Conversations

Discussions and Podcasts

James Madison: Politician or Political Theorist? Part II

June 18, 2017
James H. Read and Kevin R. C. Gutzman

Hamilton’s “interpreting the Constitution expansively” amounted to “ignoring the Constitution at pleasure.” Hamilton implied that Madison had done something nefarious by ceasing to support having the general government charter a bank after the US Constitution was implemented, but Hamilton here mischaracterized the situation: it was Hamilton, not Madison, who in regard to the same constitutional [...]

Are “All Men Created Equal” after Darwin? Part I

June 5, 2017
Ken Blanchard and Thomas J. Kaiser

I will begin by offering my interpretation of the problem. In the Declaration, the Continental Congress affirms an account of justice that is grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God. The content of that account includes the basic moral principle that all men have an equal right to life, liberty, and the [...]

Are “All Men Created Equal” after Darwin? Part II

June 4, 2017
Ken Blanchard and Thomas J. Kaiser

I think we agree on the most important things: the theological questions and that the natural right doctrine in the Declaration is sound. Our only large point of disagreement is the question of whether that doctrine requires an essentialist account of species. I argue that it does not, for a long list of reasons. The [...]

Author Interview with John T. Scott

May 25, 2017
The Political Theory Review

A Political Theory Review interview with John T. Scott, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis, about his new book, The Routledge Guidebook to Machiavelli’s The Prince (Routledge, 2016). Hear more interviews from The Political Theory Review.

Machiavelli’s Politics: Author Interview with Catherine H. Zuckert

May 4, 2017
The Political Theory Review

A Political Theory Review interview with Catherine Zuckert, Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, about her new book, Machiavelli’s Politics (University of Chicago Press, April 2017). Hear more interviews from The Political Theory Review.