The Dangerous History Podcast

In this episode, CJ revisits DHP Episode 34, “The Iron Law of Oligarchy,” from 2014, in preparation for an upcoming mini-series on oligarchy & CJ’s argument that modern democracy is just oligarchy with extra steps.

Join CJ as he discusses:

• A little bit about German sociologist Robert Michels, who first described this law
• The Iron Law of Oligarchy as described by Michels in his early-20th century book Political Parties
• The Iron Law of Oligarchy in other contexts
• Some noteworthy exceptions to the Iron Law that various scholars have found, including the International Typographical Union, the New Left student movement of the 1960s, ancient Athens, and Wikipedia

Links

• Sign up for CJ’s upcoming Dangerous History Live-Ceum Course “The Decline & Fall of the Soviet Empire” (Patreon supporters at $25/month & higher can get 15% off)
• Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon
• Other ways to support the show
• Get CJ’s Dangerous American History Bibliography FREE
• Subscribe to the Dangerous History Podcast Youtube Channel
• Follow CJ on Twitter/X
• Follow the DHP on Instagram
• Follow the DHP on Facebook
• Hire CJ to speak to your group or at your event

Like this episode?

You can throw CJ a $ tip via Paypal here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D6VUYSYQ4EU6L

Or throw CJ a BTC tip here:

Join CJ as he shares some thoughts & analysis about how the 2024 election played out, its significance in the context of American political history, and some historical parallels.

Links

• Sign up to take CJ’s “Decline & Fall of the Soviet Empire” Dangerous History Live-Ceum Course (which will start on Tues, 12/3)
• Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon
• Other ways to support the show
• Get CJ’s Dangerous American History Bibliography FREE
• Subscribe to the Dangerous History Podcast Youtube Channel
• Follow CJ on Twitter/X
• Follow the DHP on Instagram
• Follow the DHP on Facebook
• Hire CJ to speak to your group or at your event

Like this episode?

You can throw CJ a $ tip via Paypal here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D6VUYSYQ4EU6L

Throw CJ a $ tip via Venmo here:

https://www.venmo.com/u/dangeroushistory

Or throw CJ a BTC tip here:

bc1qfrz9erz7dqazh9rhz3j7nv696nl52ux8unw79z

In 1919, the Supreme Court of the United States voted unanimously to uphold the conviction of Socialist Party activists whose only crime was distributing a pamphlet critical of conscription during American participation in the First World War, even though the pamphlet did not advocate any lawbreaking — not even civil disobedience.

Links

• Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon
• Check out CJ’s Patreon shop to buy his Dangerous History of the US Dollar collection (more collections of older series & episodes to come)
• Come meet CJ & see him speak at the Oct. 2024 Self Reliance Fest in Camden, TN
• Other ways to support the show
• Subscribe to the Dangerous History Podcast Youtube Channel
• Get CJ’s Dangerous American History Bibliography FREE
• Hire CJ to speak to your group or at your event

Like this episode?

You can throw CJ a $ tip via Paypal here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D6VUYSYQ4EU6L

Or throw CJ a BTC tip here:

Join CJ as he commemorates 10 years of Dangerous History podcasting on a commute to his job as an underwater marine services diver in Silver Bullet V.3.0 (a silver 2020 Kia Soul that recently replaced his 2014 silver Hyundai Accent.)

In this episode he gives updates about his family's ongoing struggles, and speaks "on mic" about his new job for the first time.

(Note: I recorded this update episode 2 weeks ago but have been so busy & exhausted that I only now got it processed & published.)

Links

• The crowdfunding campaign set up by Mrs. ProfCJ to help our family get through this still-ongoing ordeal
• Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon or SubscribeStar!

Other ways to help CJ & his family get through their current hardships:

Send CJ one-time or recurring donation via Paypal here

Or throw CJ some BTC here:

Bitcoin: 1MqjNLkX3D4FwVzkTUTvofK1kFAdG5PtH2

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yesterday CJ turned 43. Unfortunately, he was sick on his birthday (and still is today), but he decided to look into the vault of vintage DHP episodes to see what DHP Ep. 43 was, and lo & behold, it was a Fun-Size Silver Bullet episode from 2014 that’s quite evergreen & may be even more relevant today than ever, so he decided to reissue it on the podcast feed along with a new intro & some important announcements

“Knowledge is power”: There’s more depth to the old cliche than there might appear at first glance.

Join CJ as he discusses:

• Some of the earliest known usages of this phrase in print
• Some examples from history from ancient to modern of this principle in practice, including the more ‘culty’ religious organizations, laws against slaves learning to read, the connection between literacy & slave uprisings, and the modern US government’s love of keeping its own actions secret while spying on everything you do

Empower yourself by pursuing knowledge!

(“Knowledge is Power” pic courtesy Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net)

Links

• Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon
• Other ways to support the show
• Subscribe to the Dangerous History Podcast Youtube Channel
• Get CJ’s Dangerous American History Bibliography FREE
• Hire CJ to speak to your group or at your event

Like this episode?

You can throw CJ a $ tip via Paypal here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D6VUYSYQ4EU6L

Or throw CJ a BTC tip here: