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Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman talks with David Gergen of the Harvard Kennedy School about the foundations of the liberal political and economic systems. In the current economic downturn, Krugman asks what we learn from past liberal successes and failures.

Paul Krugman, recipient of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences, has written or edited 18 books and several hundred articles, most of which are about international trade and international finance. He helped found the "new trade theory", which is about the consequences of increasing returns and imperfect competition for international trade. He currently teaches at Princeton University and writes an op-ed column for The New York Times.

David Gergen is currently a professor of public service at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and director of its Center for Public Leadership. He is also editor-at-large for U.S. News & World Report and a Senior Political Analyst for CNN. In earlier years, he served as a White House advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton.