76. Small government and anti-elitism

Dr. Chiu received her bachelor’s from Smith College, her master’s from Northwestern, and her Ph.D. from Oxford University, all in English. Dr. Chiu is a critic of contemporary politics and philosophy, but not through traditional means. Her unique perspective instead comes from a literary point of view. Her research is conducted on how reform politics is represented in literature from the 18th to 20th century. Her most recent project on Thomas Paine has received national recognition, as she currently teaches the only class on Paine’s philosophy. Dr. Chiu has contributed to many articles, books, and other publications, her most recent being The Routledge Guidebook to Paine's Rights of Man. She is currently a professor at the New School, where she focuses on gender and identity, history, and political science. In her teachings of Thomas Paine, Dr. Chiu often revisits his old ideas with new perspectives. I urge you to focus on her concept of what Paine thought of as “small” or “limited government”, which was much more anti-elitist than most conservative schools of thought. I urge you to consider how this idea of anti-elite small government intertwines with modern conservatism, and how conservatives discuss limited government. Together, we discussed the Founding Father’s ideas for how to build a constitutional democracy, how personal versus national interests conflicted in the drafting of the Constitution, and how power originally became concentrated within elite circles. To check out more of our content, including our research and policy tools, visit our website: https://www.hgsss.org/