Rethinking Politics

We will be taking a short holiday hiatus, but we will be back with more episodes after the new year so stay tuned!

Photo: Chad Madden on Unsplash

Patents - Why talk about such a boring subject you ask? Because sometimes the most mundane things can have a large impact on your everyday life, and Patents are one of those things. Patents have extensive effects on things like the features and types of phones you can buy, the monopoly prices of medicine, and the scope of scientific progress. We start with the moral defense of patents and weigh the idea of knowledge as defensible property. Then we address the practical claim that patents encourage innovation and are thus justified by their benefit to society. We then point to a variety of ways that patent laws create a legal game which actually hinders innovation and distorts the market.  Finally, we argue that the moral problems with intellectual property guarantee the practical problems because a system that doesn’t get human nature and natural law right will not work.  

In our first ever follow up episode, we return to Covid-19. In this episode, we recap our previous discussion of individual risk assessment and offer some numbers to help you begin to assess yourself and those around you. We then consider a theory of viral behavior we hadn’t heard fully until recently that accounts for the trends of the virus we have seen thus far, including otherwise odd downturns or spikes and the second wave that is happening now in many places. Though this explanation is partially new to us, it is actually the basis of the pandemic guidelines that have been quietly discarded in most places this year. This information on viral behavior also explains the impact of government responses, including lockdowns and similar restrictions, and points us towards better responses that improve health against viral infections. We also discuss some of the hidden costs and trade-offs of our policies before finally explaining some of the political incentives and motivations that lead politicians to benefit from fear.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: CDC Public Health Image Library

This is a topic that is usually discussed in superficial terms and misleading data. There are countless historical examples and many ways to calculate the effects of trade deals. Rather than give the standard talking points with cherry picked statistics, we dig under the common talking points and discuss the logical implications of the ideas on exchange. We discuss the trade war with China, international deficits, the effects of trade deals on jobs and industries, the purpose of fair trade and how it differs from free trade, and the corruption of political systems that supports protectionism.

Image: Tumisu from Pixabay

Here it is, the episode topic you've been waiting for this entire election: Immigration. Instead of delving into common debate topics like who built what or trying to win partisan points by blaming parties for problems, we focus on the ideas and principles behind immigration policy. Primarily, we focus on the moral justification for open immigration and the myriad concerns against it such as immigrants: taking advantage of health care and welfare, taking jobs, increasing crime, overwhelming the infrastructure. changing the culture, and the ramifications on voting.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Exit Polls are the last poll of an election and the most important poll to predict future elections. We analyze trends and anomalies in voting revealed by the exit polls which point to significant shifts in the two parties. This election is not like previous elections in major ways. These shifts will be followed by ideological changes in the party platforms that could significantly restructure the political landscape over the next few years. These trends also show the degree to which popular political messages and the madness of 2020 have succeeded or failed to persuade voters. We discuss things like personality predictors of politics, political differences between men and women, the breakdown of wealth and voting, the correlation between college and voting, and much more.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

2020 Election Update

Although we were not able to record a full episode this week, we wanted to share a brief update on the unfolding election. As the vote counting continues into day two, we discuss the fact that although annoying, this isn't that unusual. Also, given the divided house and senate, the winner will have his hands tied. So as the country holds its collective breath, we don't have to fear a civil war or large scale changes.

Photo: The Associated Press

With only days left before November 3rd, we take our last look at the election as well as at last week's debate. We do a breakdown of the policy differences and similarities between the two candidates in preparation for the moment when we collectively find out who will be the President of the United States for the next four years. By doing so, we hope not only to inform but to remind, that although they are different, the differences between these two candidates are not as earth shattering as it may seem. On topics like Covid 19, Foreign Policy, and Immigration, whether we have Joe Biden or Donald Trump will matter very little for various reasons. And so, we offer some comfort mixed with cynicism, come November 3rd. 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Element5 Digital on Unsplash

As we get closer and closer to the 2020 election, it can become very difficult to have hope or faith in our national government. So we figured now is a good time to discuss a solution that does bring hope: Federalism. Federalism is an answer to the national partisanship we see every day on TV and social media. We address the straw man arguments against federalism that are normally found in textbooks and focus on the role of the civil war in those false narratives. Then we discuss how actions should always be done at the smallest possible level. It is more efficient and much more unifying. By restoring state authority and focusing on local and state politics, people would be free to have the governments they want without imposing them on people who don’t.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash 

In our second (and maybe last?) week of debate coverage we take a look at the VP debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. We analyse their performance in terms of both the game of politics and the substance we hope to see in debates. We then spend the second half of the episode answering a question we were asked by a listener that is on a lot of people's minds. Given the situation we are in as voters, what can we do this election to make a difference. To answer that question, we discuss concepts like: the lesser of two evils, throwing away your vote, the purpose of political parties, how parties determine their direction in the future, the role of third party voting, and more.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Wikimedia Commons