217 | Margaret Levi on Moral Political Economy

<p>Why do people voluntarily hand over authority to a government? Under what conditions&nbsp;<em>should</em>&nbsp;they do so? These questions are both timeless and extremely timely, as modern democratic governments struggle with stability and legitimacy. They also bring questions from moral and political philosophy into conversations with empirically-minded social science. Margaret Levi is a leading political scientist who has focused on political economy and the nature of trust in government and other institutions. We talk about what democracy means, its current state, and how we can make it better.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Margaret Levi received her Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University. She is currently Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Center for Democracy, Development and Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University. She is also co-director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fethicsinsociety.stanford.edu%2Ftech-ethics%2Fethics-society-and-technology-hub&amp;sa=D&amp;sntz=1&amp;usg=AOvVaw3wetApaViYcC6_oUx8QNUx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stanford Ethics, Society and Technology Hub</a>, and the Jere L. Bacharach Professor Emerita of International Studies at the University of Washington. She is the winner of the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skytteprize.com%2F&amp;sa=D&amp;sntz=1&amp;usg=AOvVaw362MBH9BejTyymnUWXt71Y" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2019 Johan Skytte Prize</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Ffalling-walls.com%2Fsocial-sciences-and-humanities%2F&amp;sa=D&amp;sntz=1&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Jw5A-g1TVYftCHGMfkUpt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2020 Falling Walls Breakthrough</a>. She is a member of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fhumsci.stanford.