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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson
@jameslwilson.bsky.social
940 followers 140 following 330 posts

Political Science prof at University of Chicago. Democratic theory, egalitarianism, global justice. Will hammer like button on any dog pics.

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James Quinn Wilson was an American political scientist and an authority on public administration. Most of his career was spent as a professor at UCLA and Harvard University. He was the chairman of the Council of Academic Advisors of the American Enterprise Institute, member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1985–1990), and the President's Council on Bioethics. He was Director of Joint Center for Urban Studies at Harvard-MIT. .. more

Political science 59%
Sociology 22%
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 12h
That might be the right answer to the intervention-type questions--though if so, it's interesting that human rights protection abroad is totally discretionary!

And this would still leave us the question of what grounds obligations to respect the human rights of individuals in non-decent peoples.
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 12h
Rawls experts are thin on the ground here on Blue Sky, but I'm curious about any thoughts from @blmckean.bsky.social @abizadeh.bsky.social @alasianuti.bsky.social @martinoneill.bsky.social or anyone who wants to chime in.

jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 13h
I don't think he says they're required, but he clearly says they're permitted (p. 81), and I think he expects they will. They are also supposed to respect the human rights of outlaw-state foreigners (eg in war), but what in the OP requires that? Just pragmatic concerns about peace later?
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 13h
He even says a few times that liberal peoples would not be willing to tolerate any sacrifice of their own interests in order to benefit other peoples. (Sort of a "separateness of peoples" argument.) So why would they ever pay any cost to promote human rights abroad?
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 13h
To be clear, I get Rawls' idea that if a people respects human rights, it's entitled to respect, non-interference, etc. What I don't get is the idea that failure to observe human rights licenses (even non-military) intervention, nor what would motivate a liberal state to intervene.
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 13h
Rawls experts: what, in the Law of Peoples, licenses a liberal people to do any human rights enforcement at all (even against an "outlaw state")? Why in the original position would they ever agree to do that? They don't seem to have any OP-relevant interest that would warrant enforcement.
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 14h
All the Greatest Generation, World War II talk in Rawls' "Law of Peoples" hits different when almost all the people, military and civilian, who fought Nazism are gone, and we have, so far, not adequately lived up to our collective duty to replace them.
A photo of a passage from Rawls' Law of Peoples, with the underlined passage reading: "The lesson of the Holocaust is, rather, that a charismatic leader of a powerful totalitarian and militaristic state can, with incessant and rabid propaganda, incite a sufficient number of the population to carry out even enormously and hideously evil plans. The Holocaust might have happened anywhere such a state came to be."
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Brendan Nyhan, Nelson Flores , and 2 more

lkfazio.bsky.social
Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · 17h
"American civil society has more than enough financial and organizational muscle to stop this authoritarian offensive. But it requires collective resolve. And it requires leadership, which has been in painfully short supply."

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump’s Compact | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard, rather than quietly pursuing its own appeasement strategy, should lead the way to preserve academic freedom and democracy.
www.thecrimson.com
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Scott A. Imberman , and 2 more

jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 17h
yeah, trump has made very clear that he doesn’t think black people deserve to be in jobs of influence! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...
Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson , and 38 more

carlzimmer.com
Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson

freeandequal.bsky.social
𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦 & 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭: A Journal of Ethics and Public Affairs @freeandequal.bsky.social · 1d
In “Money as 𝘙𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢,” @aaronjames.bsky.social proposes a conception of money as “common credit.” Private banks‘ powers of lending (and hence money creation/allocation) must be held in trust and subject to regulations in the service of public purposes to be legitimate.

#poliphil #PolTheory
Money as <em>Res Publica</em>
Our current monetary system is a public-private banking hybrid dominated by private interest, often at the expense of public purpose. This article proposes a conception of money as a “common credit” r...
doi.org
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Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Lisa W. Fazio, Elizabeth Saunders , and 11 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d
The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food. On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch." That, Taher says, "is a lie."
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 1d
The governor is correct that Trump's behavior is clearly authoritarian, and we all, including members of the press, should feel comfortable saying so.
govpritzker.illinois.gov
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 1d
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
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Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, James Q. Wilson, Patrick A. Jansen , and 25 more

govpritzker.illinois.gov
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 1d
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 2d
My memory is fuzzy, and I'm open to correction, but I recall Blumenthal being pretty poor in the Kavanagh hearings.

