The Curious Task

Kevin Vallier — Can Polarization Be Reversed?

Alex Aragona speaks with Kevin Vallier as he explores the different tenets of political and social polarization, and whether the divisions we're seeing today can be reversed.

References from Episode 69 with Kevin Vallier

• Kevin Vallier is the author of Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation, Must Politics Be War?: Restoring Our Trust in Open Society, and Trust in a Polarized Age, which is the basis of this episode’s discussion. All books are available on Amazon Canada (titles hyperlinked).
• Kevin talks about the two empirical literature camps on social trust: one is the economics, lab-based games of trust; the second is macro-survey data provided by institutions such as the World Values Survey, the General Social Survey, the American National Election Studies, and barometers (Afrobarometer, Eurobarometer). All names are hyperlinked.
• This is a link to the Corporate Finance Institute’s overview of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
• Kevin briefly mentions the Georgia Secretary of State’s certification of the election outcome disputing voter fraud. A report of the Secretary of State’s statements can be read here.
• Here is a brief overview of the contact hypothesis by the American Psychological Association, which Kevin contrasted to in the podcast with a lack of contract enforcement and the ill-definition of property titles which do not result in economic interactions being trust-building.
• Kevin discusses legislation such as For the People Act of 2019 as a possible remedy to polarization. This specific Act contained legal rulings on automatic voter registration, delays in joining the private sector, and divestment requirements. It is available for reading on the United States’ Congress website at this link.

Sabine El-Chidiac — What Helps Refugees Succeed?

Alex Aragona speaks with Sabine El-Chidiac as she explores the different ways civil society solutions help refugees succeed when they move to their new home.

References from Episode 68 with Sabine El Chidiac

• You can find Sabine's work on this topic mentioned in the podcast at Police Options here
• The Government of Canada’s website contains a list of all the programs under which economic immigrants are admitted into Canada.
• Here is some more information about the express entry pathway.
• As Sabine noted in the podcast, admission under the Provincial Nominee Program is dependent upon what the destination province deems to be their biggest occupational and employment goals and needs. This link provides a brief overview of the program and hyperlinks to province-specific guidelines.
• You can read more about the UNHCR’s Refugee Status Designation process on their website here, as well as their procedural standards here.
• This is the link to the Government of Canada’s guide to the private refugee sponsorship process.
• Sabine mentioned the work of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto to accommodate and build a community for refugees by performing fundraisers and food drives amongst the parishioners. You can read their mission statement on their website.
• Sabine’s article, The success of the privately sponsored refugee system, discusses some of the themes from this podcast, such as the principle of civil society, and is available for reading on Policy Options.
• Here is a link to the Rapid Impact Evaluation of the Syrian Refugee Initiative developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2016. It compares the outcomes, living standards, and satisfaction of government and privately sponsored Syrian refugees between 2015-2016.
• This is a link to the joint statement to the UN General Assembly by the Ministers of Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, and New Zealand speaking in favour of community-led sponsorship approaches that Alex briefly mentions on the podcast.
• Here is a link to the official PSR cap published by the Government of Canada. Some examples of the lobbying against PSR caps include the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holders Association.
• Alex and Sabine discuss Danby Appliances’ CEO Jim Estill’s sponsorship and hiring of over fifty refugee families in Guelph, Ontario. You can read more about this in the article linked here.
• On the podcast, Sabine shares the inspiring story coming out of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia with regards to how the refugees who were once sponsored to the area eventually became systems of support for new incoming refugees. You can follow the community work for refugees in Haida Gwaii through one of their local newspaper’s website.

Tom Palmer — War, What Is It Good For?

Alex Aragona speaks with Tom Palmer as he explores the institutions and conditions that cause peace and war.

