Power comes in different flavors, asserted the French theorist Michel Foucault. Sarah Burgess explains the difference between sovereign power and biopolitical power; she also discusses biopolitical practices and rhetorics of power in the context of the easily preventable death of a Canadian woman in her prison cell. Happe, Johnson, and Levina, eds., Biocitizenship: The Politics … Continued
Against the Grain
12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays to Wednesdays
In-depth analysis and commentary on a variety of matters — political, economic, social, and cultural — important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C.S. Soong.
What can Star Trek tell us about life after capitalism? Peter Frase discusses four possible futures in a world where workers are increasingly being replaced by machines — ranging from communist and socialist societies to ones in which workers are literally disposable. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Peter Frase, Four Futures: Life After Capitalism Verso, 2014
According to Terry Kupers, a culture of punishment and impunity pervades solitary confinement facilities around the U.S. Because many inmates in solitary suffer from serious mental illness, they can respond to escalating punishments in ways that invite more — and more brutal — punitive measures. Kupers discusses what can be done to promote, rather than … Continued
Capitalism depends on various inexpensive things to stay robust, including labor — both paid and unpaid — energy, food, and nature. What happens when they all stop being cheap at the same time? Jason Moore discusses whether capitalism can survive the rising costs of business as usual. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Raj Patel & Jason W. … Continued
Nearly every society in the world is either a former colony or a former imperial power. How then should we regard and understand processes of imperialism and colonialism? According to Julian Go, a body of thought called postcolonial theory has offered many insights into the workings and legacies of empire and colonialism. Many of those … Continued
How is radical memory transmitted from generation to generation? How does that transmission frequently fail — and how might it better succeed? Anthropologist and veteran radical Phil Cohen discusses the politics of remembrance and archiving, from the Sixties to the present. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Livingmaps May Day Rooms Phil Cohen, Archive That, Comrade! Left Legacies … Continued
In the two decades following the end of the bracero program in 1964, the number of Mexicans who migrated to the U.S. without papers rose dramatically. Who were these people, why did they cross the border, and who did they leave behind in Mexico? Did migrants tend to stay permanently in the U.S., or did … Continued
We’re told that the police are imperfect, but if we make the right reforms, the bad apples will be weeded out and aggressive behavior no longer tolerated. But, as David Correia argues, what if the police are not reformable? (Encore presentation.) Resources: David Correia and Tyler Wall, Police: A Field Guide Verso, 2018
What drove the Industrial Revolution? According to conventional wisdom, it was individual innovation and unfettered private enterprise. According to Priya Satia, it was war-making, the production of firearms, and massive state intervention. The central figure in her new book is a Quaker gunmaker immersed in the rapidly transforming economy of eighteenth-century England. Priya Satia, Empire … Continued
Consumer capitalism and the focus group appear to go hand in hand. But Liza Featherstone argues that the focus group has radical origins and, in convoluted ways, points to the potential for collective input in an egalitarian society. She discusses the history of focus groups for consumer goods and electoral politics. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Liza … Continued