archive21-22

Alan S. Kahan: "Mind vs. Money: The War Between Intellectuals and Capitalism"

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 19:04:22 +0000

Alan S. Kahan: "Mind vs. Money: The War Between Intellectuals and Capitalism" Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/27/2022 - 13:04

This event took place April 27, 2022 Watch Recording Here

About the Lecture

Concluding lecture of the 2021-22 "Capitalism and Ethics" lecture series, which explores the complex relationship between capitalism and ethics in American culture and in Western civilization more broadly. Topics include: "'Capitalism' Exhibits the Seven Primary Virtues"; “Ethics and Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Philanthropy”; "The Banker Who Brought Down the Old Regime: The Political Economy of Jacques Necker (1732-1804)"; "Two French Liberals on Commerce and Citizenship: Benjamin Constant and Alexis de Tocqueville"; and "Vilfredo Pareto, the Moralist." Lectures are archived on our YouTube channel.

About the Speaker

Alan S. Kahan is the visiting scholar in conservative thought and policy for the 2021-22 academic year and host of the "Capitalism and Ethics" series. Kahan, a historian, political theorist and author, is professor of British Civilization at the Université de Paris-Saclay. Kahan is the author of Aristocratic Liberalism: The Social and Political Thought of Jacob Burckhardt, John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville (Oxford, 1992); Liberalism in Nineteenth-Century Europe: the Political Culture of Limited Suffrage; Alexis de Tocqueville Palgrave, 2003); Mind vs. Money: The War Between Intellectuals and Capitalism (Transaction, 2010, Routledge 2017); and Tocqueville, Democracy, and Religion (Oxford, 2015). He is also the translator of Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the Revolution (Chicago, 2 vols. 1998, 2001) and Benjamin Constant’s Commentary on Filangieri's Works (Liberty Fund, 2015). He is currently working on Liberalism – An Incomplete History, which will be published by Princeton University Press. Kahan has lived in France since 2007. Previously he taught at Florida International University in Miami. He received his PhD in history from The University of Chicago in 1987. View Kahan's 2020 CU Boulder lecture, Tocqueville, Democracy, and Religion.

General Information

Parking information: Nearby lots include 327 (parking garage), 308 (open lot), and 430. Visit the CU campus map for parking options or find more info about short term parking at CU. Contact Parking Services at 303-735-PARK (7275) with questions.

Please note that masks are currently optional on the CU Boulder campus.

April 27, 2022

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Panel discussion on bipartisan climate solutions

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 19:31:00 +0000

Panel discussion on bipartisan climate solutions Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/14/2022 - 13:31

Took place on April 14, 2022.

Please join U.S. representatives Joe Neguse (D-Colorado, in person) and John Curtis (R-Utah, virtual) in a panel discussion about bipartisan climate solutions. Learn about the lawmakers' motivations for working on climate change issues, where they see opportunities for building consensus on efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and thoughts on reducing the political polarization of the issue. Recent CU Boulder Environmental Studies graduate Renae Marshall and CIRES Fellow Matt Burgess, Assistant Professor of Enviromental Studies and Benson Center Faculty Fellow, will moderate.

This event was co-sponsored by CIRES and the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization.

April 14, 2022

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Jonathan Anomaly: “Conformity in the Cathedral: Causes and Consequences of Groupthink in American Universities”

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 19:31:00 +0000

Jonathan Anomaly: “Conformity in the Cathedral: Causes and Consequences of Groupthink in American Universities” Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/11/2022 - 13:31

April 11, 2022 Watch the Lecture Here

About the Speaker

Jonathan Anomaly has taught at philosophy, politics, and economic (PPE) programs around the U.S., including the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, and the University of Arizona. He is co-author of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, published by Oxford University Press in 2015, and author of Creating Future People: The Ethics of Genetic Enhancement, published by Routledge in 2020. Anomaly earned a BA from UC Berkeley, an MA from Columbia University, and a PhD from Tulane University. Anomaly is a fellow of the Murphy Institute of Political Economy at Tulane University, and received several teaching awards at Duke University, including the "Spirit of Inquiry" award from the Martin Center for Academic Renewal. You can access his academic work at Google Scholar or ORCID.

About the Lecture

This talk focuses on ideological conformity in academia -- where it comes from, which issues are especially sensitive, and why it can be dangerous to enforce taboos around sensitive issues rather than encouraging different sides to openly debate them. How do academic taboos emerge, how are they sustained, and how they pervert the university’s core mission? Hosted by Daniel Jacobson.

April 11, 2022

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Alberto Mingardi: "Vilfredo Pareto, the Moralist"

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 20:06:38 +0000

Alberto Mingardi: "Vilfredo Pareto, the Moralist" Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/07/2022 - 14:06

April 7, 2022 Watch the Lecture Here

Part of the Benson Center's 2021-22 "Capitalism and Ethics" lecture series

About the Lecture

Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) is best remembered as a founding father of both modern sociology and contemporary, neoclassical economics. Yet, in an eventful and rich life, he came to scholarship quite late, in his 40s, after having been a passionate advocate of free market and democratic reforms in Italy. This lecture will explore Pareto’s encounter with politics and his outrage at Italy’s corruption and crony capitalism, and will argue that his political realism was actually forged in his experience of dealing with Italian politics. The lecture will present a sketch of Pareto’s liberalism, comparing his views with thinkers such as Frederic Bastiat, John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer.

