A new series of talks by David Runciman, in which he explores some of the most important thinkers and prominent ideas lying behind modern politics – from Hobbes to Gandhi, from democracy to patriarchy, from revolution to lock down. Plus, he talks about the crises – revolutions, wars, depressions, pandemics – that generated these new ways of political thinking. From the team that brought you Talking Politics: a history of ideas to help make sense of what’s happening today.
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A special episode in which David answers some of the audience's questions about the second series of History of Ideas. From how he chooses which writers and works to talk about, to whether Boris Johnson is the ultimate Benthamite and whether the idea of a pleasure machine isn't - in fact - totally rational. We really enjoyed making these podcasts for people to enjoy during lockdown. To support History of Ideas and Talking Politics, you can become a member by clicking here (https://plus.acast.com/s/talkingpolitics). For £3 a month, you can enjoy Talking Politics without adverts in the middle of the discussions. Thank you for listening!
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20 Apr 2021
Shklar on Hypocrisy
Judith Shklar’s Ordinary Vices (1984) made the case that the worst of all the vices is cruelty. But that meant we needed to be more tolerant of some other common human failings, including snobbery, betrayal and hypocrisy. David explores what she had to say about some of the other authors in this series – including Bentham and Nietzsche – and asks what price we should be willing to pay for putting cruelty first among the vices.
Recommended version to buy (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674641761)
Going Deeper:
David Runciman, Political Hypocrisy (2008) (https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691180854/political-hypocrisy)
Katrina Forrester, ‘Hope and Memory in the thought of Judith Shklar’, Modern Intellectual History (2011) (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-intellectual-history/article/abs/hope-and-memory-in-the-thought-of-judith-shklar/8DF34E84546CCE946D65E44A4C9940DB)
Samantha Ashenden and Andreas Hess, 'The Theorist of Belonging', Aeon (2020) (https://aeon.co/essays/discovering-judith-shklars-skeptical-liberalism-of-fear)
[Audio]: 'The Moral Philosophy of the Good Place,' Vox (https://www.audible.com/pd/Best-of-The-moral-philosophy-of-The-Good-Place-Podcast/B08RMSR7VY)
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13 Apr 2021
Nozick on Utopia
Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974) was designed as a rebuttal to Rawls but it was so much more than that. It offered a defence of the minimal state that appealed to the writers of The Sopranos and a vision of utopia that appealed to the founders of Silicon Valley. David explores what Nozick wanted to achieve and identifies the surprising radicalism behind his political minimalism.
Recommended version to buy (https://uk.bookshop.org/books/anarchy-state-and-utopia/9780631197805 )
Going Deeper:
Robert Nozick, The Examined Life (1989) (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Examined-Life/Robert-Nozick/9780671725013)
Jonathan Wolff, Robert Nozick: Property, Justice and the Minimal State (1991) (https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=3237)
Stephen Metcalf, ‘The Liberty Scam’, Slate (2011) (https://slate.com/culture/2011/06/robert-nozick-father-of-libertarianism-even-he-gave-up-on-the-movement-he-inspired.html#p2)
[Video] Shelly Kagan, 'Hedonism and Nozick's Experience Machine' (from Open Yale Courses) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqIgQC0Gx4Y)
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