Rethinking Politics

27: The Future of the GOP

Now that Trump is out of the White House and the Democrats have at least marginal control of Congress, what happens to the GOP? Normally, the next four years would be a chance for the party out of power to rally against the incumbent for the next election. But this time things are different. This time the GOP has fractured into two distinct groups that are going to have a hard time cooperating, even for an election. The likely result of this division is that the Republican party will not win the white house or gain control of congress for an unusually long time. Some of these political losses are unavoidable, but not all of them. In this episode, we discuss what can be done to fix this problem and other long term problems with the GOP at the same time.  

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Jacob Morch on Unsplash

26: Bias & The Information War

After the capitol riot and the ensuing media frenzy, wildly different accounts of the events have sprouted up like weeds. The problem today is not access to information, but discerning which information is accurate. In this episode, we discuss how to find reliable information in a world of information saturation. First, we need to understand our own biases and how they influence our thinking. We also need to understand the biases of our sources in order to assess the validity of their claims. Second, we need to learn to recognize the biases of the sources we listen to. We go through several specific political biases including: Love or Hate for Donald Trump, Anti-Racism, Anti-Sexism, Constitutionalism, Environmentalism, Anti-capitalism, Communism, Conspiracy Theorist, Pro-Freedom/Anti-Authoritarian, Elitism, and The Oppressed. Finally, we offer a few tips to identify reliable sources.

 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

25: Secession

Given the recent events at the capitol building and the growing divide between Americans of different political persuasions, it is time to rethink power at the national level. As it is now, more power is centralized with every new president and we see more and more anger, despair, and violence as that power is exercised by each side in turn. This is a cycle that can only end with national civil war.. Months ago, we proposed a solution to this problem in the form of Federalism. In this episode, we address the essential detail that makes federalism functional: the right to secede. We argue that secession is a moral right based on the concept of self determination and rule by the consent of the governed. Without secession, federalism has no teeth. With secession, there is an out for citizens who are being oppressed. We also address the most common arguments against secession such as: 1: Secession is unconstitutional. 2: Secession is a threat to our national security 3: Secession is a tool of oppression or racist 4: Secession cannot be done peacefully. And More.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod
Photo: Harun Tan from Pexels

24: Patents & Intellectual Property

Patents - Why talk about such a boring subject you ask? Because sometimes the most mundane things can have a large impact on your everyday life, and Patents are one of those things. Patents have extensive effects on things like the features and types of phones you can buy, the monopoly prices of medicine, and the scope of scientific progress. We start with the moral defense of patents and weigh the idea of knowledge as defensible property. Then we address the practical claim that patents encourage innovation and are thus justified by their benefit to society. We then point to a variety of ways that patent laws create a legal game which actually hinders innovation and distorts the market.  Finally, we argue that the moral problems with intellectual property guarantee the practical problems because a system that doesn’t get human nature and natural law right will not work.  

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

23: Covid-19 & Our Pandemic Response

In our first ever follow up episode, we return to Covid-19. In this episode, we recap our previous discussion of individual risk assessment and offer some numbers to help you begin to assess yourself and those around you. We then consider a theory of viral behavior we hadn’t heard fully until recently that accounts for the trends of the virus we have seen thus far, including otherwise odd downturns or spikes and the second wave that is happening now in many places. Though this explanation is partially new to us, it is actually the basis of the pandemic guidelines that have been quietly discarded in most places this year. This information on viral behavior also explains the impact of government responses, including lockdowns and similar restrictions, and points us towards better responses that improve health against viral infections. We also discuss some of the hidden costs and trade-offs of our policies before finally explaining some of the political incentives and motivations that lead politicians to benefit from fear.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: CDC Public Health Image Library

22: Free Trade, Fair Trade, & The Trade War

This is a topic that is usually discussed in superficial terms and misleading data. There are countless historical examples and many ways to calculate the effects of trade deals. Rather than give the standard talking points with cherry picked statistics, we dig under the common talking points and discuss the logical implications of the ideas on exchange. We discuss the trade war with China, international deficits, the effects of trade deals on jobs and industries, the purpose of fair trade and how it differs from free trade, and the corruption of political systems that supports protectionism.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Image: Tumisu from Pixabay

21: The Case For Open Immigration

Here it is, the episode topic you've been waiting for this entire election: Immigration. Instead of delving into common debate topics like who built what or trying to win partisan points by blaming parties for problems, we focus on the ideas and principles behind immigration policy. Primarily, we focus on the moral justification for open immigration and the myriad concerns against it such as immigrants: taking advantage of health care and welfare, taking jobs, increasing crime, overwhelming the infrastructure. changing the culture, and the ramifications on voting.

 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

20: Voting Trends & The Future of the Parties

Exit Polls are the last poll of an election and the most important poll to predict future elections. We analyze trends and anomalies in voting revealed by the exit polls which point to significant shifts in the two parties. This election is not like previous elections in major ways. These shifts will be followed by ideological changes in the party platforms that could significantly restructure the political landscape over the next few years. These trends also show the degree to which popular political messages and the madness of 2020 have succeeded or failed to persuade voters. We discuss things like personality predictors of politics, political differences between men and women, the breakdown of wealth and voting, the correlation between college and voting, and much more.

 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Elliot Stallion on Unsplash

 

2020 Election Week Update

2020 Election Update

Although we were not able to record a full episode this week, we wanted to share a brief update on the unfolding election. As the vote counting continues into day two, we discuss the fact that although annoying, this isn't that unusual. Also, given the divided house and senate, the winner will have his hands tied. So as the country holds its collective breath, we don't have to fear a civil war or large scale changes.

Hang in there and tune in next week for our full episode!

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: The Associated Press

19: Second Presidential Debate & the Election

With only days left before November 3rd, we take our last look at the election as well as at last week's debate. We do a breakdown of the policy differences and similarities between the two candidates in preparation for the moment when we collectively find out who will be the President of the United States for the next four years. By doing so, we hope not only to inform but to remind, that although they are different, the differences between these two candidates are not as earth shattering as it may seem. On topics like Covid 19, Foreign Policy, and Immigration, whether we have Joe Biden or Donald Trump will matter very little for various reasons. And so, we offer some comfort mixed with cynicism, come November 3rd. 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Photo: Element5 Digital on Unsplash