Politics
The Conceit of American Indispensability
As scholars mine the 1940s for alternative visions of international order, we must guard against the presumption that the United States remains the benevolent center of global politics.
Our Broken Constitution
Constitutional crisis won’t be fixed by a few isolated reforms. We need to rethink the Constitution from the ground up.
What Does It Take to Get Women Elected?
If women’s suffrage was the battle of the twentieth century, women’s representation will be the battle of the twenty-first.
No Democracy Without Archives
The dramatic history of Guatemala’s National Police archive illustrates the crucial role of state archives in protecting democracy.
The Problem Isn’t Just Police—It’s Politics
Sociologist Alex Vitale explains how the U.S. policing crisis begins with politics—the decision to embrace neoliberal austerity and to turn the social problems it creates over to police.
Confederates in the Capitol
The National Statuary Collection announced the unification of the former slave economy’s emotional heartland with the heart of national government.
The Fire This Time
These protests are too widespread to go away. There will be no peace without justice on multiple fronts.
Power over Policing
Reform efforts will fail. Only a power shift to communities can improve public safety.
The Privilege of the Ally
Allies can be powerful aides to social justice movements—but it is their responsibility to make sure they don’t become a distraction from the cause.
Black History in Three Acts
The story of how black people confront systems of racial capitalism and plot world liberation. A reading list from Robin D. G. Kelley.
The End of Family Values
Neoliberalism rests on the myth that “good” families can provide for their own without public support.
Rights in a Pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis creates a conflict not between individual rights and the community, but rather between individual rights themselves—including, above all, the right to health.
We Should Be Afraid, But Not of Protesters
The rage on display in Minneapolis is not only about police violence. It is also about the country’s utter disregard for the pain of black Americans.
Without Women There Is No Democracy
On the hundreth anniversary of suffrage, it’s time for gender equity in political office.
The Cruelty of Trump’s ICE Under COVID-19
The Trump administration has rejected calls for mass humanitarian release and continues to deport detainees to Latin America.
The Prophet of the Far Right
Michel Houellebecq’s Islamophobia and chauvinism have made him a favorite intellectual of right extremists. So why does he appeal to so many on the left as well?
Get our newsletter
Vital reading on politics, ideas, and culture to your inbox
A political and literary forum, independent and nonprofit since 1975
Registered 501(c)(3) organization
Help Us Stay Paywall-Free
Become a Member