The Telos Press Podcast: Kenneth Johnson on Black Lives Matter and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Save 30% on Telos 182 (Spring 2018): Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fifty Years On, a special issue dedicated to King’s life and thought, in our store. Offer expires 1/24/21.

In commemoration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., today’s episode of the Telos Press Podcast features a wide-ranging interview with Kenneth D. Johnson by Telos editor David Pan. Their discussion covers a variety of topics, including the influence of King on the Black Lives Matter movement, the different approaches to political activism and civil disobedience, the call to defund the police, the nature and effects of systemic racism, the role of education in expanding opportunities for the Black community, the role of government in addressing social and economic inequalities, and the question of how a universal basic income might help alleviate these problems.

In addition to being a member of Telos‘s editorial board, Ken Johnson edited Telos 182 (Spring 2018): Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fifty Years On, a special issue dedicated to King’s life and thought. We are now offering a 30% discount on Telos 182 when you purchase your copy in our store. With ten in-depth articles on King’s intellectual and political legacy, as well as an interview with King scholar David Garrow, Telos 182 is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how Martin Luther King Jr. continues to influence us today. Read the introduction to Telos 182 here.

Listen to the podcast here.

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The Government and the Press Are Damaging Their Credibility

The following essay originally appeared in German at Tichys Einblick. Translated by Russell A. Berman, who has written a separate note on the topic here.

At the outset I want to make clear that I view the stipulations of the governments for containing the corona pandemic as appropriate and that it is necessary to obey them.

Yet this is not the central issue. Instead, the central issue is that the BLM demonstration against racism was widely praised and tolerated, while the demonstration of August 1 [against corona restrictions—trans.] was widely condemned, despite posing identical dangers.

The most valuable good for a government is its credibility. One does not need it in a dictatorship, as long as the arguments come from the barrel of a gun. In a democracy, however, credibility is one of the foundational conditions for domestic peace.

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