Žižek’s Left-Wing Case for Christian Atheism
In his new book, Slavoj Žižek advances a provocative understanding of Christianity as a progressive, secularizing force. It’s classic Žižek — by turns brilliant and infuriating.
Search Result(s) for: “Nietzsche”
The Theorist Who Reached Across Time
When the great radical thinker Sheldon Wolin died this week, he left behind a singular approach to political theory.
Zeev Sternhell, 1935–2020
Zeev Sternhell was a historian of nationalism who demolished the myth of French “immunity” to fascism. His focus on the history of ideas allowed him to trace the genealogy of France’s home-grown far right — yet proved less able to understand the social forces that powered fascist movements across the continent.
The White Tiger Is a Window Into India’s Class Society
Movies about class and inequality are back in the mainstream. Ramin Bahrani’s The White Tiger is a powerful interrogation of the injustices of class and caste society.
Aliens, Antisemitism, and Academia
Alt-right conspiracy theorists have embraced postmodern philosophy. The Left should return to the Enlightenment to oppose their irrational and hateful politics.
Matt Walsh’s Vitriolic Anti-Trans Christianity Is Distinctly Anti-Christian
Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh has made a name for himself with his relentless, religious-inflected trans-bashing. He’s a bad thinker and a bad Christian.
Peter Thiel, Would-Be Philosopher King, Takes on Democracy
Billionaire Peter Thiel insists that freedom and democracy are incompatible, and his portfolio of data mining and political bets puts that belief into practice. His is a program of authoritarian control disguised as innovation.
Hegel on Bastille Day
Hegel was no reactionary, and he had a special sympathy for the French Revolution.
Adventures in Marxism
The best of Marx is full of life, full of joy — and above all, deeply human.
Hegel Is Still an Important Thinker for the Left
In the last century, liberals claimed that Hegel had inspired fascism, and socialists accused him of having held back Marxist theory. Today the German idealist has drifted into obscurity. A new book makes the case for his contemporary relevance.
Twilight of the Woke
Hegel claimed that wisdom about a historical period often comes only after it has ended. As wokeness loses sway, we can better see its effects on socialist politics.
We Should Go Beyond Liberalism, Not Abandon It
The eminent philosopher Raymond Geuss wants us to think about ways of being that exist entirely outside of liberalism. But the most feasible egalitarian project is not one that rejects liberalism, but one that goes beyond it — through democratic socialism.
Red Abolitionism
The defenders of slavery rightly identified the ideological links between abolitionism and socialism.
The Right Without Wrong
For decades, liberals have hoped for the de-Christianization of the American Right. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Jürgen Habermas Showed What Philosophy Could Be
The death of Jürgen Habermas has left philosophy and the Left poorer. Central to his work was a profound critique of irrationality in all its forms. Taken seriously, his philosophy provides an indispensable guide in the struggle against oppression.
Herbert Read: The Art of Everyday Life
Critic and philosopher Herbert Read was a contradictory figure — an anarchist and a knight, a lover of medieval art and industrial design — but at the center of his work was the belief that we can all be artists.
The Right Says to Hell With Equality
The political right is a diverse intellectual tradition and world-making project. But there’s one thing that unites every variant of right-wing ideology: the belief that society will improve if we give up on the dream of a world where people are equal.
Christianity, Morality, and Socialism
For some, searching for a surer moral footing upon which to launch a socialist political program has again raised the specter of Christian ethics.
Slavery Was Crucial for the Development of Capitalism
Historian Robin Blackburn has completed a trilogy of books that provide a comprehensive Marxist account of slavery in the New World. He spoke to Jacobin about the intimate links between the slave systems in the Americas and the origins of capitalism.
Why Socialists Shouldn’t Reject Liberalism
The historical shortcomings of liberalism don’t mean that socialists should throw liberalism out wholesale. On the contrary: socialism needs liberalism.