JTW Podcast: Late Modern Philosophy Part 1: The Roots of Continental Philosophy

 Today, we present “Part 1” of Professor Dave’s talk on Late Modern Philosophy.  As Professor Dave says, “Modern philosophy began to approach its final stages in the early 19th century as two important groups began to form. These are the continental and analytic traditions, and these two groups will guide our investigation for the next significant portion of the series. Let's start out by examining the roots of continental philosophy, by focusing on figures like Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Emerson, and Nietzsche.”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 39

 Much of this week’s news items wouldn’t be news items if the Economic Democracy Act: had been adopted.  Keep that in mind as you read:

The Trumpet Must Sound

 Today we have a guest blog from Mr. G.C. Stevenson, a regular reader who was the “prime mover” behind the republication of Fulton Sheen’s “long lost” classic, Freedom Under God.

Fulton Sheen’s Warning for a Nation in Moral Freefall

By G.C. Stevenson

JTW Podcast: Political Philosophy Part 2: Wollstonecraft, Bentham, Mill, and Marx

 Today, we present “Part 2” of Professor Dave’s talk on Political Philosophy.  As Professor Dave says, “We just got an introduction to modern political philosophy, so let's continue by looking at some additional important figures approaching the contemporary era. These are Mary Wollstonecraft, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx. This was a time when humanist ideas began to shape society, as marginalized groups began to seek rights, and critiques of capitalism arose. How did these figures come up with the ideas that would underscore much of the changes to come in the 20th century?”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 38

As has become usual, this week’s news items reflect the chaos of both Keynesian economics and contemporary politics.  Naturally, we think the way to correct the situation is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

What’s So Great About Louis Kelso?

 Louis O. Kelso is today best known as the inventor of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).  Despite the near-total global hegemony of Keynesian economics which assumes nothing can be done unless wealth is concentrated and government must be in charge of everything, the ESOP remains important to broaden the base of capital ownership.

JTW Podcast: Political Philosophy Part 1: Machiavelli, Rousseau, and Smith

Today, we present “Part 1” of Professor Dave’s talk on Political Philosophy.  As Professor Dave says, “With an understanding of the most important movements in modern philosophy, those being rationalism, empiricism, and idealism, we are ready to see how these modes of thought influenced politics, by examining the political philosophy of the era. Key early figures in this time were Niccoló Machiavelli, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith, among many others. What ideas were they working with at the time?:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 37

 There seems to be a focus this week on how a combination of AI and Trump’s tariffs are taking jobs.  Naturally, the solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, which we may have mentioned once or twice:

The Rich are Different

 Ordinary people’s reactions regarding the possibility of getting the Economic Democracy Act adopted soon — or at all, for that matter — often take the form of asserting “they” won’t go for it or allow it.  And who are “they”?  The rich, the powerful, those who rely on the rich and powerful or want to, or who are afraid of them.

What Would Trajan Do? Part II

 As we saw last week, Ancient Rome had a problem with slaves convicted of crimes doing the work of honest municipal slaves, receiving pay and benefits, and generally causing scandal by taking jobs from other slaves and foreigners.  Still, rather than simply get rid of the illegal slaves (which would have exacerbated the chronic labor shortage), the Emperor Trajan came up with a solution.

JTW Podcast: Idealism Part 2: Fichte, Schiller, Hegel, and Schelling

Today, we present “Part 2” of Professor Dave’s talk on Idealism.  As Professor Dave says, “We introduced the movement of idealism and discussed its most important early proponents, such as George Berkeley and Immanuel Kant. Now let's examine the key figures that were to follow, including Johann Fichte, Friedrich Schiller, Georg Hegel, and Friedrich Schelling. Where did they take these ideas? Let's find out!”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 36

 The global economic and political situation remains such that we could pretty much just run the News from the Network from the previous week, and some people wouldn’t even notice.  If you want to see something different, then, get Congress to adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

Who Will Own America?

Back at the dawn of the 20^th century, Judge Peter Stengar Grosscup (one of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Trust Busters”) published a series of articles on the importance of ordinary Americans becoming owners of the commercial, industrial, and agricultural productive wealth.  One of these articles was titled “Who Shall Own America?”, published in the December 1905 issue of The American Magazine.

JTW Podcast: Idealism Part 1: Berkeley and Kant

 Today, we present “Part 1” of Professor Dave’s talk on Idealism.  This starts to get into the area of what Catholic social teaching evolved directly to counter; in a sense, Emmanuel Kant did to Protestant Christianity what Félicité de Lamennais did to Catholic Christianity: remove individual intellect and make everything faith-based (to grossly oversimplify).