References from Episode 67 with Tom Palmer

• Tom Palmer’s book, Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice can be purchased on Amazon Canada at this link.
• Tom has additionally wrote and/or edited the following works:
  The Morality of Capitalism: What Your Professors Won't Tell You (link)
  After the Welfare State (link)
  Why Liberty (link)
  Self-Control or State Control? You Decide (link)
  Peace, Love, and Liberty - the basis of this episode from which many of quotes, interview references, and military case studies were selected (link)
  Dignity and Democracy with co-author Matt Warner (publication coming out next year)
• Erik Gartzke found that trading countries are less likely to war in his article, The Capitalist Peace, which is available online.
• Tom’s Interview with a Businessman for Peace with Chris Rufer on peacemaking in business and trade, appears in Chapter 4 of Peace, Love, and Liberty.
• Frédéric Bastiat’s was an economist and peace advocate who argued the costs of long-term consumption from tax-produced weaponry in his book, That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen, which can be read on the Mises Institute’s website.  
• Robert Higgs’ article, Wartime Prosperity? A Reassessment of the U.S. Economy in the 1940s, (featured in The Journal of Economic History) clarified how productive efforts in jeeps and vans shipped to other countries do not constitute economic benefit due to the lack of private vehicle production. This article can be accessed here through an active JSTOR account or your educational institution.
• Tom’s essay, Peace is a Choice, presents a case study on political science professor and former US government official Madeline Albright and her view of the exemplary nation and how professors have a tendency to think about wars differently than those who have witnessed them. This is a chapter in Peace, Love, and Liberty.
• A transcript of Colin Powell’s infamous 2003 speech to the United Nations on the disarmament of Iraq which touches on themes of human lives and consequence can be read on The Washington Post archives.
• Tom’s recommended two German novels of the Great War to enrich an understanding of war from different perspectives on anguish and glory, respectively: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich M. Remarque (link) and Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (link).
• Parker Thomas Moon’s book, Imperialism and World Politics, highlights the devaluation of important political science questions when personal pronouns are employed during conflict. This book is available on Google Books at this link.
• Joshua Greene’s book discussing our psychological propensities to cooperate and designate teams to destroy other groups, Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them is available on Amazon Canada for purchase here.
• Robert Musil’s book, The Man Without Qualities, explores how a nation exists to offset responsibilities without remorse and is available for purchase on Amazon at this link.
• Samuel P. Huntington’s study, The Clash of Civilizations?, noting how much territory is under military control can be viewed at this link through an active JSTOR or partner institution account.
• Tom cites Carl Schmitt and his theory on the irreconcilibity of conflicts as a foundation for solidarity in the podcast. An overview of Schmitt’s essential works was published by John P. McCormick from the University of Chicago in the Annual Review of Political Science at this link.
• Chapter Five of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, covering the types of friendships human beings can have, was briefly mentioned on the podcast and can be read at this link courtesy of McMaster University’s Faculty of Social Sciences.
• Ernesto Laclau emphasizes the importance of identifying the enemy for successful populist rhetoric in his book, On Populist Reason, available on Amazon Canada here.
• George Orwell’s essay on how language can be operationalized to “obscure pure violence,” Politics and the English Language, can be accessed online at this link.

Virginia Postrel — How Do Textiles Shape Society?

Alex Aragona speaks with Virginia Postrel as she explores how her newest book traces how textiles shaped our modern societies.

References from Episode 66 with Virginia Postrel

• Virgina Postrel is the author of The Power of Glamour: Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion; The Substance of Style: How The Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness; The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress, and The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, featuring the majority of this episode’s quotes and chapter references. All titles are available for order on Amazon (book titles are hyperlinked).
• Steve Horwitz’s book, Hayek's Modern Family: Classical Liberalism and the Evolution of Social Institutions, commentates gender roles over time and can be purchased from Amazon Canada at this link.
• Virginia mention’s David Friedman’s study on Medieval Iceland’s cloth currency and can be read here.
• John Styles, a historian of the industrial revolution, noted how Northern Italy outnumbered Lanarkshire’s water-powered factories in his work, Fashion, Textiles and the Origins of Industrial Revolution, available at this link.
• You can learn more about the Caraglio silk-throwing mill in Piedmont, Italy that Virgina recommends in the podcast at this link.