/429/ Reading Club: Treason of the Intellectuals (sample)
Bungacast6 Aug 2024

/429/ Reading Club: Treason of the Intellectuals (sample)

On Julien Benda's famous 1927 work.

[Patreon Exclusive]

We continue on the theme of 'Intellectuals and the Public' by discussing the often cited by little read The Treason of the Clerks. We ask:

  • If Benda was responding to the intellectuals' role in the Dreyfus Affair and WWI, was he already a man out of his time?

  • What are intellectuals' proper role in society? Can they be abstract universalist moralists?

  • Benda laments the end of humanism – can we endorse this lament, even if things are too far gone now?

  • Is Benda a centrist dad, urging us all not to get too passionate or engaged?

  • How do Benda’s ideas related to Gramsci’s notion of the traditional versus the organic intellectual?

  • If Benda was critical of the 'realism' of his day – as opposed to the detached ethics of pre-20th century intellectuals – how might we use Benda to critique the cynicism of today?

Readings:

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(400)

/552/ Bunga Live: Is History Back (Baby)?

/552/ Bunga Live: Is History Back (Baby)?

Audio from the live event held at Verdurin, London, on 28 May 2026. The OG Bunga Boys - Alex, George, and Phil - present their takes, followed by responses from contributing editor Lee Jones and frien...

1 Jun 2h 15min

/551/ Reading Club: Mythologies ft. Catherine Liu

/551/ Reading Club: Mythologies ft. Catherine Liu

On Roland Barthes' Mythologies. Alex, George, and contributing editor Catherine Liu delve into Barthes' 1957 classic to understand the form of ideology critique it proposes – and particularly as it re...

26 Mai 31min

/550/ The New Dollar Imperialism ft. Costas Lapavitsas

/550/ The New Dollar Imperialism ft. Costas Lapavitsas

On world money and war. Costas Lapavitsas, professor of economics at SOAS, London, talks to George and Alex about financialisation, arrested development, and the Strait of Hormuz. What is the state-...

19 Mai 1h 14min

History’s back, baby! (Event in London)

History’s back, baby! (Event in London)

History’s back, baby!  Thu 28 May, Verdurin, London Tickets: https://verdur.in/store/historys-back-baby-admission/   It is obvious today that the “end of history”, postulated by Francis Fukuyama in 19...

15 Mai 1min

/549/ Why Has Politics Genderised? ft. Ashley Frawley

/549/ Why Has Politics Genderised? ft. Ashley Frawley

On angry young women. Ashley Frawley, sociologist and senior editor at Compact, joins Alex and George to delve more deeply into young people's political polarisation on gender lines. Why is there a ...

12 Mai 32min

/548/ Post-Legitimate Society ft. Will Charles

/548/ Post-Legitimate Society ft. Will Charles

On the gig economy, big tech, and ideology. Sociologist Will Charles talks to Alex about a form of social organisation that has stopped trying to justify itself. How should the gig economy work and ...

5 Mai 36min

/547/ What Are the Politics of Stagnation? ft. Dylan Riley

/547/ What Are the Politics of Stagnation? ft. Dylan Riley

On political capitalism and divided workers. Sociology professor at UC Berkeley, Dylan Riley, talks to Alex and Lee about economic stagnation, the state propping up capitalism, and class politics. W...

28 Apr 1h 20min

/546/ Reading Club: Are We All Post-Liberal Now? ft. Geoff Shullenberger

/546/ Reading Club: Are We All Post-Liberal Now? ft. Geoff Shullenberger

On postliberalism, MacIntyre and Gray. How was the 1950s "end of ideology" (Bell, Lipset) different from the Fukuyaman 1990s "end of history"? Is John Gray correct in his characterisation of Alasd...

21 Apr 38min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
forklart
fotballpodden-2
stopp-verden
nokon-ma-ga
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
det-store-bildet
hanna-de-heldige
rss-gukild-johaug
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
rss-dannet-uten-piano
e24-podden
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk