Ben Peterson – Governing the Social Commons

Support The Glenn Show at Glenn and Ben Peterson discuss his forthcoming book on how informal institutions — families, churches, neighborhoods — maintain social order where law and markets cannot. Peterson argues that reputation enforces norms more effectively than regulation: your neighbor's judgment carries more weight than a police citation. They explore criminal justice reform, where Peterson observes that "the left misses morality, the right misses grace"; racial inequality as a supply-side problem — the failure to develop human potential through socialization and family structure; and the spiritual dimension of human agency, which Glenn defends even as he acknowledges many of his colleagues would dismiss it. The conversation echoes themes from Glenn's recent discussion with Steven Pinker on common knowledge and shared norms. The Glenn Show is almost entirely audience-supported , so to those of us who are already full subscribers, let me extend a heartfelt thank you. And if you’re not yet a full subscriber, please consider becoming one . The Glenn Show can only do what it does through the generosity of viewers and listeners. For a mere $6/month or $50/year , you’ll get access to weekly livestreams, monthly Q&A episodes with John McWhorter, commenting privileges, access to the full Substack archives, and other exclusive bonus content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/

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Ben Peterson – Governing the Social Commons is an episode from The Glenn Show by Glenn Loury.

This episode is 69:20 long.

This episode was published on Apr 13, 2026.

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