121 | Cornel West on What Democracy Is and Should Be

<p>This episode is published on November 2, 2020, the day before an historic election in the United States. An election that comes amidst growing worries about the future of democratic governance, as well as explicit claims that democracy is intrinsically unfair, inefficient, or ill-suited to the modern world. What better time to take a step back and think about the foundations of democracy? Cornel West is a well-known philosopher and public intellectual who has written extensively about race and class in America. He is also deeply interested in democracy, both in theory and in practice. We talk about what makes democracy worth fighting for, the different traditions that inform it, and the kinds of engagement it demands of its citizens.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Cornel West received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University as well as Professor Emeritus at Princeton. He is the author of numerous books, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780807008836" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Race Matters</em></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143035831" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Democracy Matters</em></a>. He is a frequent guest on the Bill Maher Show, CNN, C-Span, and Democracy Now, appeared in the&nbsp;<em>Matrix</em>&nbsp;trilogy, and has produced three spoken-word albums. He is the co-host, with Tricia Rose, of&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tight-rope/id1524242837" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Tight Rope podcast</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.cornelwest.com/#" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li><li><a href="https://philosophy.fas.harvard.edu/people/cornel-r-west" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harvard web page</a><