On Thursday’s episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, I interviewed physician and activist Dr. Paul Hsieh about “Understanding the Three Languages of Politics.” The podcast of that episode is now available for streaming or downloading.
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Podcast: 3 July 2014

How many times have you been in political discussions with friends where you find you’re talking past one another? You’ll make points they consider irrelevant, whereas they’ll focus on issues you consider nonessential. Such problems can be overcome, at least in part, using Arnold Kling’s concept of the “Three Languages of Politics.” Paul Hsieh explained how freedom advocates (e.g., Objectivists and better libertarians), conservatives, and liberals tend to use three vastly different metaphors in political discussions, which can create unintentional misunderstandings and miscommunications. He discussed how to frame discussion points so they better resonate with those speaking the other “languages” without compromising on principles.
Dr. Paul Hsieh is a physician in practice in South Denver. He is the co-founder of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM). He has written scores of columns, mostly on health care policy, as well as articles for The Objective Standard. He blogs offbeat tech news at GeekPress.
Listen or Download:
- Duration: 51:15
- Download: Standard MP3 File (17.6 MB)
- Tags: Activism, Campaign Finance, Civilization, Communication, Compromise, Conservatism, Drug War, Firearms, Free Speech, GLBT, Government, Libertarianism, Medicine, Objectivism, Objectivism, Politics, Privacy, Progressivism, Property Rights, Rights, Three Languages of Politics, Values
Topics:
- About the “three languages of politics”
- The differences in the three languages
- The difference that the three languages make
- Examples of the three languages
- Conflict between camps
- Alliances between camps
- Political argument between camps
- The debates over the Hobby Lobby decision
- Using the three languages to become more persuasive
- Caveats and cautions
- Three take-home points
Links:
- The Three Languages of Politics by Arnold Kling
- EconTalk: Arnold Kling Interview
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