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, James Q. Wilson, Nandita Sharma , and 10 more

gbrockell.bsky.social
Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 3d
Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her
chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 3d
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.
trib.al
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Steve Peers, Anne Norton , and 4 more

kenwhite.bsky.social
Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 3d
It’s important to flood social media and news channels with news about how ICE lies, so that potential jurors see it.
chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 3d
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.
trib.al
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Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Anna O. Law, James Q. Wilson , and 33 more

chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 3d
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.
trib.al
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 3d
Food prices are practically the only things Schumpeter thinks voters are good at tracking correctly!
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 3 more

juddlegum.bsky.social
Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 3d
1. Federal agents from ICE and other agencies are wrongly detaining U.S. citizens, sometimes detaining them for days, on suspicion that they are undocumented immigrants.

The raids are done without search warrants or other procedures designed to protect civil liberties.
How federal agents are terrorizing American citizens
Last week, hundreds of heavily armed federal agents descended on an apartment complex in Chicago, arriving in Black Hawk helicopters and moving trucks.
popular.info
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Reposted by Anna O. Law, Marc Lynch, James Q. Wilson , and 17 more

andrewjweinstein.com
Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 4d
ICE admits that up to 50% of arrests in its Chicago raids are "collateral.” These aren't statistics. They are parents taken from their children, neighbors taken from our communities. When does a "collateral" U.S. citizen child's trauma matter? This isn't law enforcement; it's a campaign of terror.
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Reposted by Anna O. Law, James Q. Wilson, Tom Clark , and 2 more

mayasen.bsky.social
Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 5d
Brett Kavanaugh and his clerks need to read this --->

www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/...
From the AskReddit community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskReddit community
www.reddit.com
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Rebecca Tushnet

clairezagorski.bsky.social
Claire Zagorski, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 5d
Either the police are mighty and fearless warriors, or they’re scared enough of a sassy 20-something woman to unload a canister of pepper spray in her face from 2 feet away, but they cannot be both.
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Robert W. Wallace, Patricia Owens , and 3 more

philosofemme.bsky.social
Kate Kirkpatrick @philosofemme.bsky.social · 6d
JOB: Associate Professor or Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy, in association with a Tutorial Fellowship at Merton College. AoS Ethics and/or Political Philosophy, with at least an AoC in Feminist Philosophy.
#PhilJobs
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOW474/a...
Associate Professorship or Professorship of Philosophy - Philosophy APTFC at University of Oxford
Explore an exciting academic career as a Associate Professorship or Professorship of Philosophy - Philosophy APTFC. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities...
www.jobs.ac.uk
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 7d
Pro-democracy sign at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, in flagrant violation of the university administration's strict interpretation of institutional neutrality. Are authoritarian or apathetic members of the campus community being silenced?
A photo of the front of the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics, reading "Democracy: [verb] Get involved."
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jameslwilson.bsky.social
James Lindley Wilson @jameslwilson.bsky.social · 7d
Yeah I was jumping to the comments to say this.
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Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele , and 14 more

anjalienjeti.bsky.social
Anjali Enjeti @anjalienjeti.bsky.social · 7d
My god.

“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.
chicago.suntimes.com
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Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, James Q. Wilson, Nicholas A. Christakis , and 20 more

walterolson.bsky.social
Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 8d
“ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later….’They was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.’”

It can’t happen here, you say. But it is happening.
ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground
ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.
abc7chicago.com
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Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 18 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d
Vance: "If you're an American citizen & you've been to the hospital in the last few years, you've probably noticed wait times are especially large & very often somebody who's there in the ER is an illegal alien. Why do those people get healthcare benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens?"
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Reposted by Marc Lynch, Elizabeth Saunders, James Q. Wilson , and 6 more

kyledcheney.bsky.social
Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 9d
BREAKING: Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, delivers the most scathing legal rebuke of the Trump era, ruling that Trump and his cabinet illegally targeted pro-Palestinian students for deportation to "strike fear" into First Amendment protesters. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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