John Foster / 09 Jun 2023
The New Feudalism
Quinn Slobodian’s Crack-Up Capitalism
In Cory Doctorow’s dystopian novel Attack Surface, a disaffected hacker provides a tart postmortem for liberal democracy.(...)
Capitalism
John Foster / 28 Apr 2023
Never Fully European
David Graeber’s Final Books
David Graeber’s death in September 2020 was a tragedy. Few radicals are as intellectually curious and creative as he was.(...)
Charlie Bertsch / 15 Mar 2023
Socialist Realism Done Right
Sleaford Mods’ UK Grim
If the UK had gone in a different direction over the past decade, if its leaders had remembered the people who slaved to make it great, Sleaford Mods might have become one of those novelty acts that disappear from view after a song or two.(...)
John Foster / 10 Feb 2023
Always Under Surveillance
The End of Mental Privacy
During the Trump era, it was often said that political satire was becoming impossible.(...)
John Foster / 27 Jan 2023
The End of Franco
Agitated: Grupos Autónomos and Armed Anticapitalism in Spain, by Joni D.
The 1970s was a decade of broken dreams. The end of the postwar boom brought to a close the era of middle-class liberalism in Europe and North America.(...)
Josh White / 10 Jan 2023
The Gender-Capital Complex
Platforming Andrew Tate
Before his arrest, Andrew Tate was just another influencer with bad politics.(...)
John Foster / 16 Dec 2022
Fantasy Island
Free Market: The History of an Idea, by Jacob Soll
It’s as though the 1980s never happened. For many Gen Xers like me, until the 2008 financial crisis, the free market was the only game in town.(...)
Josh White / 05 Dec 2022
Soviet Collapse, National Decline
Russia 1985–1999, by Adam Curtis
Adam Curtis is a collagist who deals with ideas and their emotional impact.(...)
John Foster / 12 Aug 2022
Marx on Neoliberalism
Hyperculture, by Byung Chul-Han
Korean-German philosopher Byung Chul-Han is the quintessential postmodern figure. Having to come to Germany to study metallurgy, he switched fields and mastered the argot of German philosophy.(...)