The OxFam Report 1-30-14

The OxFam Report 1-30-14

 

 

On January 19, Oxfam, the British Non-Profit Agency that tracks global poverty, released a report that shocked the world: 85 of the wealthiest people in the world own more wealth than 50% of the world's population.  Put another way: 85 individuals own more wealth than 3.5 billion people.  How is this possible? What does it mean? And, where is this leading? In this podcast Walker and Professor Dungey discuss the Oxfam report and put it in the context of our previous podcasts on wealth and Elite influence on public policy. 

Prediction #3 The Rich Should Get More Votes

As 2014 draws to a close Professor Nick Dungey and host Walker Uhl check in on some prediction they made earlier in the year. In this episode we revisit a Podcast on voting in the United States. The episode is “The Rich Should Get More Votes” that aired in April 18th 2014. In the podcast Nick and Walker talk about a Tom Perkins quote about the rich getting more votes. In this podcast we go back and revisit some quantitative data about this quote and what it mean to you.

Prediction #2 Immigration

As 2014 draws to a close Professor Nick Dungey and host Walker Uhl check in on some prediction they made earlier in the year. In this episode we revisit a prediction Nick made about Obama and the U.S. Immigration policy form the  the May 8th 2014 podcast “Executive Power”. Give a listen to how Nick’s analysis of the situation is playing out today. This is the 2st in a 3 part year end wrap-up so stay turned for more.

Prediction #1 Putin

As 2014 draws to a close Professor Nick Dungey and host Walker Uhl check in on some prediction they made earlier in the year. In this episode the DSU gang revisits the March 25th 2014 podcast “Ukraine and the Post-revolutionary society”. Give a listen to how Nick’s analysis of the situation is playing out today. This is the 1st in a 3 part year end wrap-up so stay turned for more.

Executive Power

In this show, Walker and Professor Dungey discuss President Obama's extradorinary challenge to Congress: "I have a pen and I will us it." What can we expect from President Obama's threat to expand Executive Power?  Will the President act on critical economic,social, and legal issues without the authorization of Congress?

The Rich Should Get More Votes

In a recent public interview, Tom Perkins made two extraordinary claims: First, only those who pay taxes should be able to vote. And second, there should be a correlation between the amount of taxes you pay and the number of votes you get.  His comments were received with a combination of outrage and laughter. Outrage because they reject the essential American value of equality, and laughter because no one "in his or her right mind" would ever take it seriously. In this episode, Professor Dungey argues that what Perkins claims is actually taking place, and that it is built into the very logic of modern liberal political and economic theory.  While we at DSU do not advocate Perkin's views, we can identify their operation.

Ukraine and the Post Revolutionary Society

Two years ago, DSU hosted a public discussion titled "The Post-Revolutionary Society." (You can view this discussion on the DSU website).  In this controversial and counter-intuitive discussion, Professor Dungey argues that, for a variety of reasons, we may have transitioned into an economic and historical time where the traditional ideas of revolutions as well their purposes are no longer viable.

Now, given the recent events in Ukraine, we have an opportunity to revisit Professor Dungey's analysis to see if the claims of "The Post-Revolutionary Society" hold.

The Detroit Bankruptcy

In our most recent podcast, Walker and Professor Dungey return to the world of concrete economic and political events. In this episode, we discuss the philosophical and economic reasons for and implications of the single largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. From a political- philosophical point of view, is Detroit's bankruptcy a unique and singular event? Or, is Detroit an example of what is to come?

The Nature of Identity and the Self-awareness

In our most recent podcast, Professor Dungey and Walker dive deeper into a postmodern discussion of the nature of identity and the self-awareness. In this show we explore the potentially coercive implications of our belief in a philosophical or theological world view. Following a postmodern line of analysis, Professor Dungey and Walker reveal the ways in which our conception of freedom, individuality, and rights conceal a the fabrication of identity and values.

Vanity and Happiness Part 3 of the Crisis

In Parts I and II of "The Crisis," Professor Dungey and Walker have argued that a fundamental transformation in the economic and political arenas have had a profound impact on the lives of American citizens. The consequences of this transformation have marginalized the importance of the American citizen and crippled their economic capacity to pursue economic and material well-being. In Part III of "The Crisis," Professor Dungey and Walker explore the philosophical origins of the American preoccupation with vanity and the perception of political importance. 

The Crisis Part 2

In Part II of this controversial discussion, Professor Dungey provides an analysis of the economic dimension of the fracturing of the modern liberal philosophical system.  In this discussion Professor Dungey identifies the way the transformation of the traditional liberal economic system has moved us beyond market based economic processes and what this means for the individual and citizen.  

The Crisis Part 1

In this "blue-sky" podcast, Professor Dungey provides a totally unique and creative interpretation of the source of the existential crises and conflict now engulfing the individual, economic, and political dimensions of late-modern liberal democracy. Professor Dungey locates the source of this crisis in a fracturing of the tri-partite structure of Liberal Political Philosophy.  This is Part I of a Two Part show.