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Demagogues in History… and Today
You might be worried that in the US and Western Europe, there are some pretty scary folks that are getting pretty popular. Those folks–who appeal to our fears and hatred to get power–are called demagogues.
We’ve seen them throughout history, from the very first Democracy–Athens–up through today. Xander and Erik give a brief history of demagogues throughout history to show that we’ve seen this story before… and then we have a good conversation about what to do when we see demagoguery creeping in.
The Atlantic Makes ReConsider Great Again
In the Atlantic’s April 2017 issue there is a powerful read called “Making Athens Great Again.” It recounts the faltering of Athens with the execution of Socrates then its renewal with Plato’s creation of the Academy. It discusses why a nation with a sense of exceptionalism must include self-criticism and self-questioning to be worthy of itself. It is an article recounting an ancient history that is still relevant.
But it has some problems.