"He who says organization says oligarchy." With these words, Robert Michels advances his sociological theory of what is called the iron law of oligarchy. Whenever human beings arrange themselves into a social group, the structural realities of organizing human beings for coordinated action result in minority rule. Far from asserting this as a reality that we ... Show More
Today
Untimely Reflections #37: PF Jung - Enlightened Centrism
PF Jung's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PFJungIf politics is in some sense determined by our psychological temperament, then from an evolutionary standpoint, perhaps there is social value to both the left and right wing perspectives. And yet, centrism remains a dirty word in ... Show More
1h 27m
Aug 19
The Gay Science #16 (IV.276-288)
Continuing with The Gay Science, and beginning with book IV, "Sanctus Januarius". Here, we encounter some of the most famous aphorisms: For the New Year, Preparatory Men ("Live Dangerously!") and Excelsior. Exciting times!Episode art: View of Genoa under the Snow - Eugenio Olivar ... Show More
1h 56m
Aug 12
120: Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind, pt 2 - Burckhardt, Nietzsche & History
The conclusion of our two-parter on Erich Heller, and the conclusion to season five! We discuss Nietzsche's friendship with Jacob Burckhardt, and how Burckhardt's view of history can inform our understanding of Nietzsche's divergence from him. We also consider Goethe's four ages ... Show More
1h 44m
Feb 2024
Lisa Herzog, "Citizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2023)
For better or worse, democracy and epistemology are intertwined. For one thing, politics is partly a matter of gathering, assessing, and applying information. And this can be done responsibly or incompetently. At least since Plato, a leading critique of democracy has focused on t ... Show More
1h 7m
Oct 2021
Pourquoi parle-t-on de “ploutocratie” ?
À l'inverse de la démocratie, où la souveraineté appartient au peuple, donc à l'ensemble des citoyens, certains régimes politiques, comme la ploutocratie ou l'oligarchie, réservent le pouvoir, en droit ou en fait, aux plus riches ou à une minorité de personnes.
Le pouvoir aux plu ... Show More
2m 8s
Oct 2021
Terence Renaud, "New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition" (Princeton UP, 2021)
In the 1960s, the radical youth of Western Europe’s New Left rebelled against the democratic welfare state and their parents’ antiquated politics of reform. It was not the first time an upstart leftist movement was built on the ruins of the old. New Lefts: The Making of a Radical ... Show More
1h 15m
Jul 2023
#205 — The Failure of Meritocracy
Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Markovits about the problems with meritocracy. They discuss the nature of inequality in the United States, the disappearance of the leisure class, the difference between labor and capital as sources of inequality, the way the education system amplifi ... Show More
44m 44s
Dec 2023
Devrim Adam Yavuz, "Democracy and Capitalism in Turkey: The State, Power, and Big Business" (Bloomsbury, 2023)
While a positive correlation between capitalism and democracy has existed in Western Europe and North America, the example of late-industrializing nations such as Turkey has demonstrated that the two need not always go hand in hand, and sometimes the interests of business coincid ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2022
A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is Thriving Across the Globe
As we approach the 2022 midterms, the outlook for American democracy doesn’t appear promising. An increasingly Trumpist, anti-democratic Republican Party is poised to take over at least one chamber of Congress. And the Democratic Party, facing an inflationary economy and with an ... Show More
1h 30m
Jun 2023
The Rise of the Managerial Class with Michael Lind
In this episode, host Vivek Ramaswamy welcomes guest Michael Lind, acclaimed author of "The New Class War." Together, they delve into the rising divide between the managerial class and everyday citizens across various institutions in America. The discussion uncovers the pivotal r ... Show More
38m 5s