Speaker to highlight contradiction in American politics

Kotsko featured in speaker series named for beloved former UWRF professor

April 4, 2023 -  Adam Kotsko, faculty member of the Shimer Great Books School at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., will share his thoughts about neoliberalism and its impact on politics in America at this year’s Dr. Imtiaz Moosa Philosophy and Ethics Speaker Series event on Monday, April 17, at 4 p.m. in the Kinnickinnic River Theater in the University Center at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. 

Kotsko’s address, "Democracy Between Populism and Neoliberalism," will include a Q&A session and a reception at 3:30 p.m., before his talk begins. The event is free and open to the public. 

While Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. seem as divided as ever, leaders of the two political parties share a philosophy that prevents the most important issues facing Americans from being addressed, Kotsko will argue.

Neoliberalism is an approach that favors free-market capitalism, deregulation and reduced government spending. Historically, major figures in both political parties have shared that philosophy and claimed to support individual freedoms through market competition, Kotsko argues. However, he says, they distrusted democracy and have sought to preserve capitalism over democracy. The result, he says, is that many important issues go unaddressed, and true democracy is in peril.

Kotsko is an American theologian, religious scholar, culture critic and translator who works in the field of political theology. He has authored numerous books, and his work at North Central College focuses on humanities and social science. 

The speaker series was established in 2021 in tribute to former philosophy Professor Imtiaz Moosa, who taught at UW-River Falls from 1989 until his unexpected death in December 2020. The series features leading experts and thought leaders with expertise in a variety of important philosophical, social justice and contemporary ethics-related issues. It is intended to discuss society’s most pressing issues and the fragile nature of democracy itself. 

More information about the speaker series can be found at https://www.uwrf.edu/HIST/Events/MoosaSeries.cfm.