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In this episode of American Socrates, we break down what it actually means for something to be a social construct. You’ll learn how ideas can be both invented and real at the same time. We trace the roots of social construction from philosophers like Hume and Kant to modern thinkers, and explain how institutions and collective belief shape our world.

Far from being just academic theory, this episode shows how social constructs shape your daily life, your identity, and your place in society. We also explore how recognizing them gives us the power to challenge injustice and reimagine the world we live in.

Whether you're new to the term or trying to understand what it means for real people in the real world, this is your clear and grounded guide to one of the most misunderstood ideas in modern thought.

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What does it mean to be innocent? In this episode, we explore the journey from the innocence of ignorance to the innocence of wisdom—a hard-won clarity that only comes through struggle, humility, and growth. Drawing on Emmanuel Swedenborg, Plato, Richard Feynman, and modern social questions, we challenge the comfort of easy answers and invite you to rethink your categories—from stars to gender, work, and truth itself. Because seeing clearly isn’t just an intellectual act—it’s a moral one.

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Jake got out of the military expecting freedom. What he found instead was gig work, debt, and a life lived at the mercy of corporate algorithms. In this episode, we follow Jake’s journey—not just through the quiet desperation of techno-feudal capitalism, but toward a vision of what could be. What if rent didn’t rule your life? What if income was guaranteed—not earned through suffering, but given as a right? What if ownership was shared, not hoarded?

This episode imagines a bold left-wing alternative—not just to the neo-feudalism of the right, but to capitalism itself. Through narrative, glimpses of real-world models, and emotional reflection, we offer something rare in political media: not critique, but a dream worth building.

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In part two, we fast-forward to today—where echoes of Fitzhugh’s vision have returned in surprising forms. From alt-right influencers to Silicon Valley billionaires and traditionalist politicians, a growing chorus claims that modern freedom has failed—and offers a new feudalism in its place. In this episode, we trace how the old logic of benevolent masters, dependent workers, and enforced order is being reborn through technology, nostalgia, and despair. This isn’t just a critique of capitalism. It’s a counter-revolution. And it’s already shaping the future.

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In this episode, we dive into the writings of George Fitzhugh, a 19th-century American Lawyer and social critic who launched one of the earliest full-throated critiques of capitalism—not from the left, but from the slave plantations of the South. Fitzhugh believed that freedom was a myth, and that most people were better off being ruled. Slavery, in his eyes, was not a shameful past—it was a blueprint for a stable society. We examine how his arguments worked, why they were persuasive to some, and what they reveal about the deep entanglement between race, hierarchy, and current right-wing thought in American history.

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America feels broken. Red vs. blue. Rural vs. urban. Rich vs. poor. But beneath all the noise, there’s a deeper story — one most politicians won’t touch.

In this episode, we dig into how capitalism quietly shapes our political divides — and why it keeps getting a free pass. As democracy expands rights and inclusion, capitalism turns that promise into insecurity: higher costs, unstable jobs, and working-class exhaustion. The more equal we try to be, the more the system shifts to keep power tilted.

This is more than politics. It’s about the soul of America — and the cost of never asking who the system really serves.

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Philosophy didn’t start in a classroom. It started with a gasp.

This episode is about Wonder — that sudden feeling that something familiar isn’t so familiar after all. We’ll talk about how this moment of awe, confusion, or deep curiosity isn’t just the spark of philosophy but the doorway to a more conscious, meaningful life. It’s what wakes us up — if we let it.

We’ll draw on Plato, Buddhist insight, and everyday examples to show how wonder isn’t childish or naïve. It’s the exact opposite: a courageous refusal to take the world for granted. This isn’t about trivia or theory. It’s about waking up to your life.

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What if everything you’ve ever done was inevitable — shaped by causes beyond your control? In this episode, we explore determinism not as a physics problem, but as a moral one. Why do we blame people? Why do we take credit? Nietzsche called it all a mistake — four great errors that have warped how we see the world and ourselves. But was he right?

We also take a sharp turn with Sartre, who thinks even in a determined world, freedom can still mean something — if we’re willing to own our choices without excuse.

This isn’t a debate between science and free will. It’s a challenge to how we judge, punish, and live with ourselves and others.

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