Lyotard

More from Political Theory 101

1. 

   1 Dec 2023 · 1 hr 14 min

   Monks in the City

   Alex and Benjamin talk about the explosion of monasteries in late antiquity. As it turns out, withdrawing from politics can be yet another way of trying to do politics.

2. 

   15 Nov 2023 · 1 hr 9 min

   G.K. Chesterton & G.B. Shaw as Political Theorists

   Alex and Benjamin explore a debate G.K. Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw had a century ago concerning political economy, then we dive into their political writings.

3. 

   23 Oct 2023 · 1 hr 7 min

   Laclau

   Alex and Benjamin discuss Laclau's socialist strategy, populism, empty signifiers, and the relationship between Laclau's socialism and Marxism.

4. 

   19 Sep 2023 · 1 hr 7 min

   Deleuze & Guattari

   Alex and Benjamin explore the agonistic political thought of Deleuze and Guattari, focusing especially on their ideas about territory, change, and flow.

5. 

   28 Aug 2023 · 1 hr 19 min

   Althusser & Foucault, Ideology & Power

   Alex and Benjamin kick off a series on French political thought in the second half of the 20th century with an episode on ideology and power.

6. 

   14 Aug 2023 · 1 hr 40 min

   Free Speech with Doug Lain

   Alex and Benjamin bring on Doug Lain to talk about free speech in the 21st century. Doug offers his take on why free speech matters, and we discuss the political economy of speech and the role the state and civil society play in shaping public discussion. They also discuss his critique of Noam Chomsky and his interest in the work of Guy Debord.

7. 

   6 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 33 min

   Kojève & the End of History

   We talk about Alexandre Kojève, whose reading of Hegel gave rise to a theory of recognition and of an "end of history". We also discuss Kojève's influence on Francis Fukuyama and on contemporary liberalism.

8. 

   4 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 33 min

   Murray Edelman & Symbolic Politics

   We discuss the work of American political scientist Murray Edelman, whose work on symbolic politics predates later French theory on the "spectacle".

9. 

   27 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 41 min

   Clarence Streit and International Federalism

   We discuss Streit's 1939 proposal for a international federation of democracies to avoid a new world war. We explore the limits of argumentation and the difference between making an argument and doing politics.

10. 

    8 Sep 2025 · 1 hr 27 min

    Friedrich List and the National System

    We discuss Friedrich List's many careers, his struggle for a German customs union, his belief that nationalism would lead to the "uniting of all nations under a common law of right", what happened instead, and why.

Every episode of Political Theory 101 →