Welcome
I am a writer, scholar and political commentator interested in social justice and political judgment, the rise of new ideologies, and democracy's troubles with capitalism. I draw on history, philosophy, and sociology as I seek to produce politically salient and critical analyses of modern societies.
Capitalism is not on its deathbed, utopia is not in our future, and revolution is not in the cards. And yet, the time is ripe for radical progressive change.
My latest book
My latest book
"This is the big-think book of our time", James Galbraith, interview. Read his review "The Pandemic and Capitalism".
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Latest
Emancipation without Utopia? (lectio magistralis) Public Lecture
How to be radical in the 21st century
Organized by IPER - Festival delle periferie
The landscape of our political imagination is void of a grand utopia able to energise the discontent and the hopes of the multitude. Why is this the case? And what ways are still available to us for radical transformation without the help of Utopia?
Event Poster
2nd Leuven Critical Emancipations Conference: The Production of Difference Public Lecture
Keynote Address 'The Emancipation Paradox and the Production of Indifference'
Organized by KU Leuven, Institute of Philosophy
One of the paradoxes of our time is that advances in progressive politics aiming at fostering inclusive difference are paralleled by increased competition for victimhood among various protected minorities -- a dynamic that replaces solidarities with indifference. The keynote will address this paradox.
Home-Grown Autocracy Public Lecture
Why Are Democrats Turning Against Democracy?
Organized by European Common Space for Alternatives (ECSA)
Keynote address to the European Common Space for Alternatives (ECSA) symposium, Marseille, 26-28 April
Plenary "Power to the People": The perspective of a real democracy is not only a historical, social and political exigence but also a necessary condition to defeat authoritarianism and the Far - right forces that are rising across Europe and the Globe."
Why Is the Right Riding High on Social Discontent? Public Lecture
Organized by International Political Science Association, Research Committe "Socialism, Capitalism and Democracy"
The affluent Western societies are beset by impoverishment, inequality, and insecurity, and awash with massive discontent. The channels of electoral politics are translating this angst into support for far-right parties; autocracy thrives with the blessing of democratic publics. To make sense of this pathology, we need to shed some of the certitudes that have buttressed 'progressive' social criticism and intellectual critique.
Key Driver of Populism Is Insecurity Rather Than Inequality Interview
Organized by European Center for Populism Studies
The term "populism" is misleading; it is diverting attention from significant and lasting transformations in ideological orientations that are taking place in liberal democracies. The new parameters that orient voters' preferences transcend conventional left-right categories.
