Dialectics hold a kind of mystical grip over leftist — and most specifically Marxist — discourse. It is often repeated that analysis should proceed dialectically, that we must observe and assess contradictions as the methodological staples of the Marxist theoretical diet. At times, this sort of mantra transcends methodology and…

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/shIAIiGoo-s Introduction Every year, the dire consequences of climate change make themselves inescapably apparent. The fires, floods, storms, and droughts affect more and more people around the world. One gets the sense that every season brings with it headlines of unprecedented records and devastating destruction of ecosystems…

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/sZgjtVFDVWg In the last two videos, we were focused on theoretical and historical perspectives on language. Today we will turn our attention to a brief case study that reflects on some of the concepts we have already explored. Language, as we’ve already seen, is fundamentally political…

Something very historically unusual has been happening for the past century. At an unprecedented pace, languages around the world have been disappearing. By some estimates, we’ve been losing about one language every three months for the past hundred years. By the end of this century, we may lose another 50%…

Though we are immersed in it constantly, we don’t normally stop to think about language. When we communicate or receive information, we don’t tend to pay much attention to specific words and the order in which they are structured. Even when we do, we don’t tend to ask ourselves how…

To understand mercantilist thinking is to understand the historical circumstances of a transition between modes of production. Few traditions of economic thought more clearly demonstrate the determinant effect of social and material conditions on theoretical development. Mercantilism presents itself as a focal lens into the world of a decaying feudal…

Marx’s theory of history is quite often read as the “inversion” of Hegel. That is to say, people read in Marx a history that moves dialectically through stages towards a perceived end. We can say, in this sense, that Marx’s conception of history is end-driven, that the end “pulls” all…

https://youtu.be/SIcCl17VmCs In recent weeks, Kazakhstan has made it to the front pages of many peoples’ news feeds. Despite being a country of considerable significance in Central Asia, few people around the world know much about Kazakhstan, its history, or its current issues. This video will forego a complete historical account…

In the last several years, Professor Richard Wolff has been propelled into the heart of leftist content online. Wolff’s accessible public persona and well-grounded knowledge of Marxist theory has made him one of the most renowned left-wing academics on the internet, and beyond. But as the left has grown in…