Twenty of Our Most Loved Essays of 2022

As 2022 comes to a close, we are looking back on an eventful year and counting down twenty selections of our most-loved essays we published over the last twelve months.

2022 has seen several new global challenges. In the weeks following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, our contributors provided essential context—examining the role of NATO in the lead-up to the war as well as the theocratic and homophobic ideologies animating Putin’s regime. This year also saw the continued global rise of the far right, which made inroads in Italy and Sweden. Meanwhile, the collapse of crypto currency platform FTX brought increased attention to effective altruism and longtermism, ethical theories popular among today’s tech moguls that rest on shaky philosophical assumptions.

There were also some glimmers of hope. The COP 27 climate summit in Egypt resulted in a historic agreement to create a loss and damage fund to aid countries facing the brunt of climate change—a small step toward the type of reparations necessary to address historic global injustices.

In addition to these topics, our most-loved essays this year explore the social roots of mental illness, the case for a world without borders, how microeconomics hijacked economic policymaking, and Edith Wharton’s use of gothic tropes to challenge oppressive gender relations.

Whatever 2023 brings, Boston Review’s authors will continue to provide carefully researched, in-depth analysis of vital public issues.

• 20: The Deep Structure of Democratic Crisis — Ruth Berins Collier, Jake Grumbach

• 19: Up from Federalism — Lisa L. Miller

• 18: Labor’s Militant Minority — Mie Inouye

• 17: Why Policing and Prisons Can’t End Gender Violence — Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, Beth E. Richie, Nia T. Evans

• 16: You Owe Me an Argument — Rachel Fraser

• 15: A Century of Serious Difficulty — Johanna Winant

• 14: Twenty Years of Freedom Dreams — Robin D. G. Kelley

• 13: Nine Ways That Capitalism Is Ruining Sex — Breanne Fahs

• 12: Just Give Me My Equality — Teresa M. Bejan

• 11: “Representation doesn’t just mean heroes. We need the villains as well.” — Marlon James interviewed by Nate File

• 10: The Fight for Reparations Cannot Ignore Climate Change — Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò

• 9: Edith Wharton’s Ghosts — Jennifer R. Bernstein

• 8: NATO and the Road Not Taken — Rajan Menon

• 7: Race and Sweden’s Fascist Turn — Tobias Hübinette

• 6: The U.S. Christians Who Pray for Putin — Bethany Moreton

• 5: The New Moral Mathematics — Kieran Setiya

• 4: Putin’s Anti-Gay War on Ukraine — Emil Edenborg

• 3: Bad Economics — Simon Torracinta

• 2: There Is No “Migrant Crisis” — Harsha Walia

• 1: Mental Illness Is Not in Your Head — Marco Ramos