Donate or Join | Boston Review

A Political and Literary Forum

Menu Search
Donate Shop Join

Class & Inequality, Philosophy & Religion

A More Perfect Meritocracy

Two new books take aim at the moral failures of meritocracy. But we can advocate for a more just society without giving up on merit.

Agnes Callard

Read More

Philosophy & Religion

Philosophy & Religion

The Value of Truth

At a time of anxiety about fake news and conspiracy theories, philosophy can contribute to our most urgent cultural and political questions about how we come to believe what we think we know.

Michael Patrick Lynch

Philosophy & Religion, Reading Lists

Rawls at 100

Happy birthday, John Rawls! We celebrate the political philosopher’s centenary, as well as the 50th anniversary of the publication of “A Theory of Justice.” 

Joshua Cohen, Boston Review

Philosophy & Religion, Race

Why Black Marxism, Why Now?

The threat of fascism has grown before our eyes. Black Marxism helps us to fight it with greater clarity, with a more expansive conception of the task before us, and with ever more questions.

Robin D. G. Kelley

Philosophy & Religion, Race

Whiteness Is the Greatest Racial Fraud

The Krugs and Dolezals dominate the headlines, but they are distractions from the fraud that imperils us all: believing oneself to be white.

Luvell Anderson

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Our Machiavellian Moment

Much maligned as a mere tactician of power, Machiavelli was in fact a philosopher of the people. His critique of oligarchic domination remains essential today.

Camila Vergara

Philosophy & Religion

Can We Deduce Our Way to Salvation?

A new book suggests that modern readers can still follow the path of reason that Spinoza traced to true well-being, but they might not want to.

Carlos Fraenkel

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Why Privatization Is Wrong

Many reject privatization for its distributional consequences. The deeper problem is that it threatens the very foundation of political legitimacy.

Chiara Cordelli

Gender & Sexuality, Philosophy & Religion

Why We Shouldn't Compare Transracial to Transgender Identity

Unlike gender inequality, racial inequality primarily accumulates across generations. Transracial identification undermines collective reckoning with that injustice.

Robin Dembroff, Dee Payton

Gender & Sexuality, Philosophy & Religion

The Obligation of Self-Discovery

Simone de Beauvoir’s relationship with her readers was a mutually demanding collaboration.

Vivian Gornick

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Donald Trump, Our Prophet of Deceit

The Frankfurt School on the appeal of authoritarianism—and how to counteract it.

Charles H. Clavey

Philosophy & Religion

The Angel of History

Pestilence and plague have often prompted waves of apocalyptic thinking, calling into question the steady march of progress in human history.

John Merrick

Philosophy & Religion

Repertoires of Rage

Anger’s history—along with the very fact that it has one—can shed light on the hypertrophied emotional climate of today.

David Konstan

Pages

       

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Vital reading on politics, literature, and more in your inbox

Love Boston Review?

Then you’ll love our new membership program! Join us to support engaged discussion on critical issues. You’ll also enjoy exclusive membership benefits.
Get Started

Copyright © 1993-2021 Boston Review and its authors.

Support Boston Review

Become a Member

Make a tax-deductible donation today

Boston Review Printing Note: For best printing results try turning on any options your web browser's print dialog makes available for printing backgrounds and background graphics.