Philosophy

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

An interview with Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin on the climate crisis, COVID-19, and the future of environmental politics. 

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

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