About the Speaker

Alberto Mingardi is associate professor of the history of political thought at IULM University in Milan and a Presidential Scholar in Political Theory at Chapman University. He is Director General of the Italian free-market think tank Istituto Bruno Leoni, which he founded. He is also an adjunct fellow at the Cato Institute and Secretary of the Mont Pelerin Society. He blogs at EconLog. His last books available in English are Classical Liberalism and the Industrial Working Class: The Economic Thought of Thomas Hodgskin (London, 2020) and, with Deirdre N. McCloskey, The Myth of the Entrepreneurial State (Great Barrington, MD, 2020).

About the Series

General Information

Please note that masks are currently optional on the CU Boulder campus.

April 7, 2022

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Gianna Englert: "Two French Liberals on Commerce and Citizenship: Benjamin Constant and Alexis de Tocqueville"

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 20:45:50 +0000

Gianna Englert: "Two French Liberals on Commerce and Citizenship: Benjamin Constant and Alexis de Tocqueville" Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/07/2022 - 13:45

Part of the Benson Center's 2021-22 "Capitalism and Ethics" Lecture Series

About the Lecture

Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) and Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) are recognized today as two of the central figures in the development of French liberalism and of liberalism generally. Yet, their ideas are still rarely compared – in part because Tocqueville did not respond directly to his predecessor’s writings. This lecture will discuss the two liberals on the relationship between commerce and democracy, specifically between commerce and the extension of the right to vote in the nineteenth century. Both thinkers, in different ways, argued that changes in society and in the economy ought to alter the standards for who could vote, and, just as importantly, who could not. And both highlighted the possibilities and potential ills of commercial society and of democracy. Studying the two figures side-by-side illuminates contemporary questions regarding the intersection of capitalism and democratic politics.

About the Speaker

Gianna Englert is Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department at Southern Methodist University, where she teaches political theory and the history of political thought. She holds an MA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis and a PhD in Government from Georgetown University, and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Political Theory Project at Brown University. She has research interests in the history of liberalism (French and Anglo-American), with particular interests in themes of political inclusion and exclusion, citizenship, and political economy. Her work has been published in Polity, The Review of Politics, and Modern Intellectual History. Her book, Democracy Tamed: French Liberalism and The Politics of Suffrage, is under contract with Oxford University Press.

About the Series

This series explores the complex relationship between capitalism and ethics in American culture and in Western civilization more broadly. Topics include capitalism and virtue, the history of American philanthropy, and the relationship between ethics and economics, and capitalism and religion. Lectures will be in person and livestreamed, and archived on our YouTube channel. Hosted by Alan S. Kahan.

General Information

Please note that masks are currently required in public indoor spaces on the CU Boulder campus regardless of vaccination status.

March 7, 2022

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Steamboat Institute Campus Liberty Tour

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 21:00:00 +0000

Steamboat Institute Campus Liberty Tour Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/02/2022 - 14:00

The Campus Liberty Tour returns to the CU Boulder campus with a vital debate on energy and climate policy featuring Alex Epstein, president and founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, and Gen. Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, addressing the question: “Should America Rapidly Eliminate Fossil Fuel Use to Prevent Climate Catastrophe?”

March 2, 2022

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Andre Archie: "Identity Politics and Color-Blind Principles"

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 21:18:53 +0000

Andre Archie: "Identity Politics and Color-Blind Principles" Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/09/2022 - 14:18

About the Lecture

This lecture will discuss the importance of a broad, integrative national identity grounded in color-blind principles in combating the excesses of identity politics today. One only needs to think about the African American civil rights movement and the gay rights movement to understand what’s distinctive about earlier expressions of identity politics: they were grounded in a positive conception of America and its animating principles. Both movements sought equal protection before the law for their respective communities, and for their individual members to be treated with dignity and respect.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a powerful indictment against segregation precisely because it appeals to the same founding American documents and Western philosophical texts that some southerners used to support segregation. Early gay rights activists, too, appealed to founding documents like the Declaration of Independence to argue for individual rights. While it is true that identity politics informed the demands of these two communities, it is also true that both movements, at the time, appealed to a more comprehensive and inclusive national identity. Such an identity helped each movement gain much needed support from a broad swath of America. Unfortunately, the appeal to a national identity has fallen out of favor for a significant portion of individuals in these communities today.

About the Speaker

Andre Archie, associate professor of ancient Greek philosophy at Colorado State University, received his PhD from Duquesne University. His latest research focuses on methodological issues in Plato and Aristotle. Archie is the author of Politics in Socrates' Alcibiades: A Philosophical Account of Plato's Dialogue Alcibiades Major (Springer 2015). Archie's scholarship highlights the value of Classical Studies and how it can provide a much-needed perspective on topical issues that often get discussed glibly by today’s educators. Such issues are identity politics, race, family, and culture. Andre’s engagement with classical antiquity whole heartedly affirms its positive and civilizing values. His writings in these areas have appeared in National Review, The American Conservative, and Modern Age. He is currently working on a book manuscript that is under contract with Regnery titled, The Virtue of Color-Blindness: The Conservative Case for Reclaiming a Noble Racial Tradition.

