Wild Democracy: Anarchy, Solidarity, And Ruling the Law with Anne Norton

Host Sanjay Ruparelia and Anne Norton sit to discuss Norton’s book Wild Democracy: Anarchy, Courage, and Ruling the Law, which reimagines freedom and democracy as expansive and inclusive. They discuss how anarchy, rather than being chaotic, can be a nursery for democracy. Norton argues that authoritarianism is a greater threat than anarchy and examines the qualities necessary for a truly free and democratic society. Their conversation also touches on the nature of rights, the responsibility to resist unjust laws, the role of institutions, and why democracy must remain "wild" to allow space for dissent and change.

Host: Sanjay Ruparelia, Jarislowsky Democracy Chair and Associate Professor of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Guest: Anne Norton,a scholar of political theory and the inaugural Stacey and Henry Jackson President’s Distinguished Professor in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Norton is a Co-Founding Editor of the journal Theory and Event. 

Background Reading: 

Anne Norton’s Wild Democracy: Anarchy, Courage, and Ruling the Law