Political Philosophy

I go beyond the vulnerabilities of the players involved in the Versailles Treaty to talk about their options. They had the option to do nothing, or to do only a small action to rectify the wrong, as well as the option of attempted obliteration of their enemies.. It’s hard to argue that the world not would be better off if they had chosen to do nothing, both at the beginning of the war and at the end, when they chose a punitive peace. Out of WWI came the Great Depression and WWII. What does that say to us–is there a lesson in this that we have not yet learned? I would argue that the biggest thing and the hardest thing, but the thing that shows real power, is to do nothing. For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

The first part of John Maynard Keynes’ 1919 book “The Economic Consequences of the Peace” attempts to remind the victors of WWI that the economies of Europe were deeply intertwined and especially driven by the economic powerhouse that was pre-War Germany. In doing so, he makes it clear that a “Carthaginian Peace” is unwise. He also expresses remarkably well how “unstable” or precarious countries are that rely on imports to feed their expanding populations. Such people tend to believe that there will never be an end to economic growth promising ever more prosperity. In the case of WWI, it was only this huge shock to the system that could remind people of that reality, and even with that, the victors were acting as if draining Germany of every resource needed for her recovery would not hurt the rest of the European economy and slow down recovery for all. The Versailles Treaty demonstrates how difficult it is for people to wake up from their “psychic dependence” on visions of inevitable and perpetual growth. We still suffer from this psychic dependence in our own way. For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

What do WWI and today’s culture wars have in common? Power-hungry, intransigence, scapegoating, paranoia, fear, mass-mentality, technological eclipse, and more. We haven’t progressed in over a century on our basic nature, but time is running out, as our technology continues to outstrip our ability to reason and cooperate by a lot. This is the first part of a series discussing the causes of intransigence, the consequences, and what it would take to stop that cycle so that we don’t destroy ourselves. I’m starting out with a discussion of John Maynard Keynes’ views on the Treaty of Versailles, which I will get into in more depth next week. For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

In this segment of my interview with Jeremy Cowan, an expert in organic and permaculture agriculture, we discuss our society’s prejudice against home, physical work, and native-grown food. We then discuss growing food nearby as a national security issue. Jeremy Cowan’s podcast “An Agrarian Perspective,” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5f1neDAqa1iKzSu8Dqxx2v?si=0CEMfzvfT5y54TvCzkFWNA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Jeremy’s interview of me on “An Agrarian Perspective:” https://open.spotify.com/episode/1n2RK4DXId1Wj1eNljxQa6?si=hd4i3Qn9RwatbYAlf4eHBw&dl_branch=1 For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

This is an introduction/head’s up to my next video series, which will start next week and will start with some thoughts on John Maynard Keynes’ The Economic Consequences of the Peace. The central questions: why is it so hard to forgive–what would be required? How can we keep from turning into the monsters we are fighting against (very important for getting of the culture war hamster wheel)? I approach the topic through some reflections on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, especially its TV adaptation. When June becomes a ferocious monster, we both admire her but also recognize that her transformation is not progress but regress. Such was the case with the allies’ imposition on Germany in the wake of WWI. For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

You know what they say… This is the third and final part of the interview I did with Dr Jeremy Cowan, an expert in organic and permaculture agriculture, we conclude our reflections on Distributism by breaking both taboos. In this one we deal with the role of religion and politics in changing the way we grow food, but we do more than that. We delve into questions such as why religion is often unhelpful and how it could be otherwise, why political divisions get in the way and what might solve that problem. We discuss the meaning of freedom and whether people really know what it means, etc. Jeremy Cowan’s podcast “An Agrarian Perspective,” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5f1neDAqa1iKzSu8Dqxx2v?si=0CEMfzvfT5y54TvCzkFWNA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Jeremy’s interview of me on “An Agrarian Perspective:” https://open.spotify.com/episode/1n2RK4DXId1Wj1eNljxQa6?si=hd4i3Qn9RwatbYAlf4eHBw&dl_branch=1 For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

This is the first part of a conversation I had with Jeremy Cowan, who participated in my Summer 2021 Seminar on the economic theory of Distributism. Dr Cowan is a specialist in organic agriculture with a strong interest in its relationship to politics and economics. In this part of the conversation, we get into the polarizing character of current politics and how it gets in the way of imagining turning towards Distributism or any other alternative to our current corporate-dominated and state-supported capitalism. We discuss the strong agrarian strain in Distributism and whether that is still a relevant direction to change in today’s world. Jeremy Cowan’s podcast “An Agrarian Perspective,” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5f1neDAqa1iKzSu8Dqxx2v?si=0CEMfzvfT5y54TvCzkFWNA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Jeremy’s interview of me on “An Agrarian Perspective:” https://open.spotify.com/episode/1n2RK4DXId1Wj1eNljxQa6?si=hd4i3Qn9RwatbYAlf4eHBw&dl_branch=1 For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

In this concluding segment from the 2021 Summer Seminar on Distributism, I discuss why it is so hard to imagine actually changing the economy in any meaningful way. Our capacity for collective action has been hollowed out and replaced by an expressive identity politics that cannot satisfy but works wonders to keep us all working and buying. It very effectively stops any real change from happening. The seemingly radical idea that contemporary protests are largely ineffectual and should be replaced by direct action is introduced. For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

This is a selection from the fourth part of a five part seminar on Distributism from Summer 2021. It covers Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day’s thoughts on the responsibility of Christians, true Christian community, and the correct attitude toward what we now recognize as capitalist realism. Day took very seriously the social teaching of the Catholic Church that emerged in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. This thought was critical of capitalism but also steered away from the emerging communist trends that were also materialist and concentrated power. Day’s considerable contribution was to apply her own learning on socialism, communism, anarchism and Christianity to help create a vision for an alternative to the great “isms” of her day and ours. My apologies for some sound glitches due to internet connection! My Heygo page, where you can find upcoming livestreams: https://www.heygo.com/laurie Information on the Summer seminar on Distributism: https://political-philosophy.com/institute-for-social-and-permaculture-inquiry/ For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future summer seminars:: https://forms.gle/WxikMpNx1M64GeTEA

This is a selection from the seminar I’m teaching on Distributism. For months now, thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting in an occupy-style encampment near Delhi. They fear that they are in danger of losing not only their livelihoods but their way of life due to changes in the laws leading to deregulation of the agricultural sector in India. They are worried that these changes will make many small farms financially impossible and will lead to a great agricultural consolidation into the hands of big agriculture, changing Indian food security and leaving them without the support of the land and extended families they have relied upon. These farmers are in the situation GK Chesterton saw unfolding in England in the early part of the 20th Century. Chesterton called for something like the Indian farmers want back–government regulation and aid to help maintain numerous and plentiful small farmers in an economy of cooperation with subsistence farming with a market element. The farmer protests are a test case as to whether people now can demand a different economic arrangement that protects and preserves food security and their way of life.