Can Comedy Be an Antidote to Authoritarianism’s Poison?
Politically, the opposite of authoritarianism is democracy; cognitively, it is humor. Comedy may indeed be the best medicine for our seriously unwell era.
democracy
Balanced on the Thin Edge of Democracy, Can We See the Tipping Point?
The Trump-bolstered radical right are akin to fourth-century Christian fanatics who -- in the space of a single generation -- transformed the Roman empire from a state of broadly tolerant religious plurality to one of violence and societal destruction.
‘World War 3 Illustrated #51: The World We Are Fighting For’
World War 3 Illustrated #51 displays an eclectic range of artists united in their call to save democracy from rising fascism.
Looking for the Next Best Version of America? Abrams Wrote the Book on How to Achieve It
"Try this at home": With her latest work, Our Time Is Now, Plotter-in-Chief Stacey Abrams offers a timely playbook for how to ensure free and fair elections in America.
Little Protests Everywhere
Wherever you are, let's invite our neighbors not to look away from police violence against African Americans and others. Let's encourage them not to forget about George Floyd and so many before him.
Is ‘Murder Most Foul’ Bob Dylan’s State of the Union Address?
The implication of Bob Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul”, expressed with an understated passion, is that in 2020, it may not be just the music or even the president that has died.
Tlatelolco ’68: The Democratic Struggle That Refuses to Die
The Mexican student struggle of 1968 reaches forward to democratic struggles today. Captured by Paco Ignacio Taibo II in two works, 1982's Calling All Heroes and this year's '68: The Mexican Autumn of the Tlatelolco Massacre, it's a powerful reminder of the resilience of democracy.
Some of the Most Maligned Tools of Modern Democracy Are Viewed in a New Light in Saaf’s Reissued ‘A Significant Year’
Part diary, part travelogue, and part social science study, Abdallah Saaf's A Significant Year examines Morocco's 2007 elections with a perspective on all modern democracies.
‘Can Democracy Work?’ Is the Essential Question We Must Continue to Grapple With
James Miller's Can Democracy Work? is a coming-of-age story for a generation of Americans whose ideals of social, economic, and political progress foundered on the rocks of brute capitalist power.
‘Trump and the Media’: Work-in-Progress Dispatches from a Sinking Ship
The warning signs of a failing media system have always been there. This MIT Press collection of media scholars and activists casts light on recent media history and where it's taking us.
Opportunity in Crises: On Chantal Mouffe’s ‘For a Left Populism’
By adopting a populist strategy, the left could finally overcome neoliberalism, replacing it with a deeper, kinder and more radical form of democracy, Mouffe argues.
On the Tight Confines of Madeleine Albright’s Cold War Intellectual Straitjacket
The status quo of the past 30 years facilitated a massive transfer in wealth and public resources away from the average American and into the hands of a wealthy minority; a radical coup if ever there was one. Yet it was achieved democratically. A response to Madeleine Albright's Fascism: A Warning.