About the Colloquium
How do economic inequalities affect public policy and the performance of American democracy? How does wealth shape the acquisition and use of political power? Is America an oligarchy—and, if so, what dangers does that pose? What are the opportunities for democratic reform?
To cast new light on these questions, Professor Samuel Bagg (Political Science, University of South Carolina) will discuss arguments from his new book The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy (Oxford University Press). The Dispersion of Power argues that the American state is thoroughly captured by oligarchic elites and that standard tools for addressing this problem are too easily co-opted by those same elites. Instead, rescuing democracy requires institutional design aimed specifically at making oligarchic capture more difficult; it also requires the development of organized countervailing power capable of contesting oligarchic capture.
Professors Naomi Scheinerman (Bioethics, Ohio State) and Vladimir Kogan (Political Science, Ohio State) will offer commentary and participate in a moderated discussion about the value of democracy and how best to safeguard it.
This colloquium is part of CEHV's 2023-24 COMPAS Directions series.
About the Guest Speaker
Samuel Bagg is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches political theory. He has also taught at the University of Oxford, McGill University, and Duke University, where he received his PhD in 2017. His book, The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy, was published in January by Oxford University Press, and his research in democratic theory has also appeared in the American Political Science Review; the American Journal of Political Science; the Journal of Politics; the Journal of Political Philosophy; and Dissent Magazine; among many other venues.
