Political Philosophy

A discussion of the book An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture by Block, Brueggemann and McKnight, especially on the idea of the fear of death causing the consumer addiction, the loss of which can be quite disturbing: “Grief occurs to us because of the impossibility of perfection and immortality. The free market consumer ideology calls us to infinite possibility. It promises perfection (you can always improve your lot in life) and immortality (there is an answer to aging). This is its value proposition. Grow or die. Consume or be unhappy. The market is an engine for denial instead of grieving.” Some practical ways to depart are discussed.

In this second part of a series on the book “An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture” by Peter Block, Walter Brueggemann, and John McKnight, we get into the foreboding wilderness of covenantal community and the scary idea of neighborliness. Here’s a link to the Minimalists, mentioned at the beginning of the video. https://www.theminimalists.com/

This is the second reading of my new book, Ideological Possession and the Rise of the New Right: The Political Thought of Carl Jung. This is from the first chapter, which explains the basics of Jung’s psychological theories as they apply to political ideologies. My apologies for the slight hum in this video–too close to another device! You can find the book in paperback and e-book at many outlets, but here’s the link to the book (including rental option) at Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Ideological-Possession-and-the-Rise-of-the-New-Right-The-Political-Thought/Johnson/p/book/9781138082120

Part 1. Radical Christianity: An Other Kingdom. Block, Brueggemann and McKnight are authors of An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture. In this episode, I introduce their critique of today’s politicized and materialistic Christianity and begin to pose a radical break with the American entanglement of Christianity and the dominant civil religion.