Introduction

Welcome to the r/tuesday book club and Revolutions podcast thread!

Upcoming

Week 121: No More Vietnams Chapter 3 and The Shah Chapter 13

As follows is the scheduled reading a few weeks out:

Week 122: No More Vietnams Chapter 4 and The Shah Chapter 14

Week 123: No More Vietnams Chapters 5-6 and The Shah Chapter 15

Week 124: Republic (Plato) Chapters 1-2 and The Shah Chapter 16

More Information

The Full list of books are as follows:

Year 1:

• Classical Liberalism: A Primer
• The Road To Serfdom
• World Order
• Reflections on the Revolution in France
• Capitalism and Freedom
• Slightly To The Right
• Suicide of the West
• Conscience of a Conservative
• The Fractured Republic
• The Constitution of Liberty
• Empire​
• The Coddling of the American Mind

Year 2:

• Revolutions Podcast **(**the following readings will also have a small selection of episodes from the Revolutions podcast as well)
• The English Constitution
• The US Constitution
• The Federalist Papers
• A selection of The Anti-Federalist Papers
• The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution
• The Australian Constitution
• Democracy in America
• The July 4th special: Revisiting the Constitution and reading The Declaration of Independence
• Democracy in America (cont.)
• The Origins of Totalitarianism

Year 3:

• Colossus
• On China
• The Long Hangover
• No More Vietnams< - We are here
• Republic - Plato
• On Obligations - Cicero
• Closing of the American Mind
• The Theory of Moral Sentiments
• Extra Reading: The Shah
• Extra Reading: The Real North Korea
• Extra Reading: Jihad

Explanation of the 2024 readings and the authors: Tuesday Book Club 2024

Participation is open to anyone that would like to do so, the standard automod enforced rules around flair and top level comments have been turned off for threads with the "Book Club" flair.

The previous week's thread can be found here: The Long Hangover Chapter 12-Epilog and The Shah Chapter 11

The full book club discussion archive is located here: Book Club Archive

##INTRODUCTION

/r/tuesday is a political discussion sub for the right side of the political spectrum - from the center to the traditional/standard right (but not alt-right!) However, we're going for a big tent approach and welcome anyone with nuanced and non-standard views. We encourage dissents and discourse as long as it is accompanied with facts and evidence and is done in good faith and in a polite and respectful manner.

##PURPOSE OF THE DISCUSSION THREAD

Like in r/neoliberal and r/neoconnwo, you can talk about anything you want in the Discussion Thread. So, socialize with other people, talk about politics and conservatism, tell us about your day, shitpost or literally anything under the sun. In the DT, rules such as "stay on topic" and "no Shitposting/Memes/Politician-focused comments" don't apply.

It is my hope that we can foster a sense of community through the Discussion Thread.

##IMAGE FLAIRS

r/Tuesday will reward image flairs to people who write an effort post or an OC text post on certain subjects. It could be about philosophy, politics, economics, etc... Available image flairs can be seen here. If you have any special requests for specific flairs, please message the mods!

The list of previous effort posts can be found here

Previous Discussion Thread

This is my attempt at an "effort post". I hope you folks enjoy it and find it somewhat valuable.

American democracy has seen a rapid expansion over the past century or so. With the end of the indirect election of senators and the rise of the primary system for choosing nominees, the power of the average Joe voter is at it's zenith. While in the past our system had numerous guardrails in place to ward against the power of populists and demagogues, now those guardrails have largely been dismantled and left by the wayside. Now, in the era of populism that has predictably followed, we must ask ourselves how we can begin to restore sanity and intelligent discussion to our politics. The answer lies in this: as ones rights expand, so must their obligations.

While the power of the median voter has grown significantly over the past century or so, their associated obligations have not. The only civic obligations that most people are all that familiar with are paying taxes and casting votes. That's what many are taught is expected from them if they are to be good citizens. Yet, simply telling people to "get out the vote" is only half of what is necessary. While American citizens may have a right to vote, they also have an obligation to ensure that they cast informed, educated votes. All too often, Americans cast votes out of partisanship and anger, on the basis of misinformation or even ignorance. In a time when our Republic is struggling to remain healthy and maintain some sense of reasonableness, perhaps we should begin to tell our citizens that they have an obligation to vote *only* if they have done their homework first and that, if they have not, they have an obligation to stay home.

However, I doubt that such a thing would do much good at the end of the day. Many people view casting a vote in ignorance as a God given right and they will never accept an obligation to do otherwise. Thus, the best way to address this issue is through education. It's long past time to put civic education at the forefront of both public and private education. For too long, we have told generations of children that education is only so useful as it can be said to increase one's income. STEM has been placed on a pedestal as those subjects are often the ones that deliver the best ROI for college students in a time of astronomical tuition fees. While this may make sense on the individual level if one is considering only their own finances, it makes less sense for society as a whole. When children exit high school with little to no real knowledge of how we actually govern ourselves and perhaps even less appreciation for the great achievements of our system, it makes them all the more susceptible to charlatans that wish to sell them populist fantasies of massively expanded welfare programs, isolationist foreign policy, never ending trillion dollar deficits, and election denial.

No, this cannot be allowed to continue. If we are to embue the American voter with expanded rights and power, we must also ensure that they are up to the task of managing such things. While STEM is useful and should still be encouraged, it should not come at the cost of raising educated, informed, and politically mature citizens who have the knowledge and temperament necessary to wield such great influence over our beloved Republic. The Donald Trump's of the world depend on there being a sizeable chunk of the electorate that is ready and willing to accept and tolerate their lies, misrepresentations, deceptions, and half-baked "plans". Cut off this core source of support by endowing our citizens with proper critical thinking skills and a thorough civic education, and the age of demagoguery will soon be at it's end. We need, more than ever, to understand that education is not just useful as a tool for raising individual incomes or even for generating economic growth, but that it is absolutely vital to the health of our Republic, especially as the power of the median voter grows every decade.

