Wes and Dylan discuss two articles selected but later rejected for ep. 193: Leo Strauss's "Mass Education and Democracy" (1967) and Richard Rorty's "Democracy and Philosophy" (2007). Must philosophical training, or liberal education more generally, necessarily be restricted a privileged minority? Thanks for being a PEL Citizen and supporting this extra Continue Reading …
Kritical Politics
Imagine a world where English Literature students were placed in charge of political revolution. Marshalling the full resources of their limited literary perspectives, what might we expect? A preoccupation with anything-goes-readings of the microsymbolic (read: irrelevant), a prioritization over the histories of phrases and words rather than people who speak them, and a Continue Reading …
Polyarchy and Public Policy in the United States
On 24 April 2014, the Washington Times ran an article titled “America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic, university study finds.” The Washington Times was reporting on a study by political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page called “Testing Theories of American Politics” [PDF]. According to the study, in 20 years of public policy decision making in the United Continue Reading …
Red State, Blue State, One State, Two States
Steven Pinker of Harvard recently posted an article on The Stone at the New York Times called "Why Are States So Red and Blue?" His summary of his thesis: The North and coasts are extensions of Europe and continued the government-driven civilizing process that had been gathering momentum since the Middle Ages. The South and West preserved the culture of honor that emerged in Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Episode 60: Aristotle: What’s the Best Form of Government?
This is a short preview of the full episode. Buy Now Purchase this episode for $2.99. Or become a PEL Citizen for $5 a month, and get access to this and all other paywalled episodes, including 68 back catalogue episodes; exclusive Part 2's for episodes published after September, 2020; and our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat more Continue Reading …
Episode 60: Aristotle: What’s the Best Form of Government? (Citizens Only)
On Aristotle's Politics (350 BCE), books 1 (ch 1-2), 3, 4 (ch 1-3), 5 (ch 1-2), 6 (ch 1-6), and 7 (ch. 1-3, 13-15). Aristotle provides both a taxonomy of the types of government, based on observations of numerous constitutions of the states of his time, and prescriptions on how to best order a state. These are meant to be practical; though he does spend some time on the Continue Reading …