Episode 27 - What's so Positive about Negative Rights?
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 03/19/2019
168 – The Perennial Burke with Daniel Klein
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
As Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is wont to do, here is yet another episode exploring the political and philosophical brilliance of Edmund Burke. But this time he is aided by scholar and professor Daniel Klein to examine the late writings of Burke’s life as Europe was descending into revolutionary chaos. What was Burke’s understanding of liberty and natural rights, and how did it differ from many of his more radical contemporaries? How did Burke distinguish between reforms that were constructive or destructive, and why did he seem so reluctant to use them in some...
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167 – The Woke Mind with Ryan Rogers
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
“I do not believe,” wrote F. A. Hayek in his book , “that the widely held conception of ‘social justice’ either describes a possible state of affairs or is even meaningful.” Hayek would complain “social” was a sort of “weasel word” that carried a lot of unexamined prescriptions. To call something “social justice” is to advocate for something without bothering to fully explore what that something might even be. What are the philosophical underpinnings of social justice? What does it practically mean, and how could it practically apply. And...
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Roundtable - Bullish or Bearish on Trump 2.0?
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Should conservatives be bullish or bearish on the incoming Trump administration? Will Trump 2.0 deliver us to the sunlit uplands of a prosperous free market economy, sensible immigration reform, and reductions in wasteful deficit spending and overbearing regulations? Or will America become a dreadful hellscape with an executive branch consistently thwarting its constitutional limits and a GOP-controlled congress refusing to hold them in check, federal departments and agencies run by charlatans and conspiracy theorists, trade wars and industrial policies that would make late 19th century...
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166 – Independent Idiosyncrasies with Brett Loyd
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
“The biggest takeaway from the 2024 election,” , is that “independents have officially broken the duopoly and now share the title of America’s largest political group with Republicans.” But what is an independent, exactly? What do they want and how are they different from those who proudly affiliate with the Republican or Democratic parties? And what might this portend for the future of American politics? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by pollster Brett Loyd to make sense of the rise of the independents in the electorate. About Brett Loyd...
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Roundtable - Election Night - Livestream
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Sure, the major news networks had all the "experts", but how many of them opined on what Buckley, Burke, or Kirk would think of the election results? Listen to Saving Elephants' livestream on election night as results come in from another stellar panel of cross-partisan contributors: , , , , Kent Straith, , John Giokaris, , and Steve Phelps.
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165 – Take Courage
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis flies this election day episode solo to offer his thoughts on how your vote is more likely to impact yourself than it is the races, having grace for those who choose to vote differently than we do, and why conservatives should take courage in a profoundly discouraging time. Special Election Night Livestream You’re already staying up late to watch the election results. Why not watch them with another august cross-partisan panel brought to you by Saving Elephants? Join us, beginning 9PM CST, as we analyze the results in real...
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Roundtable - Election 2024 - Home Stretch
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The most [assuredly not] important election of our lifetime is a little more than two weeks away. The candidates are in the home stretch as each of them make their final pitch to the dwindling undecided voter. Join another venerable group of panelists as we share our thoughts on the state of the race and our hopes and fears with a coming Harris or another Trump administration. Panelists include: Brooke Medina, Eric Kohn, Mike Taylor, and Nate Honorè
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164 – What is a Woman with Kimberly Ross
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Saving Elephants meticulously avoids many cringeworthy tropes in today’s “conservative” media and opts instead for deeper conversations on the conservative worldview and what it can offer Millennials. As such, there is much low-hanging-fruit among the fruitier parts of the Left that isn’t as vigorously explored as it is in the aforementioned “conservative” media. But that doesn’t mean these topics are off limits—just that they’re to be approached with conviction and clarity. Josh Lewis welcomes Kimberly Ross back to the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion...
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Roundtable - Vice Vice Baby
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance square off for the first—and likely only—vice presidential debate that’s sure to leave pundits chattering, social media accounts fighting, and late economists spinning in their graves. The debate begins at 9PM ET. Join us immediately following the debate for another livestream roundtable to restore some inkling of sanity back to this election. Panelists include Scott Howard, Jeffery Tyler Syck, and John Giokaris.
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163 – Where Does the Conservative Go from Here?
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In a world where both political parties are moving away from free market oriented policy solutions, a robust defense of our international allies, and traditional social norms, where does the conservative go from here? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by special returning guests Cal Davenport, Erik Kohn, and Justin Stapley for a roundtable discussion on what the future holds for the conservative movement. This episode first dropped as a livestream on the new Saving Elephants YouTube channel., featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here:
info_outlineIs healthcare a right or a privilege? As the Democratic party swings Left, more and more Americans—Millennials in particular—are growing comfortable with the idea that we have a right to healthcare. Not to mention free education, food, shelter, and a host of other things.
But before we can even hope to have a productive conversation about these things, we must first address some fundamentals: What is a right? How do rights differ from privileges? Where do rights come from? What is the basis of a right?
Traditional conservatism has long distinguished between what we might call negative rights and positive rights. In its most basic form, a negative right is the right to enjoy things that are yours by virtue of you being born or earning property. They are called “negative”, not because they are somehow pessimistic, but because no one has to do anything for you to enjoy these rights. Your right to exist and do what you will with the things you’ve earned and possess requires no government bureau. Nothing is required of anyone save that we leave each other well enough alone.
A positive right, on the other hand, is a claim to something such as access to healthcare, food, or shelter. A positive right requires that someone give you something. Your “right” to healthcare means someone else must pay for your healthcare and provide you whatever services your “right” entitles you to.
But what is the basis for our rights? Do negative and positive rights share the same basis and are they equally valid? Are they simply favors doled out by a benevolent government that wishes its citizens to enjoy good things? What happens if negative and positive rights conflict? Who should win out? And who gets to decide? Joining Josh once more is frequent Saving Elephants guest Bob Burch to discuss these very important issues.