Crispin Sartwell is a a Professor at Dickinson College, a philosopher, individualist anarchist and journalist. His books include Against the State: An Introduction to Anarchist Political Theory (2008) and How to Escape: Magic, Madness, Beauty, and Cynicism (2014). He is well-known for his work deconstructing social contract theory and other justifications for the existence of the state.
Why did I want to have Professor Sartwell on the show?
1. It's always nice to chat with a renegade academic, and to provide a platform for venting
2. Recent conversations with non-libertarians have me thinking about the "social contract"
3. The 2016 election is coming and the political conversation is getting scarier
Discussion Summary:
-Libertarian philosophy as check against electoral politics and the continued expansion of the state
-Why vote?
-Professor Sartwell's philosophical challenge: bring forth a reasonable argument for the existence of the state
-Social contract theory, Hobbs and Locke
-David Hume and Utilitarian arguments for government
-Democide, government in the 20th century: cased closed
-Liberty from the bottom up
-Collectivism skews reality
-People are schooled into the state, as "mirrors of the bureaucracy"
-Surviving and thriving in academia
Look Closer:
Crispin Sartwell, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispin_Sartwell
Eye of the Storm, Crispin Startwell's blog - http://eyeofthestorm.blogs.com/
The Left-Right Political Spectrum Is Bogus - http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/the-left-right-poli…
Fight With Your Friends About Politics - http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/08/against-consensus/3…