Listen now | We begin a deep dive into Jacques Ellul's "The Political Illusion," letting him pierce through many of the common misconceptions we have about the working of politics.
Here's a quick primer for anybody not currently aware of Ellul's work.
Here are some of the main arguments of "The Political Illusion":
* Modern politics is based on the illusion that it can solve all of our problems.
* The political illusion is created by a number of factors, including the technical and bureaucratic nature of modern politics, the centralization of power, and the ideological nature of political discourse.
* The political illusion has a number of negative consequences, including preventing us from recognizing the true nature of power, making us passive and apathetic in the face of political injustice, and leading us to believe that political solutions can solve all of our problems.
* In order to escape the political illusion, we need to develop a new understanding of politics as a limited and imperfect human activity, and we need to develop a more critical and skeptical attitude towards political discourse.
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The host provides helpful context and analysis to help explain and expand on some of Ellul's key philosophical ideas from his book "The Political Illusion."
Also providing background on Ellul and noting his other influential works on topics like propaganda and technology. This gives useful context for his political philosophy.
Summarizing Ellul's central argument that concepts like democracy and popular sovereignty are "illusions" that cannot truly exist in reality, especially at the national level.
Explaining Ellul's view that modern politics deals only with ephemeral current events and technical issues, leaving no room for real choices on deeper questions citizens care about.
Connecting Ellul's thoughts to current political debates, like conservatives' aversion to "culture war" topics which represent one of the few areas for public influence.
Noting how Ellul saw bureaucracy and experts increasingly ruling societies rather than citizens having political power.
Providing quotes from Ellul's work to directly illustrate his arguments while explaining their significance.
So in summary, the presenter helps the reader understand and apply Ellul's ideas to modern politics through context, analysis and relating his philosophy to ongoing discussions. This adds valuable insight beyond just summarizing Ellul's book.
As a personal aside, I enjoyed the show and thought you did a wonderful job bringing Ellul to a wider audience. Reminds me of the delight I had when reading Hans-Hermann Hoppe back in the day.
A competent lawyer will never ask a question for which he does not already know the answer. In the same way, a politician will not ask the voters a question which has not likely already been decided in the backrooms of power based on political kingmakers and “experts.” The instances where the system lashes out the most is when a decision is actually carried out by the people (just in a way that the system did not anticipate: think Brexit and Trump’s election). Even there, the bureaucracy goes to work so that there is even more non-European immigration in UK (with a new Indian prime minister) and the US barely did anything for the border as Trump was hamstrung by everyone. Having dropped my interest in politics generally, I find my mind much clearer and focused on matters of personal and spiritual interest. I believe the only way out is a spiritual rebirth, which is why the system has worked so hard to undermine true faith in the religious training of future ministers and in creating a perception of predation in all religious communities. Lastly, I wish we would somehow do away with the word “experts.” With that word, we have already given them the higher ground.
Here's a quick primer for anybody not currently aware of Ellul's work.
Here are some of the main arguments of "The Political Illusion":
* Modern politics is based on the illusion that it can solve all of our problems.
* The political illusion is created by a number of factors, including the technical and bureaucratic nature of modern politics, the centralization of power, and the ideological nature of political discourse.
* The political illusion has a number of negative consequences, including preventing us from recognizing the true nature of power, making us passive and apathetic in the face of political injustice, and leading us to believe that political solutions can solve all of our problems.
* In order to escape the political illusion, we need to develop a new understanding of politics as a limited and imperfect human activity, and we need to develop a more critical and skeptical attitude towards political discourse.
---
The host provides helpful context and analysis to help explain and expand on some of Ellul's key philosophical ideas from his book "The Political Illusion."
Also providing background on Ellul and noting his other influential works on topics like propaganda and technology. This gives useful context for his political philosophy.
Summarizing Ellul's central argument that concepts like democracy and popular sovereignty are "illusions" that cannot truly exist in reality, especially at the national level.
Explaining Ellul's view that modern politics deals only with ephemeral current events and technical issues, leaving no room for real choices on deeper questions citizens care about.
Connecting Ellul's thoughts to current political debates, like conservatives' aversion to "culture war" topics which represent one of the few areas for public influence.
Noting how Ellul saw bureaucracy and experts increasingly ruling societies rather than citizens having political power.
Providing quotes from Ellul's work to directly illustrate his arguments while explaining their significance.
So in summary, the presenter helps the reader understand and apply Ellul's ideas to modern politics through context, analysis and relating his philosophy to ongoing discussions. This adds valuable insight beyond just summarizing Ellul's book.
As a personal aside, I enjoyed the show and thought you did a wonderful job bringing Ellul to a wider audience. Reminds me of the delight I had when reading Hans-Hermann Hoppe back in the day.
A competent lawyer will never ask a question for which he does not already know the answer. In the same way, a politician will not ask the voters a question which has not likely already been decided in the backrooms of power based on political kingmakers and “experts.” The instances where the system lashes out the most is when a decision is actually carried out by the people (just in a way that the system did not anticipate: think Brexit and Trump’s election). Even there, the bureaucracy goes to work so that there is even more non-European immigration in UK (with a new Indian prime minister) and the US barely did anything for the border as Trump was hamstrung by everyone. Having dropped my interest in politics generally, I find my mind much clearer and focused on matters of personal and spiritual interest. I believe the only way out is a spiritual rebirth, which is why the system has worked so hard to undermine true faith in the religious training of future ministers and in creating a perception of predation in all religious communities. Lastly, I wish we would somehow do away with the word “experts.” With that word, we have already given them the higher ground.