General Information

Please note that masks are currently required in public indoor spaces on the CU Boulder campus regardless of vaccination status.

Feb. 9, 2022

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Helena Rosenblatt: “The Banker Who Brought Down the Old Regime: The Political Economy of Jacques Necker (1732-1804)”

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Helena Rosenblatt: “The Banker Who Brought Down the Old Regime: The Political Economy of Jacques Necker (1732-1804)” Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 11/27/2021 - 23:00

Nov. 30, 2021 | 6 p.m. MT | HUMN 135 | In-person and live stream | Free and open to the public Watch the Lecture Here

Part of the Benson Center's 2021-22 "Capitalism and Ethics" Lecture Series

About the Lecture

Jacques Necker was finance minister to the King of France, Louis XVI. Necker raised the loans that caused the debt crisis, and which, in turn, launched the French Revolution of 1789. Despite the fact that he was such an important figure, and an original thinker, his ideas have been relatively neglected until now. Necker’s life and work shed light on the origins, and nature, of French liberalism.

About the Speaker

Helena Rosenblatt is professor of history, political science and French at the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is the author of Rousseau and Geneva. From the First Discourse to the Social Contract, 1749-1762 (Cambridge University Press, 1997), Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion (Cambridge University Press, 2008) and, most recently, The Lost History of Liberalism from Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century (Princeton University Press, 2018).

About the Series

This series explores the complex relationship between capitalism and ethics in American culture and in Western civilization more broadly. Topics include capitalism and virtue, the history of American philanthropy, and the relationship between ethics and economics, and capitalism and religion. Lectures will be in person and livestreamed. Please note that masks are currently required in public indoor spaces on the CU Boulder campus regardless of vaccination status. Lectures available on our YouTube channel. Hosted by Alan S. Kahan.

Nov. 30, 2021

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The National Association of Scholars: "Civic Education: Liberalism and the Role of Virtue"

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 21:18:00 +0000

The National Association of Scholars: "Civic Education: Liberalism and the Role of Virtue" Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/17/2021 - 14:18

What does the history of liberalism teach us about the proper role of civic education?

About this Event

Americans of all stripes agree that civic education is an essential component of a well-functioning republic. Despite this, there is widespread disagreement about what that civic education should entail. Some believe it should focus on training students in the history of liberalism and of Western civilization, to provide them with the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary to be responsible members of our shared political life. Others believe the focus should be more forward-leaning, encouraging students to engage in democratic protests and to actively involve themselves in the political process.

To help us better understand the current debate on civic education in America, the National Association of Scholars and the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization have joined together to sponsor this event. As you attend, you will engage with us on questions such as:

What does the history of liberalism tell us about how to properly orient our civics education?

What role ought the study of Western civilization play in civics instruction?

How ought we think about the form and content of the civics education our students receive?

Event Speakers

Tim Fuller, Professor of Political Science and former Dean of Faculty and Chair of the Political Science Department at Colorado College.

Wilfred McClay, Professor of History at Hillsdale College and author of the widely used history textbook Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story.

About NAS

The National Association of Scholars, which upholds the standards of a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual freedom, searches for truth, and promotes virtuous citizenship.

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Bradley Smith: "Baker v. Carr and the Power to Vote"

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:40:06 +0000

Bradley Smith: "Baker v. Carr and the Power to Vote" Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/16/2021 - 14:40

Nov. 16, 2021 | 6 p.m. MT | Hellems 201 | In person and livestreamed | Free and open to the public Watch the Lecture Here

About the Lecture

Earl Warren called Baker v. Carr (1962) “the most vital” decision of his landmark, 16-year tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court—more important than Griswold v. Connecticut, Miranda v. Arizona, and even Brown v. Board of Education. Baker set the Court on a glide path that led to the “one person, one vote” standard enunciated in Reynolds v. Sims two years later, in the process finding the composition of most state legislatures to be unconstitutional. As Baker nears its 60^th anniversary, Bradley Smith reflects on the history and circumstances that gave rise to the decisions in Baker and its progeny, what the Court got right, what it got wrong, and how it has changed the way Americans think about voting and self-governance.

About the Speaker

Bradley A. Smith is the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Smith is the author or co-author of three books and numerous academic articles on democracy and election law. His 2000 book, Unfree Speech, was dubbed “the year’s most important book on governance” by columnist George Will. Smith previously held appointments as the Judge John T. Copenhaver Chair at West Virginia University College of Law, and as a Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. Smith served as Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission from 2000-2005, and as Chair of the Commission in 2004. Professor Smith earned his BA from Kalamazoo College and his JD from Harvard Law School, and holds an honorary doctorate from Augustana College.

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