Fareed Zakaria delivers UCLA’s Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership

When it comes to tracing the complexities of global affairs and the unique role played by the United States, Fareed Zakaria - the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning CNN journalist - literally wrote the book. (Five, in fact, as of this year's publication of "Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present.")

Zakaria, whom Esquire magazine called "the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation," delivered the ninth annual Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership on Oct. 17 to a sold-out Royce Hall.

"We've entered in an age where social and cultural politics predominate. Think about this election - on some level, the right is trying to scare everybody about immigration; the left is trying to scare everybody about abortion," Zakaria said. "These are the two issues that are the greatest dividers in this election. So the question is: What does it tell us about the age we're in?"

To best address the question, he said, it's helpful to examine historical precedent and the ways that both society and the world have changed in the last 30 years. During that time, change has arrived faster than at any point in human history, especially regarding technological breakthroughs and evolving understandings of identities, but this progress comes at a price.

"One of the things that I think many of us who are comfortable surfing these waves of change have not thought deeply enough about is what it means to live through that kind of change - the essence of it is that people feel a sense of loss of their world," he said. "That can be deeply unsettling, particularly to men, and so putting it all together, what we're seeing is a kind of crisis across the United States of people not knowing where they fit."

And that's why so many issues today, Zakaria said, are seen through the lens of the innately human desire to romanticize the past. He joked how politicians who lean into nostalgia for the "good old days" are aided by one necessary trait in their audience: "a bad old memory."

Instead, the journalist urged attendees to study history so they could better understand the fuller, more accurate picture of our country and world as it was, is and could be. This key theme echoed the ethos of the series' founders, alumni Meyer and Renee Luskin, who were in attendance for the annual event presented by the UCLA College, UCLA School of Law, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the division of social sciences.

"The Luskin Lecture for Thought Leadership has helped us to do what a public institution ought to do," said Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt in his welcome remarks at the event. "It provides space for some of the most distinguished scholars, writers, scientists, diplomats and journalists of our time to discuss the big issues and hard questions that concern us all."

Before the lecture, Zakaria and Dominic Thomas, the Madeleine L. Letessier Professor of French and Francophone Studies, led a small seminar discussion for a group of students, including editors from the Generation - a student-run foreign affairs magazine based out of the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations.

After the lecture, Zakaria responded to questions submitted by audience members in a conversation moderated by Thomas. He discussed the importance of empathy over polarization, the disconnect that can exist between facts and voters' feelings, the challenges and opportunities of social media, the impact of conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Palestine, climate change, and the shifting balance of international power in the global economy.

Zakaria closed by offering advice to students as they look ahead to navigating a world where the way forward seems more uncertain than ever to so many.

"No one can say what will happen in the future, but I leave you to remember what human beings and societies have and will always value: smarts, hard work, perseverance, loyalty, courage," he said. "There are no shortcuts, but you will be able to find a place to thrive. There's no better place to do it than here, and no better time than now."