In the past month, Donald Trump has turned the political world upside down. In the process he has ignited a firestorm around the debate of political correctness and the right to possess and assert one's opinion. In this podcast we examine "The Donald's" opinions and speech from the point of view of J.S. Mill's defense of free thought and speech.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Thank_you_Donald_Trump.mp3
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.
Greece is running out of money. Will Tsipras keep his election promises to end austerity? Or, is Germany really prepared to let Greece leave the Euro zone. In our most recent podcast, Walker and Professor Dungey discuss the possible end of the road of one of Modernity's most grand economic, social, and political experiments.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
Following up on "The Nature of Identity and Self Awareness", Walker and Professor Dungey dive deeper into the moral and existential implications of our commitment to a metaphysical philosophical or theological discourse.
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.
In our latest podcast, Professor Dungey and Walker travel beyond the modern philosophical account the individual and introduce a "postmodern" account of identity. Here we explore the role of language as a form of power operating in the creation of the self and what this means for an aesthetic view of identity and life.
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.
