Books & Ideas
Violence Has No Gender
The penalties of gender and sexual violence are not equally distributed, but psyche violence is genderless.
The World of Edward Said
His milieu was one of global, and specifically Palestinian, anticolonial struggle.
Portrait of the United States as a Developing Country
Dispelling myths of entrepreneurial exceptionalism, a sweeping new history of U.S. capitalism finds that economic gains have always been driven by the state.
The Monstrosity of Maritime Capitalism
Two books unmask the colossal shipping industry behind global trade.
Decolonizing Politics
Mahmood Mamdani considers how to restore the full benefits of citizenship to permanent minorities in post-colonial societies.
Who Is Afraid of Race?
There is a cost to replacing race with caste in our analysis of oppression: we erase anti-Blackness.
The Americans Who Embraced Mussolini
As we confront rightwing extremism in our own time, the history of American fascist sympathy reveals a legacy worth reckoning with.
Cedric Robinson and the Origins of Race
As more of Robinson’s books come back into print, reading them with Black Marxism can enrich our understanding of racial capitalism.
Why Black Marxism, Why Now?
Cedric Robinson’s Black Marxism helps us fight fascism with greater clarity and with ever more questions.
Our Machiavellian Moment
Much maligned as a mere tactician of power, Machiavelli was in fact a philosopher of the people.
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.
The False Promise of Obama’s “Promised Land”
In his memoir, the former president makes clear he had no intention of being a savior.
Caste Does Not Explain Race
The celebration of Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste reflects the continued priority of elite preferences over the needs and struggles of ordinary people.
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.
The Gadfly of American Plutocracy
Thorstein Veblen was the most important economic thinker of the Gilded Age.
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.
The Obligation of Self-Discovery
Simone de Beauvoir’s relationship with her readers was a mutually demanding collaboration.
Donald Trump, Our Prophet of Deceit
The Frankfurt School on the appeal of authoritarianism—and how to counteract it.
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