Ep. 126: Philosopher Michael Walzer on American Democracy and Liberal Ideals

Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk

“In the list of things in danger, it’s truth above all that worries me the most.”

Legendary political philosopher Michael Walzer joins the podcast. Democracy is on his mind, now more than ever. In the course of a long lifetime observing the American political scene, he has never seen our system so close to the edge. Where do America’s liberal ideals stand? How are we doing at delivering on the promise of America? The conversation goes in many directions, from the political successes and failures of Barack Obama to the intractable situation of the current US congress, from the cult of personality of Donald Trump to the anti-intellectual cancel culture and "speech commissars" rampant across American elite universities-- and wider society.

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One of America’s foremost political thinkers, Michael Walzer has written about a wide variety of topics in political theory and moral philosophy, including political obligation, just and unjust war, nationalism and ethnicity, economic justice, and the welfare state. He has played a critical role in the revival of a practical, issue-focused ethics and in the development of a pluralist approach to political and moral life. Walzer’s books include Just and Unjust Wars (1977), Spheres of Justice(1983), On Toleration (1997), Arguing About War (2004), and The Paradox of Liberation (2015); he served as co-editor of the political journal Dissent for more than three decades, retiring in 2014. Currently, he is working on issues having to do with international justice and the connection of religion and politics, and also on a collaborative project focused on the history of Jewish political thought. His book, The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions, was published in March of 2015, and his new book, A Foreign Policy for the Left, was published in 2018.