In this episode, the boys talk about C.B. Macpherson’s insightful text The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism. Macpherson holds that liberal political theory from Hobbes to Locke is correct in its premises, since like it or not we basically all are defined by our properties, living in a society almost exclusively defined by market relations—but tha ... Show More
Sep 4
141 TEASER | Badiou: Political Subjects and Infinite Truths
In this episode we discuss the work of French philosopher Alain Badiou. Ever since the 1970s, Badiou’s philosophy has been characterized by an untimely systematicity and an ambitious effort to bring together politics, art, science, and love in a unique synthesis under the aegis o ... Show More
14m 55s
Aug 19
140 | What is Modernity? Part II: Decoloniality
In this episode, we continue our series on modernity with a discussion of modernity, colonialism, and the future of both. We take up the claim that modernity is a justifying myth for European colonialism and wonder why we are all so enraptured by it. Are the Europeans as modern a ... Show More
58m 40s
Sep 2025
Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part Two)
Continuing our discussion of the dangers to and weak points of liberal democracy, including consideration of Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed (2018) Francis Fukuyama's "Liberalism and Its Discontents" (his 2020 essay), and Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now (2018). Get more ... Show More
48m 50s
Aug 2025
Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part One)
What's the crisis of liberal democracy? Dylan, Wes and Seth are joined by St. John's College President J. Walter Sterling to discuss Abraham Lincoln's "On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" (1838) plus the beginnings of Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now (2018), Patri ... Show More
46m 38s
Apr 2025
Whatever this is, it isn’t liberalism
What exactly is the basis for democracy? Arguably Iiberalism, the belief that the government serves the people, is the stone on which modern democracy was founded. That notion is so ingrained in the US that we often forget that America could be governed any other way. But politic ... Show More
53m 40s
Jun 2024
Episode #202 ... Why we can't think beyond capitalism. - Neoliberalism (Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism)
Today we begin our discussion on the work of Mark Fisher surrounding his concept of Capitalism Realism. We talk about the origins of Neoliberalism, it's core strategies, some critiques of Neoliberalism, and the hyperfocus on individualism and competition that has come to define a ... Show More
35m 16s