Is McKinsey and Company a Threat to Democracy? Michael Forsythe Shares His Reporting

08/01/23 • 54 min

It's too simplistic to call it an evil company. There are certainly a lot of very good people that work there. It's just the system itself and the corporation itself and the system that it's embedded in is what causes the problems.

Michael Forsythe
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Michael Forsythe is a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times. Until February 2017 he was a correspondent in the Hong Kong office, focusing on the intersection of money and politics in China. He is the author (along with Walt Bogdanich) of When McKinsey Comes to Town: the Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:35
Who is McKinsey & Company? - 3:14
Is it Anti-Democratic? - 17:55
Working with Autocrats - 34:17
Can it Change? - 44:33

Key Links
When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe
"How McKinsey Lost Its Way in South Africa" in The New York Times by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe
Follow Michael Forsythe on Twitter @PekingMike
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Anne Applebaum on Autocracy, Inc
Samuel Woolley on Bots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Propaganda
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08/01/23 • 54 min

Democracy Paradox - Is McKinsey and Company a Threat to Democracy? Michael Forsythe Shares His Reporting

Transcript

What do you think of when you hear McKinsey? Some of you might not think of anything. It’s only in the last few years that the work of McKinsey has become a topic of public discussion. But I’m sure others have mixed feelings. Some likely have purely negative impressions.

McKinsey & Company is possibly the embodiment of what many call the knowledge economy. They don’t make any products. Instead, they provide ideas. It influences some of the most powerful corporations and govern

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