Dr. Andrew Sabl recently wrote about the ways the constitution now encourages demagogues to be elected. He joined the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss populism, David Hume and why hypocrisy is a good thing. Sabl is a visiting professor of ethics, politics & economics and political science at Yale University.
Sabl said the founders created a system that was just as much about the people that they didn’t want elected, as it was about who they did. “More than Federalist Paper, says that it’s going to be difficult for a demagogue. For somebody who practices the low arts of popularity, as Hamilton put it, to get elected because they have to practice those arts in more than one state,” he said.
Domenech and Sabl discussed how both Bush and Obama have degraded the balance of powers to a degree as an executive, and how Congress is incentivized to pass responsibility to the agencies. “It’s a systemic problem. It’s widespread. It’s in both parties, and it’s not something that can really be corrected by just trying to make Congress stronger, in a way, under any future executive,” Domenech said.
Later in the hour, Sabl explains the premise behind his upcoming book on the virtues of hypocrisy. “My view is not that what people believe has no effect on how they act,” he said. “The question is what kind of effect does it have and on what level?”
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