Libertarianism.org

The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Free Thoughts Podcast – 51 min 45 sec – May 3, 2019 – Episode 290 of 346

WARNING this episode contains spoilers to most, if not all, Marvel movies, please listen with caution. 

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Now that Endgame has been released, we invited Jacob T. Levy to discuss the series as a whole. We talk about how it is possible to analyze the movies through a political lens, but it is important to remember that the message of many of these movies is metaphorical.

Is Tony Stark a war monger? What does the Avengers series say about coercion and the abuse of power? What does society look like under the conditions of radical human ability? How should society function with extreme inequalities? Do super hero movies typically have a clean energy story? How do super heroes relate to liability insurance?

Further Reading:

Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame, written by Kurt Loder

Review: What “Avengers: Endgame” Could Have Been, written by Richard Brody

The Politics of “Avengers: Endgame”: Thanos, Iron Man, and the Malthusian extreme, written by Matthew Rozsa

Related Content:

10 Tips to Facilitate Collective Action from Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, written by Jayme Lemke

Anarchism Versus Limited Government Abolitionism, written by George H. Smith

Unbundling the State, Free Thoughts Podcast

Aaron Ross Powell

Aaron Ross Powell is Director and Editor of Libertarianism.org, a project of the Cato Institute. Libertarianism.org presents introductory material as well as new scholarship related to libertarian philosophy, theory, and history. He is also co-host of Libertarianism.org’s popular podcast, Free Thoughts. His writing has appeared in Liberty and The Cato Journal. He earned a JD from the University of Denver.

Trevor Burrus

Trevor Burrus is a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies. His research interests include constitutional law, civil and criminal law, legal and political philosophy, and legal history. His work has appeared in the Vermont Law Review, the Syracuse Law Review, and the Jurist, as well as the Washington Times, Huffington Post, and the Daily Caller. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy is the Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University. He writes on federalism, freedom of association, indigenous peoples, constitutional theory, and Enlightenment political thought.