Topic: Despotism

The hosts analyze the definition of "civil society" as the sector outside of family, state, and market. They discuss five "enemies" of civil society, including despotism, the revival of Republican civic virtues, and specific forms of nationalism. They argue that the concept is designed to undermine traditional institutions like the church and the nation-state.

Following the death of novelist and essayist Gore Vidal, his long-standing critiques of the American political system are reviewed. Vidal's 1968 assertion that there is no fundamental difference between the two major parties and his 2003 warnings of a slide into a militarized "police state" are highlighted as prescient.