What is this blog about?


What is this blog about?

I am a political philosopher. My 'political philosophy' is a form of 'liberal egalitarianism.' So in this blog I reflect on various issues in political philosophy and politics (especially Canadian and American politics) from a liberal egalitarian perspective.

If you are curious about what I mean by 'liberal egalitarianism,' my views are strongly influenced by the conception of justice advanced by John Rawls. (So I sometimes refer to myself as a 'Rawlsian,' even though I disagree with Rawls on some matters.)

Astonishingly, I am paid to write and teach moral and political philosophy. I somehow manage to do this despite my akratic nature. Here is my faculty profile.

Monday, July 27, 2015

ALEC Rock

The political system of the contemporary United States is a de facto oligarchy (a ‘plutocracy,’ to be precise).  And the organization that shapes much of its legislation these days, especially at the state-level, is ALEC (the ‘American Legislative Exchange Council’).  The ‘model bills’ that ALEC drafts – and which subsequently often are passed with only minor tweaks by Republican-controlled state legislatures – aim at serving the interests and increasing the power of the wealthy (by weakening or destroying environmental protections, regulations on corporations, taxes on the wealthy, regulations on campaign contributions, and so forth), and at disempowering the less advantaged (by weakening or destroying collective bargaining rights, voting rights, local self-government, public education, workplace protections, and so forth).

This excellent cartoon – a spoof of the old ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ cartoon “I’m Just a Bill” – nicely summarizes what ALEC is about and its thoroughly negative impact on contemporary American politics.

3 comments:

  1. My familiarity with ALEC is based on experience: the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, is a member and champion of the organization. The consequences for Wisconsin have been horrific.

    For an excellent discussion of Walker (including his relationship with ALEC) see: http://www.thenation.com/article/get-ready-for-scott-walkerand-the-ruthless-politics-of-walkerism/

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  2. On how today's plutocrats (amazingly) see themselves as champions of justice ("We all justify our actions and rationalize our decisions, and no one thinks they're the villain of their own story"):
    http://prospect.org/article/why-koch-brothers-are-heroes-their-own-minds

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  3. More on Gov. Walker as ALEC's tool:
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/meet-alec-s-hoped-for-man-in-washington-scott-walker

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