Emancipation at Gunpoint

1min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The welfare state, even in its benevolent forms, often acts under coercion, influenced by historical pressures rather than inherent altruism. Significant advances in equal citizenship, like those from the French Revolution, emerged from the need to address societal upheaval. Similarly, the New Deal aimed to stabilize capitalism in the face of revolutionary threats. Although states do implement emancipatory measures, these actions typically arise from necessity rather than moral obligation, illustrating the tension between state power and social advancement.

In one of his final extended interviews, which was recorded three years before his recent death, the late anthropologist James C. Scott and Yascha Mounk discuss the need to be vigilant about the ways in which states do violence to individuals and societies.

James C. Scott was the Sterling professor of political science and anthropology at Yale University. Scott is the author of major works including Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed and Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and James Scott discuss whether we ought to give "two cheers" for anarchism, why the state is here to stay, and the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarit y .

Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight.

If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone.

Email: podcast@persuasion.community

Website: http://www.persuasion.community

Podcast production by Jack Shields, and Brendan Ruberry

Connect with us!

Spotify | Apple | Google

Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk & @joinpersuasion

Youtube: Yascha Mounk

LinkedIn: Persuasion Community

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices