Matt Walsh’s Vitriolic Anti-Trans Christianity Is Distinctly Anti-Christian
Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh has made a name for himself with his relentless, religious-inflected trans-bashing. He’s a bad thinker and a bad Christian.
57 Article(s) by: Matt McManus
Matt McManus is an assistant professor at Spelman College. He is the author of The Political Right and Equality and The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism among other books.
Ron DeSantis Hates Elites. Except for Himself and His Ruling-Class Buddies.
In his new book, Ron DeSantis presents himself as a blue-collar kid who hates elites. But the truth is, DeSantis doesn’t oppose elite rule — this Ivy Leaguer simply wants a different set of elites like himself to rule over the rest of us.
Libertarians Weren’t Always Apologists for the Rich and Powerful
A new history of libertarianism challenges the conventional understanding of the tradition by spotlighting its radical currents. Unfortunately, there’s barely a remnant of that history today — most libertarians threw in their lot with the Right long ago.
The Republican Philosophical Tradition Shows Why Free-Market Freedom Is a Farce
Buried for many decades by the dominance of liberal thought, the republican tradition of freedom as nondomination has been excavated in recent years. Democratic socialists should embrace it.
If You Care About Human Freedom, You Should Reject the Capitalist Work Ethic
The capitalist work ethic insists that we keep our heads down and work endlessly, even if our job is degrading. Democratic socialists want to free workers from drudgery so we can develop our full human potential and simply enjoy the one life we have.
This Christmas, Radical Christianity and Marxism Can Inspire Us to Build a Better World
The conventional understanding of Marxism as doggedly anti-religious is wrong. In fact, as the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre argued, Christianity and Marxism have at times inspired in humanity a radical sense of hope to build a more just world.
We Should Go Beyond Liberalism, Not Abandon It
The eminent philosopher Raymond Geuss wants us to think about ways of being that exist entirely outside of liberalism. But the most feasible egalitarian project is not one that rejects liberalism, but one that goes beyond it — through democratic socialism.
Ludwig von Mises Was a Free-Market Ideologue, Not a Hardheaded Thinker
Ludwig von Mises, the influential right-wing economist, thought of himself as a sober, scientific critic of socialism. In reality, he was a free-market ideologue, using dressed-up dogma to prove why workers should bow before their capitalist masters.
The Political Tradition of Republicanism Should Be a Touchstone for Democratic Socialists
The radical idea at the heart of republicanism is a challenge to private bosses and public tyrants everywhere: that we can live free from the whims of arbitrary power. Democratic socialists should embrace the radical currents of this ancient philosophy.
Mark Levin’s American Marxism Is an Insult to Your Intelligence
Conservative Mark Levin has climbed the best-seller list again with his right-wing tract American Marxism. It’s a plodding mess of a book, with page after page of recycled slogans and analysis so thin you have to squint to find any substance.
If You Like Democracy, You Should Oppose Capitalism
Liberal democracy gives us essential rights like free speech and civil liberties. But without challenging the domination of capital, liberal rights will always be curtailed by the power of the rich.
Race Marxism Is a Very Strange, Very Bad Book
James Lindsay has a best-selling book out called Race Marxism. Reading the book, you soon learn that Lindsay has a shallow understanding not just of Marxism or racism in the US but the classical liberal tradition he seeks to defend.
Getting Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche Talking
Karl Marx believed in the self-emancipation of the working class, while Friedrich Nietzsche had nothing but disdain for the masses. But a provocative new book claims the two thinkers can be read together to develop a socialism for today.
The Socialist Politics and Theology of Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich was perhaps the most towering Christian theologian of the 20th century. His religious thought is well remembered today — but his resolutely socialist thinking and agitating is not.
To Beat the Right, We Have to Understand Their Arguments
Since the French Revolution, the Right has deployed a common set of arguments to resist the drive to democratize economic and political power. The Left will only win if we analyze their rhetoric — and counter it.
Neoliberalism Renders Us Powerless — and Blames Us for It
As the 1 percent internalized the sense that they alone were responsible for their success, so too was everyone else made to feel like the cause of their own failure. This formula was baked into the neoliberal philosophy from the beginning.
Conservatives Are Wrong: There’s Nothing Natural About Hierarchy
Conservative thinkers like Roger Scruton defend traditional hierarchies as natural and inescapable. But our social order is the product of human decisions — and it can be remade to benefit the many rather than the few.
There’s No Moral Justification for Capitalist-Owned Enterprises
Capitalist “liberty” is just another word for private tyranny. Workers, not capitalists, should control economic enterprises.
C. B. Macpherson Wanted a Socialism That Didn’t Lose Sight of the Individual
Canadian thinker C. B. Macpherson insisted that capitalism’s “possessive individualism” constrained human flourishing. In its place, he wanted a democratic socialist society where people could build meaningful relationships and express the kaleidoscope of human individuality.
In Defense of Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Zizek has made some serious missteps in recent years — but he remains an important theorist for the Left in our postmodern, neoliberal era.