Neil Vallelly is the author of Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the Production of Uselessness (2021). He is a lecturer in sociology and Rutherford Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
Media coverage of the World Cup has rightly highlighted the atrocious working conditions of migrant workers. But we need to broaden our definition of human rights abuses to include the global economic system that forces them to go to Qatar in the first place.
Enzo Traverso’s study of revolution in modern history is a monumental achievement, and should be a touchstone for today’s left. We can’t build a future beyond capitalism without coming to terms with the challenging history it confronts.