Ep. 2 Toward a Politics of Uncertainty w/ Daniel Wortel-London
In the process of creating political worldviews, there are a variety of values we integrate and use as foundational. Liberty, equality, fraternity, and solidarity are commonly held political values in both the United States and Europe. But what might it look like for one to create a political worldview informed by uncertainty, not just as a reality of life to be accepted, but even as a central guiding principle in one’s politics?
In this episode of Damn the Absolute!, Jeffrey Howard talks with Daniel Wortel-London. Daniel is a historian of urban economics and political economy based in New York City. He received his Phd from NYU in 2020. Together they examine how a cadre of thinkers around the turn of the twentieth century, including the pragmatist philosopher John Dewey, created a political, ethical, and philosophical framework with uncertainty at its center.
They consider the benefits and dangers of a politics of uncertainty and what we can do to engage with uncertainty in an intelligent and non-dogmatic way. This discussion includes forays into land value taxes, social democratic policies, and progressive politics.
Show Notes:
Howard Zinn https://bit.ly/3hcAoiy
Michel Foucault https://stanford.io/3bwyB4z
"Essential vs. Accidental Properties" from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2016) https://stanford.io/3y0YfaY
The Public and Its Problems by John Dewey (1954) https://bit.ly/3txh0zA
"Twilight of Idols" by Randolph Bourne (1917) https://bit.ly/3uEtzdO
Uncertain Victory: Social Democracy and Progressivism in European and American Thought, 1870-1920 by James T. Kloppenberg (1986) https://bit.ly/3vQx1C4
The Promise of Pragmatism: Modernism and the Crisis of Knowledge and Authority by John Patrick Diggins (1994) https://bit.ly/3f9jkY2
"A Land Value Tax Fosters Stronger Communities" by Matthew Downhour (2020) https://bit.ly/2QXPQoj
Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James (1907) https://bit.ly/33x5Joh
Henry George https://bit.ly/2Q1yCWo
Max Weber https://stanford.io/2RI6rMz
"The Uses of Anger" by Audre Lorde (1981) https://bit.ly/33qXfix
"The Uses of Binary Thinking" by Peter Elbow (1993) https://bit.ly/3vWQalJ
John Dewey https://stanford.io/3h8NHke
W.E.B. Du Bois https://stanford.io/3y1bFDM
Karl Marx https://stanford.io/3o05TxG