Politics
Getting Counterinsurgency Wrong
Washington Post reporting exposed that U.S. operations in Afghanistan were horribly mismanaged, but even a well-run mission would have been doomed to fail.
Walks in the Park: On the Foreignness of the Socialist Past
December 22 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the overthrow of the Romanian socialist state of Nicolae Ceaușescu. In a work of memoir, Nachescu recalls growing up under communism and wonders about the world Romanians hoped would follow its fall.
How Not to Do Activism
The calculus of power isn’t defined by hits or clicks or tweets. It is measured in relationships and meaningful reactions over time.
The Long History of Debt Cancellation
Moral thinking about debt has fluctuated throughout U.S. history. Today’s calls for cancellation suggest it may be poised for transformation once again.
Is Populism a Problem?
A bumper crop of brilliant essays on why populism isn’t “anti-elite”, Trump isn’t a populist, and more.
The Revolutionary and the Historian
A historian and rapper reflect on their shared activism and the place they see for allies in the long struggle for racial justice.
The Conservative Black Nationalism of Clarence Thomas
Joshua Cohen and Corey Robin discuss the black nationalism at the heart of Thomas’s conservative jurisprudence—and what it means for those on the left who often dismiss the justice’s use of race.
Got Shakespeare?
When conservatives declare the death of the English major, they highlight the need for the critical thinking skills that English departments excel at teaching.
The Future of Political Philosophy
For five decades Anglophone political philosophy has been dominated by the liberal egalitarianism of John Rawls. With liberalism in crisis, have these ideas outlived their time?
The Photographic Is Political
“Do we approach the photograph as spectators, or as citizens of the world?”
The Fragile Patriotism of the American Conservative
The 1619 Project is cracking the very foundations of conservatism.
It Was Not Supposed to End This Way
The Anthropocene challenges liberalism’s vision of permanent progress. So why has it become another technocratic tool of liberal bureaucracy?
How Democrats Gave Up on Big Government
Embracing Reaganite talking points well before Reagan, liberals themselves turned away from the New Deal vision.
Solid Trumpism
Trump’s secret to success is that he expresses his base’s deep sense of alienation and grievance—cultural and social far more than economic.
Overdosing in Appalachia
Harm reduction strategies have their roots in 1980s HIV activism, but they are starting to spread in rural America in response to the opioid crisis.
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