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The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Time to end the disastrous democratic experiment? Nick Cohen talks to Jason Brennan

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2021

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If democracy is so great why does it keep producing such terrible results? Nick Cohen of The Observer talks to Georgetown University political philosopher Jason Brennan, author of Against Democracy, about what it means when sweeping democratic mandates arise from underinformed voters. Do people really vote on the basis of policy or simply to be part of the gang? Should you have to pass a test before you can vote? Would Jason criticise our system in front of a Belorussian protestor? And what can Iron Maiden teach us about what’s wrong with democracy? “A key problem is, the average voter basically knows nothing about politics…” “For most people, the act of voting is a little like kicking your dog because you’ve had a bad day at work.” “The average citizen in a democracy is much more authoritarian than the societies they live in. What’s checking them is the elites.”  “Why is it so good to live in liberal democracies? Is it because they’re democracies – or because they’re liberal?” “Voters aren’t stupid. It’s more a question of, Is it even worth my while for me to know this stuff?”  Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofrenijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

My name is Stan. I'm at. Nice to meet you. So you took up photography where? I've always loved

0:05.5

photography but I turn it into earning a living at 60. I enrolled on a day course.

0:11.8

Well college. I loved going to college. It's good you can retry. I'm enrolled on the day course. But college?

0:13.0

I loved going to college.

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It's good you can retrain and do something.

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look after theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello there everyone my name's Nick Cohen I'm a colonist on the observer and write for Far too many other publications and welcome

1:15.8

to the bunker. This is a bunker special series to get you through lockdown where I talk to authors of

1:22.3

interesting relevant important books.

1:25.0

I promise I've always made to use I'll never recommend a book that's just the

1:29.4

PhD thesis dressed up for publication but they're actually well-written and readable as well as being

1:36.1

important and interesting. And in that vein, I am delighted to welcome Jason Brennan,

1:41.2

a professor of economics, ethics and public policy at Georgetown University in the US and has written against democracy one of many books I should add.

1:52.0

There's been out in the past few years questioning basic

1:56.4

assumptions or if you like perhaps rather naive and romantic assumptions about democracy. Welcome Jason.

2:03.2

Hi, thanks very much for having me here. It's our pleasure. I mean a simple question to start off with.

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