Category: Liberalism | Page 4

424 – Left and right – A comparison / Our political culture of corruption

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Oct 292015

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Topics:
00:03 Left and Right – A comparison: characteristics of the left, media reaction to Canadian federal election results, leftists vs rightists, contrast in print – Toronto Star vs National Post
15:25 Star of the Left: Toronto Star editorial on Harper’s electoral loss, assertions of ‘misgovernance’, the left’s expressions of revulsion against Harper, characterizing the left as petty and vindictive, the left has no class
32:30 Our political culture of corruption: the West’s crisis of corruption, Ontario’s Kathleen Wynne and the teachers’ unions, forms of corruption, consequences of corruption, against what standard, examples of systemic corruption in political practice
48:30 Voting for corruption by corrupting the vote: the ideology of the non-ideological, contradiction as corruption, ‘war of ideology’, solving the problem of Canadian democracy, majority rule as an end rather than means, pragmatism, ideology matters, choosing between right and wrong, the contradiction of ‘non-partisanship’ and proportional representation 1:04:58 END

419 – Conservatively speaking / I’m migrant / Crony capitalist pigs

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Sep 242015

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Topics:
00:07 Conservatively speaking: Conservatives, war on drugs, Liberals indistinguishable from Conservatives, immigration is the distinguishing issue for Conservatives, cultural clashes with Western values, Pew Research Center, closing borders to Muslims as a security measure, reported numbers adhering to Islamist roots and Sharia law
16:05 I’m migrant: immigrants not refugees, staged photo op on Syrian crisis, mainstream media knee-jerk reactions, welfare shopping in Europe, the good and bad of Stephen Harper’s Conservatives
30:15 Will the real capitalist pigs please stand up? capitalist pigs vs capitalists, political pigs at the trough, crony capitalism, the Uber controversy in France
46:00 Pigging out on capitalism: the Uber controversy in London Ontario, denying the monopoly while defending it, the fixed pie theory, the fixed trough theory, a list of pigopolies, the private interests behind every government monopoly, 58:13 END

402 – The greater divide / The political god particle

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May 282015

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Topics:
00:07 The Greater Divide: conservatism vs freedom, comparative views – conservative – liberal – freedom, The Great Divide – Bill Gairdner, personal vs public, concept of self, individual vs group, Salim Mansur, individual sovereignty
20:45 Tyrannical democracy: freedom and rights, choice, freedom – democracy – totalitarianism, voting, majority rule, social freedom conflicting rights, democratic cycle
34:50 Definitions please: the problem with adjectives, comparative definitions, conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism
45:08 The political god particle: subjective views of god, supreme being, atheism and morality, floating political abstractions cause confusion and harm 56:49 END

401 – Guest: William Gairdner – Author of The Great Divide

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May 212015

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Topics
00:07 The Great Divide: clash between ideological forces, what’s beneath the surface, why liberals and conservatives will never agree, ideas vs politics, modern liberals vs classic liberalism, human nature, change agents, perfection, party politics, virtue liberals, individualism, equality liberals, from liberty to equality, sexual freedom, libertarian socialism
18:55 Feeling blue about red: theory vs practice, Liberal and Conservative contradictions, prostitution politics, politician vs statesman, more democracy but less freedom, concept of the self, self discipline vs self gratification, self-esteem, duty, we world vs me world, choice vs the common good, pornography, freedom not a good in itself
31:00 The great deviation: freedom as a guarantee of rights, freedom vs choice, the six freedoms, social beings, freedom as power, tyranny and democracy go hand-in-hand, the great deviation, society’s rights vs individual rights, libertarian position, the harm principle, individualism and the non-aggression principle, duties and obligations, conceptions of democracy, society and the next generations, rights – objective and subjective
44:45 Conceit in the moral arena: freedom guaranteed by restraint, libertarian conservatives, social conservatives, fiscal conservative, individual vs social freedom, views on morality, morality as a language, principles and facts before debate, an increasingly closed society, eternal discussion and debate, Canada-US divide, Obama is America’s Trudeau, conceits

392 – Political correctness / Capitalism? / Hydro monopoly

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Mar 192015

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Topics:
00:07 Ignorance is strength: redefining terms of the debate, political debate, redefining words, Orwellian tactics, progressive goal is ignorance, freedom, general welfare, niggardly slur, from rape to sexual assault, progressive language agenda, prostitute, whore, gypsy, exclusion of man, fisherman to fisher, actress to actor, womyn, changing public mind set and attitudes, gay, homosexual
12:55 Watch your language! changing language standards, retarded to slow to challenged to gifted, crippled to handicapped to special needs, beyond Orwellian, hidden insults in political correctness, fear of offending, Oriental to Asian, Merry Christmas to Seasons Greetings, spelling of words, center and centre, Webster’s political spelling, language sovereignty, plow vs plough, alternative spelling system, ignorance is strength
30:20 Crook-ed thinking about capitalism: keeping capitalism unknown, Glen Pearson, Mark Carney, World Economic Summit, inequality in world’s wealth, economic capital vs social capital, economic inequity – good and bad, collective ownership is communism, market fundamental
45:00 Hydro just One: Ontario’s electricity monopoly, from Ontario Hydro to Hydro One, private monopoly vs public monopoly, profit motive, power at cost, profit is production, peak electricity rates to rise, saving money through price increases, illusion of monopolized choice
59:31 END

388 – Guest: Salim Mansur

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Feb 192015

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Topics:
00:07 Seeking coherence on Islamist incoherence: Bill C-51, Canada’s role in Iraq, ISIS, Operation Impact, understanding the middle-east, transformation of Europe, 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, Just Right provides the proper discussion, are we at war, scales of war in history, a rational response with a rational explanation, armies and ideas in conflict, ISIS is a state in formation, containment
18:00 This is their fight: Who is winning the war, containment means that this is their fight, religion or governance, Is Bill C-51 a War Measures Act, conflicting cultures, science vs politics, 20th century Chinese revolution, emergence of democratic institutions, Islam in a massive theocratic upheaval, values of liberal democracy
32:00 Shifting attitudes: High-speed internet current events news, court decision on face coverings during citizenship oaths, public ahead of the government, confusing religion with cultural customs, Sharia law, Indian Supreme Court decision, protecting belief but not practice, white man’s guilt and self-loathing
43:40 Elitist disconnect: Charlie Hebdo, Muslims not in agreement with terrorist actions, sleeper cells and fifth columns, some unknown facts about the Charlie Hebdo killings, French colonial guilt, distorted the view of liberal, back to the collective, away from reason, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, Koran says no compulsion in religion, selling arms to Saudi Arabia 56:58 END

380 – White guilt / Male guilt / Sex sells / Spam sells

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Dec 112014

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Topics:
00:07 White guilt: collective guilt, being white a transgression, white guilt a political construction, Western ideals under attack, liberal abandonment of intellectual argument, spread of Western culture, attributing achievement to colour, official multiculturalism
13:10 Male guilt: race on television comedy and drama, comply or explain, bending corporate gender rules, consequences not defined, criteria not defined, chess rules, means and ends for more women on company boards, male guilt
28:28 Sex sells: Bill C-36 now law in Canada, sex workers, demanding no demand, prostitution, consent, Kathleen Wynne to investigate Bill C36, using sex to sell cars, female models as sex, political correctness, sexualization of products, rejection of sexuality, gender egalitarianism, sex appeal
45:40 Spam sells: Canadian anti-spam legislation, expected Charter challenges, Oakes test, follow the money on spam and prostitution laws 56:16 END