Sounds interesting!

I am in Vancouver right now and this is indeed happening…

Somewhat perversely, I am nostalgic for the days when GA Cohen complained that Rawls’s theory was *too* concerned with feasibility, facts, and the “real world“. I always thought that line of criticism was more interesting than 99% of the more recent anti-ideal theory attacks vs Rawls.

Normally when technology takes over something humans previously did, it significantly reduces errors. So: Many congratulations to AI for being truly innovative.

Happy tax day to all those who celebrate!

Couldn’t be more excited to be in New York on this day to discuss the global fight to tax the super rich with Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and @josephestiglitz.bsky.social

Great news for Hungary and the democratic world.
Bad news for pseudo-intellectual “post-liberal” theorists and authoritarian apologists everywhere.

Almost there…

Fart of the deal!

Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents fires President Jay Rothman The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents has voted to fire the leader of the state's public university system.

I'll shed no tears for Rothman but this seems a bit out of the blue. No public justification from the Regents? And why now?
I work at UWM but I'll be the first to confess that I don't follow the UW system that closely (not living in WI, I feel removed from what happens there, despite my paycheque).

When killing a "whole civilization" is your threat, you're the barbarian

My 2nd interview for “New Books in Philosophy” has been posted. It's with Andrew Lister about his book _Justice and Reciprocity_ (OUP, 2024).
newbooksnetwork.com/justice-and-...

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#philosophy
#poltheory
#polphil
#moralphil

⚜️Élections générales au Québec dans six mois jour pour jour (5 octobre 2026).

📊Liste des sondages au Québec : qc125.com/sondages.htm

Best wishes to Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, of London, Ontario, on today's moon mission!
As a fellow London Ontarian, it will be nice to have something to lord over those snooty "original" Londoners at long last...

April Fools Day. We need a complete news blackout as it’s too cognitively demanding this year to tell reality from hoax.

_Ethics_ has published my review of _Politicizing Political Liberalism: On the Containment of Illiberal and Antidemocratic Views_ by G Badano and A Nuti.
TLDR: It's a great book!
Link to the proof version of the review:
philpapers.org/archive/NEUR...

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#philosophy
#poltheory
#polphil

To be fair, the "Leap Manifesto" kneecapped the Alberta NDP a decade ago. So it's understandable that there aren't many positive feelings towards Lewis there.

Federal NDP elect filmmaker Avi Lewis as new leader Lewis, who was considered the front-runner in the contest, takes over leadership in a period of turbulence for the party

*sigh*
The wrong decision for the federal NDP IMO. But the federal party will be a non-factor in national politics for the foreseeable future in any case. My main worry about a Lewis-led NDP is that it will harm the viable provincial NDP parties (BC, Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, ON).
I hope I'm wrong.

DJT caught in a mousetrap called "Iran". The cheese is "Hubris". Cartoon by de Adder.

I was really looking forward to attending this tomorrow. The seminars I took with Cohen at Oxford decades ago (for my MPhil) made me decide to pursue political philosophy further (even though I disagreed with his views 90% of the time). Alas, my flight to Toronto was just cancelled. Argh!

Most NDP leadership candidates say they're in no hurry to become MPs National Newswatch: Canada's most comprehensive site for political news and views.

Good grief. These are not serious people -- except for McPherson, whom I voted for (in part) because she is an actual Member of Parliament.
Becoming an MP should be a top priority for any federal party leader. How can these people have so little understanding of the job they are seeking?

Ontarians, my people, what the F is wrong with you?!?

Trump to allies: “Which of you fucking losers wants to secure the Strait of Hormuz?” WASHINGTON D.C. - With the Strait of Hormuz shut down by Iranian forces following the U.S.-Israel-led invasion, President Donald Trump has publicly invited his "pathetic baby NATO allies" to send wars...

Trump to allies: “Which of you fucking losers wants to secure the Strait of Hormuz?”

Another day on the set of Downfall 2

RIP Jürgen Habermas.
One of the true giants of 20th (and 21st) C philosophy.

My MPhil thesis partially engaged with Habermas's philosophy.
I've never written on his work since, but it certainly helped to shape my intellectual development and overall philosophical outlook.

I’m supporting McPherson fwiw. Two reasons: (1) she’s actually an MP (Lewis has lost twice), and (2) she will not undermine the provincial parties where they still can compete for power (unlike Lewis, who harmed the Albertan NDP government).

Some cold, harsh truth:
“Jagmeet Singh … will almost certainly go down as the worst leader in the party’s history. Unfortunately for federal New Democrats, his competition there will probably come from … Avi Lewis, who seems determined to make the same mistakes.”

Honestly, I am absolutely disgusted by academics suggesting that AI can do the reading and writing for you. At a certain point, what you're bragging about is fraud. And in a broader sense, what you're contributing to is the erosion of knowledge and the destruction of trust in academic publishing.

Wow — Kudos!

Canada Is Already at War with the US—We Just Don’t Know It Yet | The Walrus Conflicts don’t always start with an invasion

A grim but important read…

MANCEPT Workshop on Theories of Public Reason Theories of Public Reason Panel at the 2026 MANCEPT Workshops in Political Theory, 2-4 September 2026  This panel seeks to bring together those working on issues related to public reason, broadly...

Another year, another Public Reason panel at MANCEPT.
This year MANCEPT takes place *before* Labour Day! So hopefully more people from North America will be able to take part.
Hope to see some of you in Manchester in six months!

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#philosophy
#poltheory
#polphil