Zen Library of Blogs

  • Racism and Fire: Capitalism’s Role in the Persistence of Race

    Racism and Fire: Capitalism’s Role in the Persistence of Race

    October is Black History Month, and both of my institutional employers have emailed me with offers of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training as part of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), though not mandatory sessions. Edinburgh University led the way (1st October) by presenting a one-hour workshop on a range of different groups and activities undertaking… Read more

  • “Fascism” and the Myth of a Good Capitalism

    “Fascism” and the Myth of a Good Capitalism

    With the rise of contemporary authoritarian regimes (including those of Duterte, Bolsonaro, Orbán, and Erdoğan) in notional, or prior, ‘liberal democracies’ and especially with the revival of Trump in the US, the term ‘Fascist’ has become a popular and widely applied descriptive term – a quick means of summing up both recent changes and the… Read more

  • History produces nothing but Barbarism

    History produces nothing but Barbarism

    In a recent video interview for publisher Unherd, Yanis Varoufakis asked the question: “Why is the Left the loser of history?’ He went on to argue that the Left failed to “take its opportunity” in the wake of the crisis of capitalism in 2008. Consequently, the ground remained wide-open, only to be filled by the… Read more

  • Marx’s Anarchism and the Politics of Capitalism

    Marx’s Anarchism and the Politics of Capitalism

    On the relevance of Marx in times of ‘Zombie Capitalism?’ Studying an author hermeneutically refers to understanding a writer by standing in their shoes and seeing the world from their perspective.  Studying political writings in such a manner was advanced in the mid-20th century by scholars like those in the ‘Cambridge School’ of history of… Read more

  • AI? The Technology of Small Boat Vagabondage

    AI? The Technology of Small Boat Vagabondage

    In 16th century England laws were enacted to prevent dispossessed peasants from roaming the countryside and pouring into town centres.  Rules against beggars were enforced using draconian measures such as cutting or branding miscreants, and deporting them to their place of origin, their parish of birth.  The Poor Law system was established on the basis… Read more

  • On Becoming a Critical Thinker?

    On Becoming a Critical Thinker?

    There are many courses within higher education (HE) which claim to turn students into “critical thinkers”.  The focus is on skills and techniques students can learn, adopt, or adapt such that they “become” a critical thinker, as if such a designation (or identification) was a personal possession and/or that the individual student’s transformation, chrysalis and… Read more