Politics

Politics Is for Power, Not Consumption

Political hobbyism takes well-meaning citizens away from pursuing power.

Secularism’s Saints

How the Mormon Church redefined itself as a modern liberal religion.

What the Health Care Debate Still Gets Wrong

Contrary to the Obama administration, U.S. health care spending isn’t high because Americans use too much medicine. The real culprit is our fragmented and privatized system.

Is Science Political?

The Cold War invention of scientific neutrality.

The Fragile Patriotism of the American Conservative

The 1619 Project is cracking the very foundations of conservatism.

The Armed and Anxious White Psyche

Contemporary gun violence is not so much terrorism as tradition.

How Democrats Gave Up on Big Government

Embracing Reaganite talking points well before Reagan, liberals themselves turned away from the New Deal vision.

From the Editors: Economics After Neoliberalism

We live in a world made by neoliberalism, with its hostility to equality and democracy. It is time to stop.

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.

Finding the Future in Radical Rural America

Rural places weren’t always red, and many are turning increasingly blue.

Choosing Hope

Noam Chomsky and Scott Casleton discuss socialism, anarchism, and the fight for progress in U.S. politics today. 

“Every Crucifixion Needs a Witness”

Rev. William J. Barber II on civil disobedience, the failures of electoral campaigns, and why the South is key to a political transformation of the country.

The Anti-Defamation League Is Not What It Seems

Under the guise of fighting hate speech, the ADL has a long history of attacking Arab, Black, and queer people.

In Search of an Anti-Fascist Language

Combating fascist language is harder than just deleting offending terms. Can we find a creative solution that serves today’s needs?

Democracy’s Dilemma

How can democratic societies protect—and protect themselves from—the free flow of digital information?

Introducing a Special Project from Boston Review

With democracy now subject to sharp challenges, we are rededicating ourselves to it with a project that aims to pave the way for policymakers and citizens to rethink conventional options.

Playing with Fire

In their new book, Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geithner, and Henry Paulson describe fighting the fire of the 2008 financial crisis. But while they did rebuild the burnt towers of Wall Street, they left Main Street to dig out from the rubble.

Democracy’s Dilemma

How can democratic societies protect—and protect themselves from—the free flow of digital information?

The Most Radical City on the Planet

The long history of black resistance in Jackson, Mississippi.

Speaking the Truth

Cornel West and Deborah Chasman discuss the disproportionately white publishing world, the responsibilities and burdens of public life, and the predicament of black intellectuals today.

Obama’s Original Sin

An insider account reveals how the Obama administration’s botched bailout deal reinforced neoliberalism and betrayed campaign promises.

The Book on Marx That Arendt Never Finished

Hannah Arendt’s unfinished book on Marx offers a timely philosophical dialogue for our era of economic precarity.

Quantifying Love

Reputational currency, like China’s Social Credit Score, rebrands repression as rational nudging. And these algorithmic governance models are spreading.

What Anti-Semitism Is—And What It Is Not

Two Jewish activists discuss the place of anti-Semitism in contemporary movements for social justice.

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