In the ‘cancel culture’ era, universities should remember that the original purpose of free speech was to empower the weak, not to shelter them. Universities in the US and the UK have become a battleground in the war between safe speech and free speech. I believe that this is a false dilemma – and understanding… Read More Albena Azmanova: Safe speech vs free speech: higher education’s false dilemma
America’s defeat in Afghanistan is one in a string of catastrophic military blunders that herald the death of the American empire. With the exception of the first Gulf War, fought largely by mechanized units in the open desert that did not – wisely – attempt to occupy Iraq, the United States political and military leadership… Read More Chris Hedges: The real tragedy behind the collapse of the American empire
NB: This article is a clear-headed analysis of the crucial change wrought in the Indian polity by the current government. Sahay is also forthright about the axial role of the RSS, the patron-in-chief of the BJP. For all their talk of moral purity and ‘maryada‘ it clear that this band of ideological fanatics has only one aim… Read More Anand K. Sahay: The idea behind capturing power in any kind of way: fair or foul
One might refer to the fascist movements as the wounds, the scars, of a democracy that, to this day, has not lived up to its own concept: Theodor Adorno First things first: to speak of ‘Bolsonarismo’ is not the same as speaking of Bolsonaro voters. Evidently, whatever we can call ‘Bolsonarismo’ must have been a factor… Read More Rodrigo Nunes: Of what is Bolsonaro the name?
Miguel de Beistegui’s new book is one of the most important contributions to the study of desire since the publication of René Girard’s Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World (1987). The central argument of the work is that the creation – through specific rationalities of knowledge and technologies of power – of a type of… Read More Book review: The Government of Desire
Very few among us can crawl or climb to the depths and heights of deep time… And so today, when there is no snow on the ground, I am thinking again about icebergs. Along with the work of Bishop, Stevens and several contemporary poets, I’ve often turned to Underland during the past year as an alternative to… Read More John Palattella – Earthly Anecdotes: an alternative to the doom-saying of our times
The new wave will hurt global efforts and vaccine supplies, experts say. Researchers are scrambling to assess whether new coronavirus variants are playing a role in India. When the coronavirus first struck India last year, the country enforced one of the world’s strictest national lockdowns. The warning was clear: A fast spread in a population of… Read More The New York Times: Complacency and Missteps Deepen a Covid-19 Crisis in India
COVID-19 is not a random event. It is a symptom of a global economic system that is destroying the living planet and killing off our magnificent wildlife. COVID-19 might be the first pandemic many of us have experienced. But unless we change course, it will almost certainly not be the last. So before we spend… Read More George Monbiot: In 2008, we bailed out the banks. In 2021, we need to bail out the planet
In the United States, there is one set of rules for rich people (especially if they are also white) and another set for everyone else. That unjust and anti-democratic system is reflected across American society. The country’s wealth and income inequality is so extreme (especially the race-wealth gap) that it more closely resembles that of… Read More Donald Trump – Supreme white collar criminal
NB: Anyone who still needs evidence that capitalism is the structural form of nihilism may reflect on these facts: DS Banks funneled more money into fossil fuels in 2020 than in 2016, according to a report by the Rainforest Action Network. JPMorgan, Citi and Wells Fargo were the biggest financiers from 2016 to 2020. Funding of the companies… Read More SOPHIE KIDERLIN: The biggest banks have poured $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels since 2016. J P Morgan tops the list of contributors
