Many of us who support government social programs still feel ambivalent about them — largely because we buy into, or are cowed by, the ideologies of free enterprise and militarism. The first holds that we alone determine our lot in life through competition and have no obligation toward others beyond taking care of ourselves and… Read More DOUG NEISS – Military might, market ideology and moral posturing: A toxic combination that has poisoned America

Unless progressive social movements challenge the shortcomings of liberal democracy, the appeal of ‘anti-system’ candidates will only grow    I was unlucky enough to be living in Rio de Janeiro when Jair Bolsonaro, before he became Brazil’s president, was elected to Congress in 2014 with the most votes in the state’s history. Then, two years later,… Read More Luis Gouveia Junior: What Portugal can teach us about the far Right

Like Gregor Samsa, the never-to-be-forgotten character in Franz Kafka’s story “The Metamorphosis,” we awoke on January 7th to discover that we, too, were “a giant insect” with “a domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments” and numerous “pitifully thin” legs that “waved helplessly” before our eyes. If you prefer, though, you can just say… Read More TOM ENGELHARDT: The American Century Ends Early