EPISODE · Aug 16, 2026 · 2H 8M
Anti-Dictator The Discours sur la servitude voluntaire-Étienne de La Boétie
from Phaedrus
"Anti-Dictator: The Discours sur la servitude volontaire" by Étienne de La Boétie is a profound exploration of the nature of tyranny and the voluntary submission of individuals to oppressive regimes. La Boétie argues that the power of dictators relies not solely on force but on the consent of the governed, making his work a timeless reflection on freedom and autonomy. This classic text resonates today as it challenges listeners to examine their own complicity in systems of power and to consider the importance of individual agency in resisting oppression.
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“For there is no light of justice or temperance, or any of the higher ideas which are precious to souls, in the earthly copies of them: they are seen through a glass, dimly…”Socrates and his earnest friend Phaedrus, enjoying the Athenian equivalent of a lunchtime stroll in the park, exchange views on love and on the power of words, spoken and written.Phaedrus is the most enchanting of Plato’s Erotic dialogues (capitalised in honour of the god). The barefoot philosopher urges an eager young acquaintance – who has allowed his lover’s oratorical skills to impress him overmuch – to re-examine the text of Lysias’s speech in the light of his own exalted (and Platonic) vision of Love. Not long ago this early example of literary dismantling was itself deconstructed by a contemporary sage - Jacques Derrida. The present reader tries to present Socrates as he conceivably was: the chortling, pot-bellied ex-soldier, a flirtatious yet charismatic talker with a serious passion for Truth. (Introductio
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