A Republic if you can keep it, indeed.

Introduction

Welcome to the r/tuesday book club and Revolutions podcast thread!

Upcoming

Week 120: No More Vietnams Chapters 1-2 and The Shah Chapter 12

As follows is the scheduled reading a few weeks out:

Week 121: No More Vietnams Chapter 3 and The Shah Chapter 13

Week 122: No More Vietnams Chapter 4 and The Shah Chapter 14

Week 123: No More Vietnams Chapters 5-6 and The Shah Chapter 15

Week 124: Republic (Plato) Chapters 1-2 and The Shah Chapter 16

More Information

The Full list of books are as follows:

Year 1:

• Classical Liberalism: A Primer
• The Road To Serfdom
• World Order
• Reflections on the Revolution in France
• Capitalism and Freedom
• Slightly To The Right
• Suicide of the West
• Conscience of a Conservative
• The Fractured Republic
• The Constitution of Liberty
• Empire​
• The Coddling of the American Mind

Year 2:

• Revolutions Podcast **(**the following readings will also have a small selection of episodes from the Revolutions podcast as well)
• The English Constitution
• The US Constitution
• The Federalist Papers
• A selection of The Anti-Federalist Papers
• The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution
• The Australian Constitution
• Democracy in America
• The July 4th special: Revisiting the Constitution and reading The Declaration of Independence
• Democracy in America (cont.)
• The Origins of Totalitarianism

Year 3:

• Colossus
• On China
• The Long Hangover< - We are here
• No More Vietnams
• Republic - Plato
• On Obligations - Cicero
• Closing of the American Mind
• The Theory of Moral Sentiments
• Extra Reading: The Shah
• Extra Reading: The Real North Korea
• Extra Reading: Jihad

Explanation of the 2024 readings and the authors: Tuesday Book Club 2024

Participation is open to anyone that would like to do so, the standard automod enforced rules around flair and top level comments have been turned off for threads with the "Book Club" flair.

The previous week's thread can be found here: The Long Hangover Chapters 10-11 and The Shah Chapter 10

The full book club discussion archive is located here: Book Club Archive

##INTRODUCTION

/r/tuesday is a political discussion sub for the right side of the political spectrum - from the center to the traditional/standard right (but not alt-right!) However, we're going for a big tent approach and welcome anyone with nuanced and non-standard views. We encourage dissents and discourse as long as it is accompanied with facts and evidence and is done in good faith and in a polite and respectful manner.

##PURPOSE OF THE DISCUSSION THREAD

Like in r/neoliberal and r/neoconnwo, you can talk about anything you want in the Discussion Thread. So, socialize with other people, talk about politics and conservatism, tell us about your day, shitpost or literally anything under the sun. In the DT, rules such as "stay on topic" and "no Shitposting/Memes/Politician-focused comments" don't apply.

It is my hope that we can foster a sense of community through the Discussion Thread.

##IMAGE FLAIRS

r/Tuesday will reward image flairs to people who write an effort post or an OC text post on certain subjects. It could be about philosophy, politics, economics, etc... Available image flairs can be seen here. If you have any special requests for specific flairs, please message the mods!

The list of previous effort posts can be found here

Previous Discussion Thread

Introduction

Welcome to the r/tuesday book club and Revolutions podcast thread!

Upcoming

Week 119: The Long Hangover Chapter 12-Epilog and The Shah Chapter 11

As follows is the scheduled reading a few weeks out:

Week 120: No More Vietnams Chapters 1-2 and The Shah Chapter 12

Week 121: No More Vietnams Chapter 3 and The Shah Chapter 13

Week 122: No More Vietnams Chapter 4 and The Shah Chapter 14

Week 123: No More Vietnams Chapters 5-6 and The Shah Chapter 15

Week 124: Republic (Plato) Chapters 1-2 and The Shah Chapter 16

More Information

The Full list of books are as follows:

Year 1:

• Classical Liberalism: A Primer
• The Road To Serfdom
• World Order
• Reflections on the Revolution in France
• Capitalism and Freedom
• Slightly To The Right
• Suicide of the West
• Conscience of a Conservative
• The Fractured Republic
• The Constitution of Liberty
• Empire​
• The Coddling of the American Mind

Year 2:

• Revolutions Podcast **(**the following readings will also have a small selection of episodes from the Revolutions podcast as well)
• The English Constitution
• The US Constitution
• The Federalist Papers
• A selection of The Anti-Federalist Papers
• The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution
• The Australian Constitution
• Democracy in America
• The July 4th special: Revisiting the Constitution and reading The Declaration of Independence
• Democracy in America (cont.)
• The Origins of Totalitarianism

Year 3:

• Colossus
• On China
• The Long Hangover< - We are here
• No More Vietnams
• Republic - Plato
• On Obligations - Cicero
• Closing of the American Mind
• The Theory of Moral Sentiments
• Extra Reading: The Shah
• Extra Reading: The Real North Korea
• Extra Reading: Jihad

Explanation of the 2024 readings and the authors: Tuesday Book Club 2024

Participation is open to anyone that would like to do so, the standard automod enforced rules around flair and top level comments have been turned off for threads with the "Book Club" flair.

The previous week's thread can be found here: The Long Hangover Chapters 7-9 and The Shah Chapter 9

The full book club discussion archive is located here: Book Club Archive