Science, Belief, and Democracy
The United States was founded on ideas that reflected Enlightenment thinking, including the importance of science and the separation of church and state.
democracy
What Could Possibly Go Right?: Episode 24 Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann has been the nation’s #1 progressive talk show host for over a decade.
Recorded in the lead up to the US presidential election, Thom shares his thoughts on What Could Possibly Go Right?
10 things you need to know to stop a coup
So what I’m offering isn’t asking us to stop what we’re doing now. Instead I’m part of an effort called Choose Democracy, which is prepping people for the possibility of a coup while keeping people focused on a strong, robust election process. After all, the best way to stop a coup is to not have one.
Courting Trouble: Climate Change in a 6 to 3 Supreme Court
The nation has nearly ceased to function as it was envisioned by the authors of the Constitution. The flaw is not in the system’s design but increasingly in the character of those chosen to lead it.
Rushing to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell shows power trumps principle
People in public life tend to fall into one of two broad categories – those motivated by principle, and those motivated by power.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday night at the age of 87, exemplified the first.
What Could Possibly Go Right?: Episode 8 Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson addresses the question of What Could Possibly Go Right? with a political focus in her conversation with host Vicki Robin.
Britain’s Claims to Being a Functioning Democracy are Only Skin Deep
Established power in this country is surrounded by a series of defensive rings. As soon as you begin to name them, you see that the UK is a democracy only in the weakest and shallowest sense.
My Vote is Worth More Than Yours. Ha Ha.
As The New York Times recently reported, “votes for the pro-Brexit Conservatives had 10 times the effective power of votes for the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats” as a result of the electoral system known as “first past the post.”’ And as Phil and I discuss, a voter in Wyoming has 3.6 times the electoral influence as one in California.
Phil and I discuss some of the biggest structural problems with our elections and Constitution, as well as some of his ideas for solving them.
The Passions of Populist Politics
In a new book edited with Fernando Vallespín, I explore the links between populist politics and the specific dynamics that emotions trigger in contemporary societies. We investigate the extent to which the global rise of populism and the role of emotions in politics converge on a specific logic – one that goes hand in hand with current forms of communication centered on social media.
Britain is Mired in Democratic Crisis – But it Goes Much Deeper than Brexit
Put bluntly: yes, Britain is mired in a democratic crisis. But it is one that is older, wider and deeper than this week’s debacle over Brexit and parliamentary sovereignty, and it features across our everyday lives.
The unfinished American project: Democratizing work
With the dawn of industrialization, democracy in work went into reverse. What’s important here is that most people know little or nothing of this history or cannot conceive of it in terms of loss of liberty. They simply accept the arrangements in their jobs as somehow ordained in a nominally democratic society, as how work must necessarily be organized.
Democracy, truth, fallibilism, and the tech overlords
Truth is a very difficult thing to come by. Usually, when humans stumble onto it, they don’t even know they have. America started out as a nation skeptical of royal prerogatives and concentration of power. We’ve morphed into a gullible society easily manipulated by dreams of a techno-utopian future.
