It is a challenge to read through the three volumes of Marx’s Capital. Few people do it anymore. Political scientists and philosophers of past generations were intimately familiar with the writings of Marx. The existence of the Soviet Union gave Marx a perpetual relevance in the politics of the era. The fall of the Soviet... Continue Reading →
It is impossible to fully recognize the genius of Marx without the acknowledgement of his absurdity. The second volume of Capital involves the circulation of capital. In this text, Marx takes socialist economics to a space where few of his adherents can travel. He explains how economic systems increase overall wealth despite a limited supply... Continue Reading →
Political theory belongs somewhere between political philosophy and political science. Sometimes it remains philosophical while at other times it requires a rigorous science. The political thought of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe belong to the realm of political philosophy. They write about a form of radical democracy that is rarely discussed in political science but... Continue Reading →
CIRCA 1865: Karl Marx (1818-1883), philosopher and German politician. (Photo by Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images) My mother recalls how I supported Ronald McReagan as a child. I was a young child in the eighties. When the Berlin Wall fell, I was still too young to understand its implications. I learned of the Cold War as... Continue Reading →
Microsoft was never in danger of bankruptcy. But it had become irrelevant as a new group of companies had emerged as the vanguard of the technological revolution. It is not unusual for a company to struggle after the departure of the founder. Apple had also declined after the departure of Steve Jobs in the eighties.... Continue Reading →
The campaign of Bernie Sanders was destined for failure. The American public has long rejected socialism as a political ideology despite its widespread embrace of social programs like Social Security, Medicare and Unemployment Insurance. The irony is redistributive programs have largely buttressed the capitalist system. They offer enough security to maintain widespread support for capitalism... Continue Reading →
Schumpeter never intended to offer a landmark definition of democracy. It was an accident of fortune. In the preface to the first edition he admits, “The problem of democracy forced its way into the place it now occupies in this volume because it proved impossible to state my views on the relation between the socialist... Continue Reading →
