The Politics of Magical Capitalism

Abandon the Future

If there’s a lesson from Back to the Future Day, it’s that the future can’t save us.

There’s No Moral Justification for Capitalist-Owned Enterprises

Capitalist "liberty" is just another word for private tyranny. Workers, not capitalists, should control economic enterprises.

“Responsible Conservatives” Won’t Save Us From Fascism

History shows that when working-class strength threatens the status quo, even moderate conservatives won’t balk at making common cause with fascists.

Martin Heidegger’s Nazism Is Inextricable From His Philosophy

Despite the mass of evidence proving Martin Heidegger’s Nazi commitment, academics often dismiss concerns about his politics as nonphilosophical. Two new books make a compelling case for rejecting this line of argument.

The Bezos Theory of Value Is Deeply Disturbing

In his final letter to shareholders as Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos offers a novel — and profoundly disturbing — conception of value creation: a handful of visionaries are the sole source of all “real value.” This aristocracy mercifully blesses customers, clients, and even Amazon workers with social goods.

The Young Benjamin

Walter Benjamin's Marxism owed much to his early engagement with anarchism and surrealism.

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.

The Deflationary Mind

Mark Lilla’s prosecution of radical thinkers in the name of intellectual seriousness can only lead to a flat and lifeless politics.

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.

Explaining Our Morbid Political Symptoms

We can’t talk about the rise of right-wing populists like Donald Trump, reactionary and bizarre conspiracy theories like QAnon, and the increasingly pervasive sense of nihilism across global politics without talking about neoliberalism.

Elite Universities Gave Us Effective Altruism, the Dumbest Idea of the Century

A cocktail of elite arrogance and naivete across the Anglophone world, combined with the support of billionaires like Sam Bankman-Fried, produced effective altruism. The result has been reactionary, often racist intellectual defenses of inequality.

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.

Francis Fukuyama Is Right: Socialism Is the Only Alternative to Liberalism

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.

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.

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.

How Julius Evola Became the Internet’s Favorite Fascist

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.

Ludwig von Mises Was a Free-Market Ideologue, Not a Hardheaded Thinker

Ludwig von Mises, the influential right-wing economist, thought of himself as a sober, scientific critic of socialism. In reality, he was a free-market ideologue, using dressed-up dogma to prove why workers should bow before their capitalist masters.