Who or what rules the world today? And by what right?
In this episode, your favorite philosophers-on-tap—Talia Bettcher, Rick Lee, and Leigh M. Johnson—pull back the curtain on one of political theory’s most enduring (and most elusive) concepts: sovereignty.
From dusty monarchs and divine right to corporations, constitutions, and contested rights, they explore how sovereignty continues to shape the world we live in—often in ways we no longer recognize. What is sovereign power? Can it be shared? Is the individual sovereign over themselves—or is that just a liberal fantasy? And in an age of global crises—climate catastrophe, AI proliferation, corporate overreach—does the nation-state still make sense at all?
References and Mentions:
Philosophers / Theorists:
Jean Bodin, Six Books of the Commonwealth (1576)
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762)
Baruch Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise (1670)
Carl Schmitt, Political Theology (1922)
Giorgio Agamben, Homo Sacer (1955)
Jacques Derrida, Rogues: Two Essays on Reason (2005)
Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended (1976)
Judith Butler, Precarious Life (2004)
Key Concepts:
Cultural Mentions:
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