Category Archives: Political theory

Fighting political polarisation

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Nicholas Gruen

From this week’s Substack of mine. Thomas B. Edsall has an important writeup of research into reducing political polarisation. But to me it seems to be heading in an unhelpfully scientistic direction. Virtually all the researchers quoted examine the causal … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Sortition and citizens’ juries | Leave a comment

What kind of Character is Sam Bankman-Fried

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Nicholas Gruen

A friend sent me this article documenting Sam Bankman-Fried’s now well known text exchange with Vox journalist Kelsey Piper. I couldn’t help but think of Alasdair MacIntyre’s characters. As MacIntyre put it in After Virtue: What is specific to each culture … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Philosophy, Political theory | 2 Comments

Polarisation and the Case for Citizens’ Juries

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Nicholas Gruen

Cross posted from Quillette from 16 Feb 2019, but now behind a paywall. When a conversation is not a conversation: party political discourse in the early 21st century I It looks like liberal democracy is falling apart. The chaos of … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Ethics, Political theory, Politics - international, Sortition and citizens’ juries, Web and Government 2.0 | 6 Comments

The David Solomon Lecture: Government 2.0 a couple of years on . . .

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Nicholas Gruen

Finding a formatting mess when I looked this up on Troppo, I’ve reposted it here for the record. I’m a bit embarrassed by my wooden speaking style. Here’s the David Solomon Lecture I’ll be giving at the Brisbane Museum of … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics and public policy, Innovation, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - national, Sortition and citizens’ juries, Web and Government 2.0 | Leave a comment

Journalism as a system of domination: Peter Dutton edition

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Nicholas Gruen

.@FergusonNews asks Opposition Leader @PeterDutton_MP: What would prevent you now from taking the next step and that is backing the referendum on the Voice? #abc730 #auspol pic.twitter.com/ebAUd6uM7P — abc730 (@abc730) August 11, 2022 Peter Dutton is a human being. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Media, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national | 1 Comment

Should Liz Cheney be your hero?

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Nicholas Gruen

Like me, Leslie Cannold is deeply grateful for Liz Chaney right now — you know, the way she’s speaking truth to fruitcakery. Liz Cheney is my hero. On positions of policy, I disagree with her almost 100% of the time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international | 10 Comments

Economic Ideas and Policy Outcomes: Ross Garnaut’s Gruen Lecture

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Nicholas Gruen

Below is Ross Garnaut’s lecture in honour of my Dad. Economic Ideas and Policy Outcomes: Applications to Climate and Energy Fred Gruen signed up as Professor of Economics in the ANU’s Research School of Social Sciences in 1972, at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, History, Libertarian Musings, Philosophy, Political theory, Social Policy | 3 Comments