In this episode, Matt speaks with legal scholar Bruce Pardy about the deep tension between freedom and virtue. Pardy argues that “freedom people” - classical liberals and libertarians - see virtue as something that can only emerge when individuals are free to choose, while “virtue people” believe virtue must come first, even if enforced by the state. They explore the limits of state neutrality, city planning, drug policy, and the rise of authoritarian instincts across both the right and the left. Pardy explains why a truly free society is risky - and why that risk is necessary for genuine virtue and responsibility.

References:

• “Freedom and Virtue: Friends or Enemies?” — Bruce Pardy (Brownstone Institute) https://brownstone.org/articles/freedom-and-virtue-friends-or-enemies/

• Bruce Pardy — Profile (Fraser Institute) https://www.fraserinstitute.org/profile/bruce-pardy

• Bruce Pardy — Author Page (The Epoch Times) https://www.theepochtimes.com/author/bruce-pardy

• The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek https://a.co/d/cp4rlD5

• The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper https://a.co/d/iVwmVvs

Thanks to Our Patrons including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

In this episode, Alex speaks with political theorist Ben Woodfinden about the meaning and complexity of Canadian conservatism. Drawing on his essay “A Tory Impulse and Anti-Laurentian Ideas Drive Canadian Conservatism”, Woodfinden explains why conservatism in Canada is not a single rigid doctrine but a pluralistic network of regionally rooted traditions — from prairie populism and Western anti-elitism to Ontario’s old Toryism and Quebec’s nationalist strands. They unpack Canada’s unique confederation story, the idea of the Laurentian elite, and how any coherent conservatism must remain a coalition rooted in local distinctiveness and historical context.

References

• “A Tory Impulse and Anti-Laurentian Ideas Drive Canadian Conservatism” – Ben Woodfinden (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2022/08/17/ben-woodfinden-a-tory-impulse-and-anti-laurentian-ideas-drive-canadian-conservatism/

• “Canada’s aspiring populists aren’t actually all that radical” – Ben Woodfinden (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2022/05/27/canadas-aspiring-populists-arent-actually-all-that-radical/

• “King Charles III and the glorious weirdness of Canada's monarchy” – Ben Woodfinden https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ben-woodfinden-king-charles-iii-and-the-glorious-weirdness-of-canadas-monarchy

• Ben's contributions to The Hub https://thehub.ca/author/benwoodfinden/

• “Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism” by George Grant https://a.co/d/d0NQs95

• “The Crooked Timber of Humanity” by Isaiah Berlin https://a.co/d/6l1wq3d

Thanks to Our Patrons Including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support the podcast, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

In this conversation from 2023, Alex speaks with Professor Jacob Levy about the concept of neutrality within the history of liberalism and how many historical thinkers have approached the subject within that tradition.

Episode Notes:

• Michael Oakeshott on “adverbial rules” https://lawliberty.org/forum/michael-oakeshott-on-the-rule-of-law-and-the-liberal-order/
• John Locke’s religious beliefs https://rb.gy/1yg43
• Heresy of Americanism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanism_(heresy)
• Deirdre McCloskey’s Bourgeois Virtues Thesis https://www.deirdremccloskey.com/docs/bv_selection.pdf
• Ronald Dworkin “Liberalism” https://www.scribd.com/document/313373358/Ronald-Dworkin-Liberalism#
• Stephanie Slade, "Must Libertarians Care About More Than the State?" https://reason.com/2022/03/19/two-libertarianisms/
• Alexis De Toqueville’s concerns about the rising liberal democratic order https://www.economist.com/schools-brief/2018/08/09/de-tocqueville-and-the-french-exception
• John Stuart Mill “On Liberty” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Liberty