Tag: Oligarchy

Marx’s madness: Why ‘Parasite’ explains everything, basically

The movie Parasite stands in my mind on the same level as Moonlight. It is a distinctive and cutting portrayal of the modern condition of Homo sapiens. It is ‘terrifying.’ And it is, fundamentally, true. Here is why. ‘Parasite’, directed by Bong Joon-ho. In Parasite, the enduring question is: who is the parasite — the … Continue reading Marx’s madness: Why ‘Parasite’ explains everything, basically →

Why Liz Truss will be a bad prime minister, and that is a good thing

I once declared Liz Truss to be unelectable, and I stand by this claim with no small degree of fear and dread. Liz Truss is a terrible choice of prime minister, and the prospect of her holding the highest office in the land is truly terrifying. Remember what Truss has stood for since her departure … Continue reading Why Liz Truss will be a bad prime minister, and that is a good thing →

The upside-down narrative of HAMILTON

After Stephen Sondheim’s jazz-influenced era of musical theatre and Jonathan Larson’s rock-infused follow-up, Lin-Manuel Miranda took the world by storm with a third age of musicals, drawing on hip hop in the ‘90s and early ‘00s to make the hits In the Heights and Hamilton in the late ‘00s to mid ‘10s. The latter combined … Continue reading The upside-down narrative of HAMILTON →

The rise and fall of the private state

There are three characters in our play of politics: Capital (or the economy), Commonwealth (or the polity), and Culture (or the society). Hobbes’s Leviathan: free from privatisation? To privatise a state (Hobbes’s ‘commonwealth’), capital either: Weakens commonwealth, allowing culture to dominate (indirect privatisation); orStrengthens itself to such a degree that capital can dominate (direct privatisation). … Continue reading The rise and fall of the private state →

Voices of Capital I: Welcome!

Welcome to this series of essays on three ‘voices of capital’: The Economist, The Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. What do I mean my ‘voices of capital’? To answer that question, let’s get more specific. By capital, I mean the interests, or the needs, of two social entities: The market system (capitalism); and The … Continue reading Voices of Capital I: Welcome! →

The fusion manifesto: Against corona capitalism, for a better world

Corona capitalism has dawned. Self-isolation is the norm. 'Work from home' is the rule. And hell is anon. What kind of hell, you may well ask? A hell of fission, or separation among institutions and people. Yet this hell is not totally knew. On the contrary: fission is the default of capitalism, which began with … Continue reading The fusion manifesto: Against corona capitalism, for a better world →