0:00 Philip’s early work on post-nuclear war recovery
2:26 Philip’s skepticism toward the role of lawyers in the US
4:34 What’s wrong with the EPA, OSHA, and the EEOC?
6:59 How to ensure worker safety without “4,000 rules”
8:07 Why the US spends so much on healthcare
11:32 Philip: We’ve degenerated into a culture of distrust
14:58 The origins of American distrust
18:42 Re-instilling trust
21:38 The problems of national security and public health
26:57 Are public employee unions constitutional?
39:35 Market constraints don’t hold for government employees
34:55 Do public sector workers need protection from exploitation?
39:22 Philip: “Public service is repellant to good candidates”
40:58 A short history of the civil service
46:49 Is Philip inveighing against the Democratic Party and the labor movement at large?
53:12 Philip: Police unions prevent accountability, too
56:08 The necessity of a constitutional solution to public unions
1:00:58 Philip: The political organizing of public unions harms the public
1:04:46 Would the current Supreme Court be receptive to Philip’s case?
Recorded October 27, 2023
Links and Readings
Philip’s book, The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America
Philip’s book, Life Without Lawyers: Restoring Responsibility in America
Philip’s latest book, Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions
Edward Banfield’s book, The Moral Basis of a Backward Society
Robert Putnam’s book, Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy
Philip’s forthcoming book, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society
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