Against the Grain

Peter Linebaugh on Tom Paine

Peter Linebaugh, best known for tracing the history of the commons and of commoning practices, calls Thomas Paine “a planetary revolutionary.” He has found in Paine’s lesser-known works radical critiques of inequality and authoritarianism and even the system of money wages. Many lessons for our time, Linebaugh argues, can be drawn from Paine’s writings and … Continued


Against the Grain

We Are All Criminals

People with criminal records are, too often, written off by society. Is that fair, asks Emily Baxter, given that we’ve all violated the law at one time or another? Baxter’s project collects and disseminates the stories of crimes people got away with, often because of their class or race privilege. For more details and higher-quality … Continued


Against the Grain

Innovation Under Neoliberalism

If innovation is the engine that drives capitalist enterprise, what role, if any, should universities play in feeding that engine? The creativity that Christopher Newfield seeks to nurture in students doesn’t match the kind coveted by neoliberal elites. He points to a number of disturbing trends in higher ed, and to differences in capitalist development between … Continued