Political Theory 101

Épisodes

• Kojève & the End of History 06.04.2026 1h 33min

  We talk about Alexandre Kojève, whose reading of Hegel gave rise to a theory of recognition and of an "end of history". We also discuss Kojève's influence on Francis Fukuyama and on contemporary liberalism.
• Murray Edelman & Symbolic Politics 04.02.2026 1h 33min

  We discuss the work of American political scientist Murray Edelman, whose work on symbolic politics predates later French theory on the "spectacle".
• Clarence Streit and International Federalism 27.11.2025 1h 41min

  We discuss Streit's 1939 proposal for a international federation of democracies to avoid a new world war. We explore the limits of argumentation and the difference between making an argument and doing politics.
• Friedrich List and the National System 08.09.2025 1h 26min

  We discuss Friedrich List's many careers, his struggle for a German customs union, his belief that nationalism would lead to the "uniting of all nations under a common law of right", what happened instead, and why.
• Vico and the Concept of the Natural 06.07.2025 1h 22min

  We discuss Vico's theory of nature, his unorthodox mix of stereotypically ancient and modern approaches, and how his "new science" seems to be going so far.
• Hobbes' Behemoth 06.06.2025 1h 40min

  A whole episode of Political Theory 101 devoted to Thomas Hobbes' Behemoth. We discuss Hobbes' historical narrative and his theory of education, both of which receive little attention in Leviathan.
• Nick Land & the Politics of Acceleration (w/Michael Downs) 21.04.2025 1h 47min

  Michael Downs joins Benjamin to discuss the political thought of Nick Land, its relationship to the work of Deleuze and Guattari, and the degree to which it has influenced the contemporary left and right.
• The Politics of Plato's Parmenides 27.03.2025 1h 36min

  We discuss how Plato used dialectical thinking to deal with objections to the theory of the forms. Then we discuss how this kind of thinking enriches our ability to make use of all sorts of political concepts and abstractions.
• John Morley & the Politics of Compromise 05.03.2025 1h 27min

  We discuss the work of John Morley, a British viscount heavily involved in the government of Ireland and India during the late 19th and early 20th century. Morley was a liberal, but he was often in situations in which his liberalism was pushed to its limit. We discuss how he thought about liberty as a young man, and how he worked to put his beliefs into practice in difficult circumstances.
• The Politics of Plato's Philebus 22.12.2024 1h 57min

  Daniel joins Benjamin to discuss Plato's Philebus. We traverse the dialectic of limit and unlimit and discuss the difference between memory and recollection, connecting all of this to Plato's political thought.
• Clausewitz (w/Elizabeth Dearden-Williams) 20.11.2024 58min

  Elizabeth Dearden-Williams, a former student of mine from Cambridge who is currently pursuing a masters, comes on to discuss the work of the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz.
• Cutrone and the Party (w/Chris Cutrone) 08.10.2024 1h 40min

  Chris Cutrone joins Benjamin for a discussion of political parties, focusing on the role pluralism plays in Chris' thinking about party structure.
• John Milton as a Political Theorist (w/Raeffe Gibson) 02.08.2024 1h 8min

  John Milton isn't just the author of Paradise Lost! Raeffe Gibson makes a guest appearance to discuss his role in the English Civil War.
• Michael Pettis as a Political Theorist 16.06.2024 1h 6min

  Alex and Benjamin discuss the work of Michael Pettis, putting him in conversation with older theorists of imperialism like J.A. Hobson and Vladimir Lenin.
• Samuel Huntington 25.05.2024 1h 18min

  Alex and Benjamin discuss Huntington's early emphasis on centralization and institutions, his turn toward civilizational thinking, and the position of religion - and particularly Catholicism - in his account.
• Frédéric Bastiat 02.05.2024 1h 6min

  Alex and Benjamin explore the history of political thought from the point of view of Bastiat - who threw many ancient and enlightenment thinkers together into the basket of plunderers. If we think we come from God whole and complete, the need for civic education falls away...
• Terry Eagleton 16.04.2024 1h 4min

  Alex and Benjamin discuss Terry Eagleton's work, focusing on interactions between religion and Marxism in the context of the "end of history" - the 1990s and beyond.
• Tertullian 20.03.2024 1h 17min

  Alex and Benjamin discuss the Roman persecution of the Christians - why the Romans did it, how the Christians responded to it, and the ways the experience shaped Christian political thought going forward.
• Pocock & History in Political Theory 21.02.2024 1h 10min

  We explore the methodological contributions of the late historian of political thought, John Pocock. We talk about the role of language and context in interpreting texts, distinctions between "history" and "philosophy," and the implications of these methodological shifts for the political economy of the university.
• Murakami and Political Despair 06.02.2024 1h 2min

  Alex and Benjamin explore post-political themes in Haruki Murakami's rat tetralogy.