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Temptations of Tyranny
Rod Dreher’s conflicted support for President Trump illustrates a broader crisis among intellectual conservatives who fear the "soft totalitarianism" of liberal institutions yet embrace the hard authoritarianism of executive overreach. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s political thought, the essay contends that true freedom is preserved not through charismatic leaders but through the multiplication and decentralization of citizen power. Revitalizing democracy, it argues, requires stubborn, local acts of collective governance rather than the dangerous temptation to concentrate authority in a single figure.04-27-2025
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The Danger in a Second Trump Presidency
Trump’s behavior threatens democracy not by outright authoritarianism but by subtly eroding trust and truth, undermining public faith in institutions and factual reality. This destabilizes democratic values from within, fostering a cynicism that weakens accountability and leaves democracy vulnerable to decay.10-27-2024
Tribalism & Cosmopolitanism
A talk given by Roger Berkowitz at “Tribalism and Cosmopolitanism: How Can We Imagine a Pluralist Politics.” Sponsored by the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College.10-20-2024
Real on Some Deeper Level
Hannah Arendt analyzed racism and antisemitism as secular ideologies that use minorities as scapegoats for societal problems, with antisemitism especially rooted in hatred toward the state. Modern antisemitism, on both the right and left, reflects ideological hatred tied to conspiracy theories, distrust of government, and narratives of state corruption, contributing to rising hostility toward marginalized groups.10-13-2024
Get Ready for the Arendt Center Confernce!
Roger Berkowitz, Lyndsey Stonebridge, and Uday Mehta joined WAMC Northeast Public Radio's The Roundtable to discuss some of the topics we’ll be delving into at our 16th annual fall conference on Tribalism and Cosmpolitanism this Thursday and Friday!10-13-2024
Another Cosmopolitanism
Roger Berkowitz explores Seyla Benhabib’s critique of Hannah Arendt’s skepticism regarding the idea of an International Criminal Court. Benhabib proposes a vision of cosmopolitan justice that transcends national boundaries, asserting that global norms should apply to individuals within a worldwide civil society. This perspective highlights the ongoing tension between global cosmopolitan ideals and the preservation of local, bounded communities, advocating for a dynamic balance between the two.10-06-2024
Intellectuals Running the Institutions
In an interview on the Quillette Podcast, Zoe Booth speaks with Roger Berkowitz about Hannah Arendt's views on the dangers of intellectuals in politics, her skepticism of metaphysical truths, and her belief that political and moral truths emerge through conversation in a shared world rather than being objective.10-06-2024
Many Friends Came With Us
Despite her rational, unemotional public persona, Arendt's poems—translated by Samantha Hill and Genese Grill—showcase her personal reflections, particularly on themes of friendship and farewells, influenced by her experiences fleeing Germany and other life-altering events.09-29-2024
Achilles, too, is a ‘speaker of great words’
Arendt’s historical analysis of speech before the polis prefigures her more focused and forceful treatment of speech and action in Chapter V. Connecting these two sections reveals something of Arendt’s unique sensibility for interpreting historical texts and figures, as well as her deft hand at weaving historical sources into her own positions. Even if we cannot know precisely what Arendt gleaned from Phoinix, I am grateful that her footnotes offer us a way to peer over her shoulder and share in her objects of wonder.09-26-2024
Impartiality and Objectivity
In Between Past and Future, Hannah Arendt explores the critical distinction between impartiality and objectivity, emphasizing the necessity of understanding multiple perspectives in both art and politics. Through her essays, Arendt reflects on how the dual totalitarian regimes and the Holocaust necessitate a reevaluation of our moral and political traditions, urging us to cultivate the practice of thinking without the constraints of historical norms. This book serves as an essential guide for navigating contemporary political discourse, advocating for a return to impartial judgment as a means of fostering a shared world amidst diversity.09-22-2024