Editor's note: This series originally ran in June. The following is the fourth interview in a six part series with economist Eamonn Fingleton.

One of the biggest problems facing the United States today is the lack of understanding by its population.  Not only is the population of the United States increasingly less educated than foreign populations, but our media is increasingly one-sided.   

The American media favors “free trade” almost unflinchingly, despite the fact that even a cursory overview of global economies shows that no nation is being more adversely affected by this practice than the U.S.  For this reason Fingleton often faces negative responses in popular media because of his anti-“free trade” views.  In this section Fingleton discusses the need to educate Americans on the lack of fiscal responsibility and economic fundamentals in the United States. 

Click here for Part 1 in this series.

Click here for Part 2 in this series.

Click here for Part 3 in this series.

Download the full interview on iTunes.

Eamonn Fingleton is the author of In the Jaws of the Dragon: America’s Fate in the Coming Era of Chinese Hegemony. A former editor for the Financial Times and Forbes, he has written on East Asian and global issues for the The Atlantic Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.