Welcome! This is the blog accompanying the podcast “And now What? Doing Political Theory”. The podcast is all about inspiring you to ask your own questions. The blog is about helping you along the way. Each episode has its own page with further links and sources. You can find an archive of past episodes and even some extra thoughts once in a while. Use the menu on the right to get around or follow the tags if you’re interested in a particular topic. And don’t forget to follow me on Bluesky and the podcast on the podcast app of your choice. Comments are welcome and appreciated. Enjoy!
The dirty secret of governing
There is a secret to any form of rule that no one really talks about. Because it is really dangerous and it seems to be practically irrelevant. It is not, which is why no one who wants to control ever mentions it. But awareness of the secret matters. Because it leaves you in a very different situation than before. Curious? Listen to “Just a Thought”
Forced to be free – Rousseau, the general will and democracy’s challenge
Being forced to be free sounds ludicrous – until you read Rousseau and suddenly, it doesn’t just makes sense, it illuminates something that was much more obscure before. Namely, why democracy is such a strange yet remarkable system of government. And why democracy asks so much of us. Clearly, democracy is not easy or simple, I think, we all feel that.
The episode explains what Rousseau means by being forced to be free, what all that has to do with the general will and why that tells us something about democracy today, even though that is not Rousseau’s model at all. There would be so much more to say on Rousseau, but it turned out, the basic idea was fairly easy to explain. So this is not a particularly long episode. I encourage you, to comment, ask question and leave your critique of my approach here.
You can listen to the episode on a podcast app of your choice. Some direct links ar just to the right of this post. –>
You can find further links, as usual, on the episode page. And hope, you enjoy listening! Stay curious.
I did it!
The blog has moved and found its new home, hopefully a steady one. The truth is, this was a long time coming and I really needed to get it done.
This whole endeavour has been a steep learning curve for me, because, boy, hosting yourself is a whole new technical issue. But there is nothing quite as exhilarating as learning something new and realising that you can do it, isn’t there?
Anyway, I have also tried to make some improvements to the layout and the content. Some things I like a lot better. Some I still see room for improvement. If you see anything, that needs fixing or improving, let me know!
Introducing: Shorts
As I have done this podcast, the long form presents digestible bits on complex thinkers. One downside is, that I do not say some small things that are on my mind to keep to the point. But, I’ll make that an upside! I am introducing a short format – no more than 3-5 minutes, in which I explain one thought I find interesting, just one. The first is on
Marx and AI
Let me know what you think of the format and the episode! I really appreciate your feedback.
You might want to also listen to the long form episode on Marx. Just a thought.