Article Subjects and Geography: Culture
New Biography of “China’s First Communist” Reveals Nuances for English-Speaking Readers
December 1, 2024
Joel Wendland-Liu reviews Li Dazhao: China’s First Communist, by Patrick Fuliang Shan (SUNY Press, 2024). This first-ever English-language biography of Li, a founding member of the Communist Party of China, Wendland-Liu writes, contains not only new scholarship but a fresh approach to the life of this revolutionary figure.
Hegemony and the Subaltern in Kafka’s “Josephine the Singer”
November 1, 2024
Christian Noakes invites readers into a literary exploration of Franz Kafka’s short story, “Josephine the Singer.” After all, as the author notes, “Kafka’s often nightmarish stories reflect many of the social, political, and cultural dynamics inherent under capitalism.” In applying this notion to “Josephine the Singer,” Noakes discovers a tale that describes not only the mechanisms of domination that constrain us, but the possibilities of a new consciousness, and a new world.
The Council on Foreign Relations, the Israel Lobby, and the War on Gaza
May 1, 2024
Over six months into to Israel’s atrocity-filled assault on Gaza, Laurence Shoup digs deep to reveal a rarely discussed—but enormously influential—force within the Israel Lobby: the Council on Foreign Relations. The CFR, he writes, is more than just Wall Street’s think tank; it is an elite network of Zionist politicians and donors who comprise a significant part of the Israel lobby and the continuing U.S. commitment to funding Israel’s genocidal actions in Palestine.
Extractivism in the Anthropocene
April 1, 2024
This month’s Review of the Month by John Bellamy Foster illuminates the idea of extractivism, a key concept in understanding our current planetary crisis. The accelerated extraction of Earth’s resources since the mid-twentieth century, Foster notes, threatens not only the natural world, but the means of life for the entire planet.
Old Age but No Rest: A Political-Economic Reflection on Delayed Retirement Policy
April 1, 2024
As populations worldwide grow older, politicians are clamoring to raise the retirement age, thus extending people’s working lives at their own expense. Using the lens of political economy, Cai Chao examines the false narratives behind capitalists’ claims that delayed retirement is necessary to maintain society’s productive capacity, and proposes solutions to promote human development at all life stages.
Do It Yourself, Brother: Cultural Autonomy and the New Thing
March 1, 2024
Christian Noakes is a worker and freelance writer. He received a Masters in Sociology from Georgia State University. Born out of oppressive conditions of the Black experience under white supremacy,… READ MORE
Eleven Theses on Music
March 1, 2024
� Paul Burkett (1956–2024) was a professor of economics at Indiana State University, and the author of Marx and Nature (Haymarket, second edition 2014). He was also a jazz musician…. READ MORE
Critical Race Theory
January 1, 2024
For my fifth-grade teacher, who handed me a book � But what could I have known–dumb�and white and 10-years-old in�that springtime of Bull Connor�and Bombingham? � That year, Mr. Shimazu… READ MORE