steve Koonin’s advice to “take steps, but don’t panic.” George said the “real challenge” on climate was “international cooperation.”
After George gave his response, Lutzky noted that Koonin worked for BP, an oil and gas conglomerate BP. George countered that Lutzky should “read the arguments” and “decide for [himself].”
“It’s very tempting to suppose that you can discredit someone by linking them to economic interests or political interests,” George said. “Don’t go there.”
In an interview with The Dartmouth after the event, Lutzky said “the first thing” he learned at Dartmouth was to “look at the historical context” and not “just read the words on the paper.”
“To suggest that we should just ignore every bias — of a scientist especially — is ridiculous,” Lutzky said.
Prior to the debate, the DPU asked participants to answer the question “Do you believe capitalism best promotes economic justice, individual freedom and social responsibility?” and indicate whether they were open to changing their minds.
In the pre-debate survey, 43.8% answered yes, and 56.2% answered no, according to Mahoney. In a second survey sent out after the debate, 35.7% answered yes, marking an 8.1% decrease, according to Mahoney.
DPU Vice President of Operations Grace Wilkins ’26 said the DPU is “focusing” in its debate series on “how audiences can learn and perhaps find common ground.” She added that the debate on economic philosophy is “always relevant, especially right now.”
“We’re looking at a changing [presidential] administration,” she said. “I think that it will lead to a lot of questions of ‘what is the right way to lead a country — what is the right way for society to be organized?’”
