Cleon, Trump, and the Goodness of Demagoguery: An Exchange

There are times that the exchanges in the comments section are sufficiently interesting as to become worthy of their own post. I thought this exchange is one of those. The exchange is between Fred Baumann, who wrote this essay for us previously, and Bernard Dobski about Dobski’s essay. It’s unfortunate that more of our intellectual debates don’t have this character: Baumann: “In view of the fact that Trump, in my view at least, attempted usurpation of power through the Eastman memo and the pressure on the Vice President not to register the legally certified results of a national election, associating … Continue reading Cleon, Trump, and the Goodness of Demagoguery: An Exchange

Can Demagoguery be Good Sometimes? A Republican Defense of Trump

Bernard J. Dobski, Jr. is a Professor of Political Science at Assumption University in Worcester, MA where he teaches classes on political philosophy, American foreign policy, and international relations. He has published on classical political philosophy, Shakespeare and is currently … Continue reading Can Demagoguery be Good Sometimes? A Republican Defense of Trump

Citizenship or Followership? Democracy and Demagogy from an Aristotelian Perspective, by Joseph M. Knippenberg

Joseph M. Knippenberg is Professor of Politics at Oglethorpe University. His teaching and research interests include history of political philosophy, religion and politics, and contemporary liberal theory. Continue reading Citizenship or Followership? Democracy and Demagogy from an Aristotelian Perspective, by Joseph M. Knippenberg

Trump’s Anti-Constitutionalism

              I’ve said before that, although this site will try to be balanced politically, Donald Trump poses difficulties in maintaining that balance.  On a site whose very title indicates its commitment to constitutionalism, it is hard to defend Trump’s anti-constitutionalist behavior throughout his presidency.  There are political defenses of Trump’s policies.  To be perfectly honest, I generally prefer Republican policies, ie. deregulation, lower taxes, etc.. I also support the kinds of judges that Trump appointed while in office. I think yesterday’s SCOTUS decision against Texas’s ridiculous lawsuit illustrates well why these judges are good. Much to Trump’s apparent surprise, these … Continue reading Trump’s Anti-Constitutionalism