Analyst of Totalitarianism—Reading Simon Leys Today
Simon Leys was perhaps the pre-eminent Western chronicler of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, and it is worth returning to his work for its vivid first-hand accounts of life in Beijing during this period. But Leys was also interested in the process by which, under the right conditions and with the
Straight to Hell: Millenarianism and the Green New Deal
Millennials and Gen Z and all these folks that come after us are looking up, and we’re like, “The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.” ~Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, interviewed by Ta-Nehisi Coates at the MLK Now event. I wish we
It's Time to Marginalize the University and Revive the Café
It’s time to marginalize the university. Universities have come to play an outsize, unwarranted, and often malign role in American life. But their influence and prestige doesn’t stem from any recent intellectual accomplishment or even insidious political agenda. Instead it comes down to “power” to use a word
