Political Theory 101 Podcast
1) Clarence Streit and International Federalism
We discuss Streit's 1939 proposal for a international federation of democracies to avoid a new world war. We explore the limits of argumentation and the difference between making an argument and doing...Show More
2) Friedrich List and the National System
We discuss Friedrich List's many careers, his struggle for a German customs union, his belief that nationalism would lead to the "uniting of all nations under a common law of right", what happened ins...Show More
3) Vico and the Concept of the Natural
We discuss Vico's theory of nature, his unorthodox mix of stereotypically ancient and modern approaches, and how his "new science" seems to be going so far.
4) Hobbes' Behemoth
A whole episode of Political Theory 101 devoted to Thomas Hobbes' Behemoth. We discuss Hobbes' historical narrative and his theory of education, both of which receive little attention in Leviathan.
5) Nick Land & the Politics of Acceleration (w/Michael Downs)
Michael Downs joins Benjamin to discuss the political thought of Nick Land, its relationship to the work of Deleuze and Guattari, and the degree to which it has influenced the contemporary left and ri...Show More
6) The Politics of Plato's Parmenides
We discuss how Plato used dialectical thinking to deal with objections to the theory of the forms. Then we discuss how this kind of thinking enriches our ability to make use of all sorts of political ...Show More
7) John Morley & the Politics of Compromise
We discuss the work of John Morley, a British viscount heavily involved in the government of Ireland and India during the late 19th and early 20th century. Morley was a liberal, but he was often in si...Show More
8) The Politics of Plato's Philebus
Daniel Jacobs joins Benjamin to discuss Plato's Philebus. We traverse the dialectic of limit and unlimit and discuss the difference between memory and recollection, connecting all of this to Plato's p...Show More
9) Clausewitz (w/Elizabeth Dearden-Williams)
Elizabeth Dearden-Williams, a former student of mine from Cambridge who is currently pursuing a masters, comes on to discuss the work of the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz.
10) Cutrone and the Party (w/Chris Cutrone)
Chris Cutrone joins Benjamin for a discussion of political parties, focusing on the role pluralism plays in Chris' thinking about party structure.