Ep 259: Rediscovering Republicanism with John Nantz

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In this week’s episode John Nantz joins us to learn more about his book Rediscovering Republicanism: Renewing America with our Founding Vision and Values. We discuss the differences between uppercase and lowercase-r “republicanism,” as well as the “American Republicanism” system, the foundational virtues that make up our country, and how intellectual-progressivism has harmed these virtues.

As John points out, the founding fathers knew a republican system required three main things: For citizens to enjoy individual rights, while maintaining their individuality outside of politics; secondly, political power should never fall entirely to the federal government; and lastly, a robust civil society that incentivized private or volunteer services.
John also explained two very intriguing terms mentioned in his book: 1.) “Government Surcharge,” and 2.) “Windfall Politics.” He defined government surcharge as the costly and inefficient price you pay as a tax-paying citizen when depending upon the state for your goods and services; while windfall politics refers to the inability of the political class to properly manage social benefits – using the slow decline of social security since the 1930s as an example.
Based on what we see in America today it is hard to say whether these republican virtues have withstood the changes of time. However, according to Nantz there is still hope for renewing republican values in our governance – and they could help re-establish a more privatized and liberal society. Listen in to hear how he thinks we can change America for the better.
Show Notes:

 

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