Permanent State of Exception, with Dr. Maciej Wilmanowicz - the second episode of a two part interview on the Common Sense Generation video podcast series
The Second Episode: On this second episode of Common Sense Generation, which first aired on November 19, 2024 and can be found here and below, Dr. Maciej Wilmanowicz discusses philosopher Giorgio Agamben's concept that modern societies exist in a "permanent state of exception" - where emergency measures and exceptional legal frameworks have become normalized rather than temporary.
Key Points Discussed:
Citizens' Response to Emergencies: Initial public reactions to declared emergencies (9/11, Paris terrorist attacks, COVID-19) typically involve compliant obedience to government commands. Over time, as more information becomes available and people assess the proportionality of government responses, questioning and resistance tend to grow.
Legislative Inflation: The discussion addresses what Wilmanowicz calls "legislative diarrhea" - an overwhelming expansion of laws and regulations that no one can fully comprehend or navigate, yet which fail to provide basic clarity.
The Common Good Debate: The conversation explores competing definitions of common good, examining contradictions in public discourse (such as differing attitudes toward life's value in pandemic vs. abortion debates) and the challenges of balancing individual rights with collective security.
Immigration and Cultural Identity: They discuss how different visions of common good lead to opposing positions on immigration, multiculturalism, and cultural integration - highlighting paradoxes in liberal democracies that simultaneously protect rights while tolerating practices that conflict with those same rights.
Democratic Paradox: The podcast explores the inherent tension in liberal democracies: the very principles and freedoms these societies cherish may enable their own decline.
The conversation ends with a provocative moral question about individual responsibility and complicity in authoritarian systems.
