Zeb Larson is a writer and historian in Columbus, Ohio. His research deals with the anti-apartheid movement.
Critics of crime fiction dismiss the genre as hopelessly reactionary, but its history tells a different story. From hard-boiled American detective novels to the explosion of Scandi-noir, crime fiction has been deeply influenced by socialist writers.
Derided as the world’s worst car, the communist Yugoslavia–made Yugo admittedly had some serious problems. But it also had spirit and a vision to aspire to: a fuel-efficient vehicle that ordinary working-class people could afford.
Liberals are starting to join conservatives in calling for a return to the era of mass involuntary hospitalization for mentally ill homeless people. That’s a failure of imagination. Instead we need public provision of health care, housing, and employment.
The common picture we get of the US South is one of resolute conservatism. But the region has a radical history, too — as seen in Atlanta’s role as a center of opposition to apartheid South Africa.
Corporate responsibility pledges are an increasingly common response to public scrutiny. But trusting private companies to keep their promises hasn’t worked in the past, and it won’t work in the future.