Fear is a central part of American life — and has been so at least since the early Cold War, according to historian Elaine Tyler May. She argues that while there are many things that Americans should be deeply concerned about, including climate change and vast wealth inequality, we are obsessed with threats like crime, … Continued
Half a century ago, revolt broke out around the world, making the year 1968 synonymous with left-wing rebellion. In France, students and workers paralyzed the country during a heady month of massive wildcat strikes and factory occupations, during which the government feared it would be toppled. Donald Nicholson-Smith discusses May ’68 and the Situationist ideas … Continued
Open any world history book and you’ll read that the Neolithic Revolution was the key turning point in human history, when hunter gatherers gave up roaming in small egalitarian tribes and settled down to farm. Out of that, civilization was born, with all the benefits and ills connected to it: the rise of cities, the … Continued
What does Karl Marx’s masterwork Capital have in common with Dante’s Inferno? And more importantly, what can the book — which was partly written in debate with the socialist movements of its time — teach us today? William Clare Roberts reflects on Capital, Marx, and the importance of the idea of freedom for him. Resources: … Continued
Brazilians just elected a retired military officer who has praised dictatorship as their next president. In the U.S., Trump continues to inflame hatred against immigrants and others, while passing policies that benefit the wealthy. How should we understand the rise of figures around the world like Bolsonaro, Trump, Duterte in the Philippines, and Orban in … Continued
The ideas of French thinker and Situationist Guy Debord were crucial in shaping the politics of the Sixties and providing an understanding of everyday life under contemporary capitalism. Independent scholar Anselm Jappe discusses the Marxist influences on, and enduring legacy of, Guy Debord. Resources: Anselm Jappe, Guy Debord PM Press, 2018
We often hear how poorly educated American students are, ill prepared for 21st century tech jobs, which go to other workers in other countries. But what if more education will not lead to more highly paid skilled jobs? Educational psychologist Gerald Coles discusses how American companies are getting the workers they need, since most of … Continued
The Kurds are the ultimate stateless people, living in a region spanning Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. For decades leftwing Kurds struggled to create their own ethnic state. But in recent decades, the leadership of the Kurdish freedom movement embraced a form of anarchism, in which they rejected states altogether, and have been building such … Continued
The Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with safeguarding the public from toxic exposure. But Jonathan Latham, executive director of the Bioscience Research Project, says that The Poison Papers — an enormous trove of documents — indicate that the EPA and the chemical industry often work hand in hand to mislead us into thinking that toxic chemicals … Continued
This year is the 50th anniversary of 1968, a stand in for the explosive movements of the 60s and 70s. Christina Gerhardt discusses those movements through a German lens, many of which exploded on the scene a mere decade and a half after the defeat of the Nazis and into a society deeply marked by … Continued
