Matthew McManus
Political scientist
13
MENTIONS
8
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 13 mentions across 8 episodes found for "Matthew McManus".
Oct 3, 2026
Aaron RabinowitzHOST
Yeah.
Aaron RabinowitzHOST
Now, w- you know, on the question of like what is the right terminology, what are, what are the right balances in this particular context, I'm sympathetic to a guy, Matt McManus is the name.
Aaron RabinowitzHOST
He's done a couple of books on basically lib- what he calls liberal socialism.
Ursa WrightHOST
Uh-huh.
Douglas LainHOST
No, right.
Douglas LainHOST
I just put out a podcast with Matt McManus and I ended up running a clip from a movie called Man for All Seasons.
Douglas LainHOST
Yeah, yeah, of course.
Douglas LainHOST
Thomas Moore.
Robert Chapman BrookingGUEST
But, uh, uh, I'm for a strong liberal and socialist alliance to combat against the rise of neo-fascism.
Robert Chapman BrookingGUEST
And I turn to Matt McManus on the writings on a theory of liberal socialism to really give strength to what abundant socialism would look like.
James HughesHOST
I'm a big fan of Matt McManus as well, and I do recommend that everyone, uh, subscribe to him and, uh, read Liberal Socialism.
James HughesHOST
It's a tradition that has been eclipsed by the rise of more authoritarian forms of socialism for the last 100 years, and we definitely need to, to bring it back.
James HughesHOST
Um, you proposed recently that DSA should endorse Marianne Williamson for president.
Janet BuftonGUEST
And, uh, Matt Zwolinski's, I think it'll still be his latest, uh, when this comes out, he also talks about, um, the way that our groups, the groups of people we're around affect the ideas in those groups.
Janet BuftonGUEST
And so if we're allied with a liberal socialist, for instance, uh, you and I, uh, both know Matt McManus and his work, we're gonna be incentivized not to talk as much about our disagreements with liberal socialism.
Janet BuftonGUEST
Uh, if we're work-- especially if the people on the other side from us are specifically not in that camp, right? Uh, it makes more sense to focus on what we're working on together and not to get into big public fights with the people that we're, that we're working with.
Janet BuftonGUEST
I think over time, that's just naturally going to affect the way that we think about the ideas that we're fighting for, and that's the reason that I wanted to write the essay because to, to me, when I look at politics and the way that people are struggling in the current realignment to kind of make heads or tails of people say, like, "Left and right don't mean anything anymore," or, "I never thought I would be aligned with so and so on this," when we're, when we're trying to figure all that out and why it feels so discordant, I think thinking about the way that our previous coalitions affect the way that we think about the world generally is really helpful.
Ben BurgisHOST
So that's going to be at Burning Books in Buffalo.
Ben BurgisHOST
I believe that's at 7 p.m., And then on Sunday, October 11th, I am going to be doing an event at Acapella Books in Atlanta with Matt McManus.
Ben BurgisHOST
And then two days after that, I'm going to be doing a second Atlanta event with Atlanta DSA at their office.
Ben BurgisHOST
And I think actually technically there's a sort of smaller reading group kind of one I said I'd do two days after that.
Ben BurgisGUEST
And you know, that we're all, all talking about the same thing, right, when we, when we talk about liberalism.
Ben BurgisGUEST
But of course, I mean, this is a word that, you know, historically and contemporary, you know, it's, it's, it's been, you know, it's been used to, to mean a lot of things, right? So there, there are times when Matt McManus, who you mentioned, you know, talks about, you know, what he means by it, a, what a lot of what he means by it is actually sort of, you know, enlightenment derived normative universalism that sure, right? I'm, I'm all, I'm all for that, right, you know? But-
C. Derick VarnHOST
Mm.
Ben BurgisGUEST
Uh, but pretty clearly when you talk about liberalism as a political current that is, you know, that's distinct from, you know, distinct from radicalism.
1 HR 25 MINS LATER
C. Derick VarnHOST
But it doesn't mean that it's not stupid.
Ben BurgisGUEST
Yeah.
C. Derick VarnHOST
So, so Matt sometimes, Matt McManus sometimes says that I call things stupid too much.
C. Derick VarnHOST
I'm like, "Well, I'm not necessarily saying that people believe it are unintelligent."
Douglas LainHOST
I'm going to say that one this time.
Douglas LainHOST
Head honcho here at Sublation Media, and with me today is Matt McManus.
Douglas LainHOST
Matt McManus is a freelance writer.
Douglas LainHOST
He's the assistant professor at Spelman College.
Douglas LainHOST
He's the author of the books The Political Right Inequality and The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism, amongst other books.
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If a ruling class is simply a normal feature of government, how do citizens force those leaders to respond to their needs? It is a quiet challenge to standard assumptions about political equality.
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Written by Matt McManus in The Unpopulist.
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Narrated for ARVA.
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Book review.