It’s election season, and everyone seems to be extra motivated to get out, vote, and do their civic duty. And one reason may be that we feel overwhelmed by the state of our country and political polarization. We see people everywhere dehumanizing the “other side” and we ourselves are often guilty of the same. Is it possible that our relationship to politics is unhealthy? Dr. Chris Freiman thinks so and we sat down with him to understand why. Chris’s Book Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics suggests that we have a moral duty to ignore politics and put our energy into other ways to make society better. Is he right or is there something he’s missing? Listen and decide for yourself.

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Follow us:

Show Notes:

Chris’s Book: Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics

Preview a chapter of Chris’s book in his piece in Reason magazine

Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity by Liliana Mason

You can keep up with Chris’s writing on the blog 200 Proof Liberals.

Follow Chris and keep up with his work on his website.

About our guest:

Christopher Freiman is a graduate of Duke University (B.A. in Philosophy) and the University of Arizona (M.A., Ph.D. in Philosophy). Professor Freiman’s research interests include democratic theory, distributive justice, and immigration.

He is the author of Unequivocal Justice and Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics as well as numerous articles and book chapters. His work has appeared in venues such as the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Utilitas, The Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy.