Nature and the Nation

In this episode I explore another essays in Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey's massive History of Political Philosophy 3rd Edition, this time looking at an essay by Robert A. Goldwin discussing John Locke and his theories of the state of nature vs the state of war, and his thoughts on the right of rebellion. This episode is the second of a series.

In this episode I examine one of the many essays in Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey's massive History of Political Philosophy 3rd Edition, detailing the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes. This essay by Laurence Berns discusses the weaknesses of Hobbes' conception of sovereignty. This episode is the first of a series.

In this episode I revisit the history of trade policy in America, with Gill's book Trade Wars Against America . I look especially at the 2nd half of the 19th Century and Woodrow Wilson.

In this episode I revisit Louis Menand's collection of Pragmatist writings, Pragmatism: A Reader , with an eye toward the more recent writers. I discuss Richard Rorty's Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism and Richard Bernstein's Pragmatism, Pluralism, and the Healing of Wounds.

In this episode I look at some of the early pragmatist writings, in particular The Will to Believe by William James, and The Ethics of Democracy by John Dewey. This episode is the first of a two part series on this book.

In this episode I look at the evolutionary exposition of Richard Dawkins in his classic The Blind Watchmaker , with a closer look at how DNA replicates and evolves.

In this episode I look at a few of William James' early essays What Is an Emotion? and The Function of Cognition, and I make a particular examination of his essay The Dilemma of Determinism.

In this episode I examine the deterministic vision of the nature of the universe as described by P. W. Atkins in The Creation.

In this episode I explore the myth of the divine child, viewed through both historical myths and the archetypes of the collective unconscious, in the collaborative book by both Carl Jung and Carl Kerenyi, Essays on a Science of Mythology.

In this episode I look at the ancient Roman god of Saturn and the festival of Saturnalia, as described in Samuel Macey's Patriarchs of Time.

In this episode I explore the lack of myth in our modern world, as described by Rollo May in The Cry for Myth.

In this episode I look at The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, with a particular emphasis on his definitions of myth, archetype, metaphor, and transcendence.

In this episode I look at the phenomenal book Free Trade Doesn't Work by Ian Fletcher. I focus on Fletcher's overview of trade deficits and his explanation of the theory of comparative advantage.

In this episode I look at one of the most important of protectionist treatises, The National System of Political Economy by Friedrich List, with a particular focus on Book 2: The Theory.

In this episode, I look at the connections between ecosystems and economies, as described by Jane Jacobs in The Nature of Economies.

In this episode I look at Henry Clay's attempts to get tariff legislation passed in the early 19th Century, in Maurice Baxter's Henry Clay and they American System .

In this episode I look at the basic premise of economic theory as presented by Henry Hazlitt in his classic Economics in One Lesson. I look closely at his discussion of tariffs, and provide a counter-argument that examines the tax burden of tariffs and the elasticity of supply and demand.

In this episode I examine the case for protectionism and against free trade, as described by Pat Buchanan in his book The Great Betrayal.

In this episode I look at several types of American Nationalism as described by F. H. Buckley in his book The Republican Workers Party. I argue against his position on Liberal Nationalism.

In this episode I examine the essay 'The Sentiment of Rationality' from William James' collection of essays, The Will to Believe. This essay shows the early signs of James' Pragmatism.

In this episode I look at the origins of philosophical Pragmatism in John Muphy's Pragmatism. I look especially at Charles Peirce and his ideas about doubt and truth.

In this episode I explore Teddy Roosevelt's relationship with Japan, as described in T. R. The Last Romantic by H. W. Brands. I pay particular attention to Roosevelt's failure to heed the concerns of California's immigration restrictionists.

In this episode I look at the Ted Kaczynski's Industrial Society and its Future, with a special focus on his critiques of leftism and his explanation of the power process, as well as his assertions about the possibility of social change and the self-perpetuating system.

In this episode I explore the Nature and Nationalism tradition of German political and ecological thought, as detailed by Jonathan Olsen in Nature and Nationalism. I look at its origins in Romanticism, and its expression in the volkisch, heimat, and wandervogel movements.

In this episode I dig deeper into the search for the natural social arrangement of man, with a look at The Rule of the Clan by Mark Weiner. I examine the structure of clannism and look especially at the rise of Anglo-Saxon England.