About this episode
Matthew Sweet explores the concept of 'might is right' through the lens of various political philosophers.
'The strong do what they will, the weak suffer what they must'. So claimed the powerful Athenians, according to the Ancient Greek historian Thucydides. Plato tried to demonstrate that might does not make right, and thinkers ever since, from Hobbes and Rousseau to Kant and Carl Schmitt, have placed the idea that might is right at the centre of their political philosophies, for better or worse. Matthew Sweet traces the intellectual history of the idea, with Angie Hobbs, Margaret MacMillan, Lea Ypi, and Hugo Drochon. Angie Hobbs' book Why Plato Matters Now, and Lea Ypi's book Indignity, are both out now, Hugo Drochon's book Elites And Democracy is published in March Producer: Luke Mulhall
People in this episode
Host: Matthew Sweet
Guests: Angie Hobbs, Margaret MacMillan, Lea Ypi, Hugo Drochon
Topics covered
- political philosophy
- might is right
- intellectual history
- ancient Greece
- ethics
- power dynamics
Keywords
- Thucydides
- Plato
- political philosophy
- might is right
- Hobbes
- Rousseau
- Kant
- Carl Schmitt
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Why Plato Matters Now, Indignity, Elites And Democracy
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