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Podcast: How positive and negative freedoms shape democracy

Podcast: How positive and negative freedoms shape democracy

From COVID-19 policies to reproductive rights, conversations about freedom and liberty seem to be front and center in politics and the culture wars. This week on "Democracy Works," we take a deep dive into the philosophical underpinnings of these concepts and how different interpretations of them impact our ability to sustain a democracy.

We also examine how bringing the idea of freedom into political debates can obscure what’s really at stake and make it difficult to come to meaningful resolution. Democracy Works host and McCourtney Institute for Democracy Managing Director Chris Beem talks with John Christman, professor of philosophy, political science, and women’s studies at Penn State and director of the Humanities Institute. He is the author of numerous articles and books in social and political philosophy, specializing in topics such as the social conception of the self, theories of justice and oppression, and the idea of freedom. He is the editor of the newly-published Positive Freedom: Past, Present, and Future. The book includes both historical studies of the idea of positive freedom and discussions of its connection to important contemporary issues in social and political philosophy.


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The Promise Presidency: How Trump Rewrote the Rules of Political Accountability

President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks to the media while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on September 05, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The Promise Presidency: How Trump Rewrote the Rules of Political Accountability

In the theater of American politics, promises are political capital. Most politicians make promises cautiously, knowing that if they fail to fulfill them, they will be held accountable

But Donald Trump has rewritten the script. He repeatedly offers sweeping vows, yet the results often don't follow; somehow, he escapes the day of reckoning.

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The Return of American Imperialism

Screenshot from a video moments before US forces struck a boat in international waters off Venezuela, September 2.

The Return of American Imperialism

The Trump administration’s recent airstrike on a small vessel in the southern Caribbean—allegedly carrying narcotics and members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang—was not just a military maneuver. It was a signal. A signal that American imperialism, long cloaked in diplomacy and economic influence, is now being rebranded as counterterrorism and narcotics enforcement.

President Trump announced the strike with characteristic bravado, claiming the vessel was operated by “Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists.”

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Countering Trump’s Alternate Reality

An image depicting a distorted or shattered mirror reflecting a distorted version of the American flag or iconic American landmarks

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Countering Trump’s Alternate Reality

It is common in non-Trump circles to describe Trump as an inveterate, congenital liar. Throughout his campaigns and his presidency, his distorted perspective on facts—or outright lies—have been the underpinning of his combative arguments, And his forceful, passionate statements, whether distortions or lies, have become the truth for his followers. All real news and truth is regarded as "fake." Such is the power of "the big lie."

There is no need to site examples; they are legion. Most recently, though, this was observed when he fired the Director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, claiming that the numbers were fudged. He felt he knew what the right numbers were.

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Zohran Mamdani , New York City, NYC

New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a rally at Lou Gehrig Plaza on September 02, 2025 in the South Bronx in New York City.

Getty Images, Michael M. Santiago

Beyond the Machinery of Betrayal

Zohran Mamdani’s improbable rise—from barely registering in the polls to winning a primary against all odds—has been called a miracle. A Muslim, unapologetically left, and unafraid to speak plainly about the Gaza genocide, Mamdani triumphed despite doing everything the political establishment insists is disqualifying. Against every expectation, he closed a thirty-point gap and prevailed.

And yet, as the establishment begins to circle around him, many on the left who have supported his anti-establishment insurgency feel the familiar sting of suspicion. We remember how Sanders faltered, how Warren splintered the movement, how Obama cut deals that weakened the base, how AOC voted for financing Israel’s Iron Dome even in the context of an unfolding genocide. Each disappointment reinforces the conviction that betrayal is inevitable. And the truth is that it is inevitable—not because politicians are uniquely weak or uniquely corrupt but because of the way our politics is currently structured.

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