Summary – Does Political Representation Make Sense?, with Gerard Casey
An interview with Dr. Gerard Casey about his article “The Indefensibility of Political Representation.” Dr. Casey introduces himself and recounts how he became a libertarian anarchist. He speaks about the idea of legitimate command and various options proposed to justify the state’s supposed authority. He summarizes some of his examination of political representation from his article. He also talks about what real democracy was like, and closes with a reflection on caring for the poor in a free society. [Episode 14 direct download]
Main Points of Discussion
| 00:00 | Introduction |
| 00:32 | Episode description Article discussed (25 min read), “The Indefensibility of Political Representation” by Dr. Gerard Casey Audio presentation (18 mins) |
| 01:51 | About Dr. Casey Wikipedia Academia page Video interviews by Dr. Casey |
| 05:18 | Libertarian conversion The Theory of Money and Credit by Ludwig von Mises |
| 10:07 | Principles of legitimate command |
| 15:11 | Options proposed to justify the state The main option in the West today is the idea of “representative” democracy, which is equated with self-governance |
| 17:54 | Hannah Pitkin‘s analysis and the basic incoherence of political representation The Concept of Representation by Hanna Pitkin |
| 25:44 | Inevitable bureaucratic obstacles BBC2’s “Yes Minister“ |
| 29:46 | Actual democracy and sortition Against Elections by David Van Reybrouck Jury nullification |
| 37:24 | Let The Poor Starve? Paper by Dr. Casey Also see video: How Govt “Solved” The Healthcare Crisis |
Additional Resources
- Books by Dr. Gerard Casey:
(2012) Libertarian Anarchy
(2013) Murray Rothbard
(2017) Freedom’s Progress? – a history of political thought
(2019) ZAP – free speech and tolerance in light of the Zero Aggression Principle
(2020) After #MeToo
(2021) Hidden Agender - Episode 7: Can Libertarians Be Conservatives?
