ReImagining Liberty

Today we're looking at Robert Nozick's classic work of libertarian philosophy, Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Released in 1974, it's the book that put libertarianism on the map within contemporary academic philosophy. 

Nozick argued for a strong conception of rights and then traced out what that means for government, including whether rights allow for any government at all. Anarchy, State, and Utopia deserves its classic status and is a genuine delight to read. But that doesn't mean that its arguments are air tight or that it's the best defense of libertarianism. 

To help me (re)assess Nozick's book, I'm joined by professor Matthew McManus (@MattPolProf), author of The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism: Neoliberalism, Post-Modern Culture, and Reactionary Politics, and Julian Sanchez, senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

Whether you agree or disagree with Nozick's arguments in Anarchy, State, and Utopia, is a terrifically fun book to discuss.

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

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

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

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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.

Postmodernism, like Marxism and Critical Race Theory, has become a catch-all term for whatever upsets the right in the culture war.

But what if, instead of destroying libs with logic and reason, the American right has become itself deeply postmodernist, rejecting ideas of objective truth in favor of satisfying, but false, narratives?

Joining me today is professor Matthew McManus (@MattPolProf), author of The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism: Neoliberalism, Post-Modern Culture, and Reactionary Politics.

We discuss the features of postmodernism, as well as the distinct features of postmodern conservatism, and we dig into why postmodern conservatism is on the right, and how it finds its roots in cultural and economic changes.

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

Does American conservatism still provide a home for liberty-minded ideas?

Looking at the state of the modern, post-Trump Republican Party, as well as the intellectual centers of gravity among the American right, the picture's rather discouraging.

To get a better sense of where the right is now, and how liberalism fits (or doesn't) within it, it's important to look backwards. What has the American right traditionally looked like? How has that changed? What lesson can we learn as we worry about where the right has ended up today?

To discuss all that, I'm joined by my friend Paul Matzko (@PMatzko). He an historian of American politics and author of The Radio Right: How a Band of Broadcasters Took on the Federal Government and Built the Modern Conservative Movement, from Oxford University Press.

We explore the nature of the right, and whether it even makes sense to think of it as a unified ideological perspective.

We talk about the origins of the Goldwater/Buckley/Reagan new right, and about whether it was ever as committed to individual and economic freedom as many today imagine it was.

We dig into the question of libertarianism or classical liberalism's place in the conservative right coalition, and ask if any place remains and whether it's possible to regain one.

History often complicates convenient narratives. This couldn't be more true of the stories we in the liberty movement like to tell ourselves about American conservatism.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Patreon to get episodes a week early, listen ad-free, and become part of the Discord community. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell

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

For years, I've proudly called myself a libertarian, because “libertarianism” best describes my commitment to robust freedom, as well as my understanding of the threat government poses to it.

But lately I found myself less willing to use the label when talking to new people. Not because “libertarian” no longer accurately describes my political views, but because certain groups claiming the label have become louder and more visible, and have, unfortunately, tarnished the term with an illiberal ugliness most people, rightfully, find repulsive.

I'm talking about the so-called “paleolibertarians,” those of the unfortunate libertarian to alt-right pipeline. They're ubiquitous in libertarian circles on Twitter and, lately, they've even managed to takeover the Libertarian Party.

To talk about these unfortunate trends in libertarian activism, and what it means for the future of the liberty movement, I'm joined by Andy Craig (@AndrewRCraig) and John Hudak (@johnmhudak).

Andy is a staff writer at the Cato Institute and, until recently, was active within the Libertarian Party. John is co-founder of Fakertarians, where he exhaustively catalogs and responds to the bad ideas, and worse personality, among the illiberals calling themselves libertarians.

We talk about what's changed in the years since Trump's rise, how so many have come to deeply misunderstand the animating values of the libertarian project, and what can be done to combat illiberal populism.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Patreon to get episodes a week early, listen ad-free, and become part of the Discord community. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell

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

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.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Patreon to get episodes a week early, listen ad-free, and become part of the Discord community. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell

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

One of the difficult, and interesting, questions a system of political liberty needs to deal with is how to approach differing conceptions of what the good life looks like and how people ought to behave.

We can say that the government shouldn't interfere in people's lifestyle choices, but does that mean we should also say that being pro-liberty means being pro- every choice people might make, as long as it's peaceful?

My guest today is Stephanie Slade (@sladesr), a senior editor at Reason Magazine. She recently published an article about whether a commitment to political and economic liberty necessarily entails a commitment to and celebration of social liberalism and cultural progressivism.

Stephanie and I diverge in some ways in how we answer that question. Which makes it an important discussion to have.

We talk about whether libertarianism is only a political project, or if it's an ethical one, too.

We talk about the role of social conservatism in a free society, how both the left and the right are too quick to use the state to enforce their social preferences, and how we can have a more tolerant world and more just world if we'd all just mutually disarm a little.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Patreon to get episodes a week early, listen ad-free, and become part of the Discord community. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell

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

Welcome to the inaugural episode of ReImagining Liberty.

My goal for today's conversation was to set the direction and tone of the whole (Re)Imaginging Liberty podcast going forward. And to do that, I brought on my friend Cory Massimino (@corymassimino), a philosophy student and a fellow at the Center for a Stateless Society.

He's also one of the smartest young scholars I know, and our talks and Twitter debates over the last several years played a large part in the evolution of my thinking.

In today's episode:

• We talk about the need for the liberty movement to decouple from its historical alliance with conservatism and the American right.

• We explore the ways reading outside of your comfort zone and exposing yourself to ideas you're inclined to disagree with can be hugely beneficial.

• And we wander into topics like liberty and virtue and libertarianism as a project of emancipation.

Join the ReImagining Liberty Patreon to get episodes a week early, listen ad-free, and become part of the Discord community. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell

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