On Thursday, September 3, 2020, at 2PM EST, the team at Students For Liberty invites you to join us for our latest Liberty at Home online event. This will be the third episode of our Libertarian Pop Culture mini-series on Instagram Live.
Titled ‘The Politics of Science Fiction’, this event will feature Csaba Tóth, a prominent political scientist and sociologist. He will be interviewed by Russell Coates, our Content Marketing Specialist.
This event will involve exploring the political landscapes of different science-fiction worlds, discussing parallels with politics in our own world. Science fiction is a genre which often has strong links to the ideas and values of liberty. Indeed, many works of science fiction throughout history have presented a range of pro-liberty messages.
On Thursday, Csaba Tóth will provide an analysis of the political systems featured in science fiction and fantasy worlds. The discussion will focus on the fictional universes of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Game of Thrones, among others. Csaba will share his thoughts on the different political structures, as well as their merits from a pro-liberty point of view.
One science fiction universe with political considerations that are of particular interest is that of Star Wars. The original trilogy of films, released in the late 1970s and early 1980s, tells the story of a small handful of people standing up to the tyranny of a totalitarian regime. Some time later, the prequel trilogy was released, telling the story of the eventually unsuccessful struggle of a flawed democracy against the rise of populism and authoritarianism that led to the Empire we see in the original trilogy.
For several years, Csaba Tóth has written extensively on the topic crossover between politics and science fiction. He has also given many talks and lectures on the subject. Csaba makes extensive use of pop culture in his political analysis, with a particular emphasis on fantasy and science fiction. As well as teaching at ELTE University, he is a member of the board at the European Liberal Forum.
Csaba Tóth is also co-founder and former director of strategy at the Republikon Institute, a non-partisan, pro-liberty think tank based in Budapest, Hungary. The think tank’s mission involves analyzing both Hungarian and international politics, while making policy recommendations that promote a freer society.
To hear Csaba Tóth’s insights into the politics of science fiction, and learn more about the crossover between liberty and pop culture, make sure to tune in for his interview.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram so that you’ll be notified when we go live this Thursday, September 3, 2020, at 2 PM EST!
