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Class & Inequality, Philosophy & Religion

A More Perfect Meritocracy

Two new books take aim at the moral failures of meritocracy. But we can advocate for a more just society without giving up on merit.

Agnes Callard

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Philosophy & Religion

Philosophy & Religion, Race

Whiteness Is the Greatest Racial Fraud

The Krugs and Dolezals dominate the headlines, but they are distractions from the fraud that imperils us all: believing oneself to be white.

Luvell Anderson

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Our Machiavellian Moment

Much maligned as a mere tactician of power, Machiavelli was in fact a philosopher of the people. His critique of oligarchic domination remains essential today.

Camila Vergara

Philosophy & Religion

Can We Deduce Our Way to Salvation?

A new book suggests that modern readers can still follow the path of reason that Spinoza traced to true well-being, but they might not want to.

Carlos Fraenkel

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Why Privatization Is Wrong

Many reject privatization for its distributional consequences. The deeper problem is that it threatens the very foundation of political legitimacy.

Chiara Cordelli

Gender & Sexuality, Philosophy & Religion

Why We Shouldn't Compare Transracial to Transgender Identity

Unlike gender inequality, racial inequality primarily accumulates across generations. Transracial identification undermines collective reckoning with that injustice.

Robin Dembroff, Dee Payton

Gender & Sexuality, Philosophy & Religion

The Obligation of Self-Discovery

Simone de Beauvoir’s relationship with her readers was a mutually demanding collaboration.

Vivian Gornick

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Donald Trump, Our Prophet of Deceit

The Frankfurt School on the appeal of authoritarianism—and how to counteract it.

Charles H. Clavey

Philosophy & Religion

The Angel of History

Pestilence and plague have often prompted waves of apocalyptic thinking, calling into question the steady march of progress in human history.

John Merrick

Philosophy & Religion

Repertoires of Rage

Anger’s history—along with the very fact that it has one—can shed light on the hypertrophied emotional climate of today.

David Konstan

Philosophy & Religion

2020's Existentialist Turn

While existentialist thinking has much wisdom to offer about anxiety, contingency, and death, we must also think concretely about politics and institutions.

Carmen Lea Dege

Law & Justice, Philosophy & Religion

Bostock v. BLM

Two conflicting visions of equality have recently emerged on the American political left. Only one aims at institutional change.

Aziz Z. Huq

Philosophy & Religion

Moral Reasoning in a Pandemic

Three things we need to get right.

F. M. Kamm

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