Show notes
Join Harry and Philip as they conclude their discussion of myth and politics, re-examining the relationship between belief and material reality, and evaluating the prospects for a global social narrative.What is the relationship between material conditions and myth or belief in myth? Is a global myth or universal human social identity possible? What principal lesson can we learn about democracy from a discussion of political myths?Next week we'll be covering a new topic, so stay tuned!--To comment on this episode or sign up for our newsletter, click here.To listen to written articles from Spectacles read aloud, click here.Further ReadingImagined Communities, by Benedict Anderson."Anarchy is what States Make of It," by Alexander Wendt."Emmanuel Macron in his own words (English)," by The Economist.Readings from previous episodes in this series of Bird's Eye.Table of Contents00:00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping00:00:37 - Celebrities sing Imagine by John Lennon00:01:51 - Why the hell would we ever play that?00:02:59 - Today's topic00:03:21 - Main Questions00:00:33 - What is the relationship between myth and reality?00:04:16 - Is a global, rather than national, myth possible?00:04:42 - What is liberal democracy's greatest challenge regarding myth?00:06:22 - Series Recap and Refresher00:06:32 - Ep. 2: Myth & American Politics00:08:04 - Ep. 3: QAnon & The Future of American Myth— 00:12:09 - Post-truth politics00:19:15 - Ep. 1: The Basics of Myth & Politics00:20:04 - Global Myth00:20:22 - The history of non-national myths00:22:34 - The history of super-national myths: Christianity00:24:14 - The history of the growing scale of myth: Germany00:29:25 - Contemporary proofs for global myth: UN00:31:29 - Contemporary proofs for global myth: EU00:34:10 - The challenges of European myth-making00:37:27 - Contemporary failings of global myth: NATO00:42:51 - Alien invasion? Independence Day style global team-up?00:43:56 - The constant in-group/out-group dynamic: Christianity, Germany, EU00:47:35 - The shortcomings of global human myths, human rights00:50:05 - The role of assimilation00:51:28 - The force/cohesion dynamic in Christian Europe & Islamic empires00:55:18 - Myth as a key to free society00:57:14 - The Central Democratic Challenge with Myth00:58:08 - The promise of neither force nor cohesion01:00:00 - Liberalism's sneaky coercion01:01:28 - Why Liberal Democracy cannot escape myth01:07:15 - Signing Off
