In Liberalism and Its Discontents, Francis Fukuyama diagnoses the political and psychological malaise caused by capitalism. His analysis makes one thing clear: liberalism is incapable of addressing the social, economic, and ecological crises it faces.
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.
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.
Alt-right conspiracy theorists have embraced postmodern philosophy. The Left should return to the Enlightenment to oppose their irrational and hateful politics.
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.
The fascist writer Julius Evola is loved by monologuing YouTubers, Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party, and Steve Bannon. The hallmark of his work is a rejection of modernity, and his popularity is owed to the persistence of antidemocratic ideas on the Right.
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.
For decades, liberals have hoped for the de-Christianization of the American Right. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
The best of Marx is full of life, full of joy — and above all, deeply human.
Thurston Moore was a founding member of Sonic Youth and is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He spoke to Jacobin about his life in the industry and the power of music to express ideas.
The historical shortcomings of liberalism don’t mean that socialists should throw liberalism out wholesale. On the contrary: socialism needs liberalism.
The translators and coeditors of a new edition of Karl Marx’s Capital spoke to the political theorist Wendy Brown about the significance of their undertaking and what this historic text has to offer in the 21st century.
Born in the seventeenth century, our faith in progress is now at death’s door. Sociologist Göran Therborn traces the idea’s history — and argues that it must be revived.
Born 125 years ago this year, political philosopher Leo Strauss became a patron saint of US conservatism. Strauss was one of the sharpest enemies of equality — and his work is an education in the antidemocratic spirit of the Right.
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.
In Western Marxism, Domenico Losurdo takes 20th-century European and American Marxists to task for unfairly dismissing anti-colonial socialist movements. But his broad-brush condemnation fails to do justice to the rich and varied intellectual tradition he attacks.
In his latest book, right-wing provocateur Jordan Peterson looks to extract existential and political lessons from the Old Testament. Far from probing deep truths, it’s a shallow, self-serving exercise in culture war.
For Gillian Rose, the work of philosophy was to confront the myths and blind spots that sustain capitalism and dignify injustice. The result was a Marxism hostile to political dogmas of all kinds.
Central European designers and architects who fled fascism brought modernist ideals to Britain, reshaping its urban fabric. Today their work is being demolished, abandoned, or privatized.
Restoring big ideas.