Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Over the past year, I have woven into my blog posts, strands of my personal pursuit for physical, emotional and spiritual well-being together with political philosophy, governance and stories of partisan games-playing. The content here is heavily influenced by my work as a Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, random articles and my podcast library. Has government distilled the value of each of us into an economic unit? One of the podcasts that has inspired me is  Philosophize This!  from  Stephen West . Each episode makes for a fine soundtrack to my morning walk. I recently listened to an  episode  summarizing the political theory of Hannah Arendt. West's podcast is a brilliant introduction to a range of philosophers and their perspectives. He skillfully distills thousands of pages of philosophical discourse into a 30-minute sound bite. It's always a gentle reminder of how much more reading I could be doing. ...

In a post last week, I addressed French philosopher Michel Foucault's work on discipline and punishment. Reflecting on how his studies in justice and social order show up in modern society. I included extensive quotes from the transcript of an episode of Philosophize This! by Stephen West. Today I will use the text to pivot to another issue which bothers. " To Foucault, the goal of the modern penal system is not justice or fairness … the goal is through surveillance, normalization and examination to produce harmless, non-rebellious, working, tax-paying productive citizens who follow the rules and are satisfied with a life of conforming to the normalized standard of what it is to be a person handed down to them from above … in other words, docile, useful subjects that carry out the vision for what the future should hold given to them by the people in power ." 'Dog-whistles' litter the modern political discourse, riling up segments of ...