ReImagining Liberty

I've long argued that it's important for everyone engaged in political debate to understand the ideas, theories, and philosophies they're arguing with.

That understanding begins with taking them on their own terms, trying to appreciate them the way those who hold them do. In other words, you shouldn't just read what your side says about the other guys, but instead look to how the other guys talk about their own ideas.

What's more, critically engaging with, and making a real effort to understand, perspectives that aren't our own is often fascinating. And, even if you ultimately reject their conclusions, you can still learn a lot, and gain valuable insights that make your own thinking more nuance and robust.

That why, when I was first kicking around ideas for ReImagining Liberty, I knew I wanted to do an informal series on perspectives and philosophies outside of what falls within the radical liberal tradition.

Today I'm pleased to kick that off with my friend Ian Bennett (@EpochPhilosophy), host of the excellent Epoch Philosophy YouTube channel. The topic is Marxism. Ian's a Marxist. I'm not. But, as I said, there's value in having a clear understanding of Marxism, of what Marxists actually believe, and what Marx actually said, instead of what libertarian or conservative critics say they belief or say he said.

My conversation with Ian is a perfect introduction to Marxism for non-Marxists. We talk about what Marxists mean by capitalism. (Spoiler: It's not simply a synonym for free markets.) We talk about alienation, about revolution, about how Marxists view socialism as a kind of radical democracy.

I hope you'll enjoy our discussion as much as I did -- and learn as much from it as I did.

ReImagining Liberty is a project of The UnPopulist, and is produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Discord community and book club.

Music: Finding the Balance by Kevin MacLeod | Link | License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the earliest episode of this show was a conversation with my friend Ian Bennett, of the Epoch Philosophy YouTube channel, about Marxism. It’s one of my favorite ReImagining Liberty episodes so far, not just because Ian is tremendously smart and I learn a lot from him, but because it’s the kind of conversation I find particularly valuable: a dive in a set of ideas I have many disagreements with, but are influential, interesting, and worth understanding.

That’s why I’m so happy to have Ian back today to talk about the Frankfurt School, critical theory, and cultural Marxism. As before, Ian and I diverse rather dramatically on many political and economic issues, but given the role these ideas—or at least the specter of these ideas—plays in current culture war battles, it’s important explore them on their own terms, and see how and where they conflict with the radical liberal perspective I’m building out on this show.

And if you come away interest in understanding critical theory more thoroughly than we have time for in an hour long podcast, I encourage you to check out Epoch Philosophy on YouTube. Ian creates short explainers on all the important ideas and thinkers, and does so with remarkable clarity and sophistication.

ReImagining Liberty is an independent show. If you enjoy it, consider becoming a supporter. You’ll be able to listen to episodes early, get all my essays a week before they’re released to everyone else, and access to the community Discord and our monthly reading group. Learn more here.

Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Governments rule our lives, but quite a lot of us believe corporations do as well. And just like we can ask questions about how the states are governed, we can ask similar questions about corporations. How ought they to run themselves? Whose interests should they take into account? What social responsibilities, if any, do they have?

To help us think through these questions about corporate governance and the role of corporate institutions, I’m joined by Alexei Marcoux. He’s a Professor of Business, Ethics and Society and Institute for Economic Inquiry Senior Scholar at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.

ReImagining Liberty is an independent show. If you enjoy it, consider becoming a supporter. You’ll be able to listen to episodes early, get all my essays a week before they’re released to everyone else, and access to the community Discord and our monthly reading group.

Get early access.

Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte . Music by Kevin MacLeod .

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's something different about the contemporary right. Classical liberal rhetoric has been replaced with something much uglier and more reactionary, keen to carve the world into us and them and celebrate the use and abuse of power.

Today's conversation is about this turn. Or, as my guest explains, this return to ideologies a century old or more, but now gaining prominence and attacking the very idea of liberalism.

To discuss that, I'm joined by Tom G. Palmer. He is executive vice president for international programs at Atlas Network where he holds the George M. Yeager Chair for Advancing Liberty, and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.

Our conversation explores the parallels between current far-right movements and ideologies and those of the 1930s and discusses the thinkers and trends that have influenced these movements, such as Carl Schmitt and the rejection of liberal values. We delve into the revolutionary nature of far-right ideologies and their desire to smash existing institutions and examine the aesthetic dimension and the search for meaning in these movements. We conclude by addressing the difficulty in recognizing the danger of far-right movements and the need to take them seriously.

ReImagining Liberty is an independent show. If you enjoy it, consider becoming a supporter. You'll be able to listen to episodes early and get all my essays a week before they're released to everyone else.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few terms in our contemporary political scene provoke stronger reactions than “critical race theory.” If you listen to much of the right, CRT is a Marxist plot to literally destroy America by teaching children to hate the country, its founding principles, and even themselves. The resulting moral panic has led to anti-CRT legislation, and acted as a precursor to the growing anti-trans and anti-gay backlash among reactionary conservatives.

But what is critical race theory? Because few of those people with strong opinions seem to have much of an idea.

Today I'm talking with Sam Hoadley-Brill (@deonteleologist), a PhD student in philosophy and a fellow at the African American Policy Forum. Sam has written extensively about critical race theory, the movement against it on the right, and the way concerns are being manipulated by dishonest activists like Christopher Rufo to roll back the achievements of social liberalism.

ReImagining Liberty is a project of The UnPopulist, and is produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Discord community and book club.

Music: Finding the Balance by Kevin MacLeod | Link | License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.