A fresh look on the welfare system--with a view beyond the state With The Class Struggle and Welfare, David Matthews argues that we must understand the welfare state as a dialectical phenomenon--a product of class struggle. Confronting the hypocritical rhetoric of politicians who castigate welfare beneficiaries as lazy and "workshy," Matthews ......
The political history of Thailand since the overthrow of absolute monarchy in 1932 has conventionally been interpreted as a long series of popular struggles for representative democracy and against military authoritarian rule. Yoshinori Nishizaki argues that this history can be better understood as one of struggles by elite political families for ......
Winner, 2020 Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize A fascinating reinterpretation of the radical and socialist origins of ecology Twenty years ago, John Bellamy Foster's Marx's Ecology: Materialism and Nature introduced a new understanding of Karl Marx's revolutionary ecological materialism. More than simply a study of Marx, it ......
Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity
Steve Ditko (1927-2018) is one of the most important contributors to American comic books. As the cocreator of Spider-Man and sole creator of Doctor Strange, Ditko made an indelible mark on American popular culture. Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity resets the conversation about his heady and powerful ......
A fascinating reinterpretation of the radical and socialist origins of ecology Twenty years ago, John Bellamy Foster's Marx's Ecology: Materialism and Nature introduced a new understanding of Karl Marx's revolutionary ecological materialism. More than simply a study of Marx, it commenced an intellectual and social history, encompassing thinkers ......
For years, intellectuals have argued that, with the triumph of capitalist, liberal democracy, the Western World has reached "the end of history." Recently, however, there has been a rise of authoritarian politics in many countries. Concepts of post-democracy, anti-politics, and the like are gaining currency in theoretical and political debate. Now ......
Once seen as a fringe phenomenon, populism is back. While some politicians and media outlets present it as dangerous to the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, others hail it as the fix for broken democracies. Not surprisingly, questions about populism abound. Does it really threaten democracy? Why the sudden rise in populism? And what are we talking ......
Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Marine Le Pen, Hugo Chavez-populists are on the rise across the globe. But what exactly is populism? Should everyone who criticizes Wall Street or Washington be called a populist? What precisely is the difference between right-wing and left-wing populism? Does populism bring government closer to the people or is it ......
Explores political development through the lens of psychological science. Fathali Moghaddam examines the psychological factors influencing whether and how democracy develops within a society, identifies several conditions necessary for democracy (such as freedom of speech, minority rights, and universal suffrage), and explains how psychological ......