The Poverty of Theory

Columns

Wrestling with the Demo(n)s

Maximillian Alvarez

January 23, 2019

As a new documentary makes clear, there is no democracy and never was. There is only struggle—here, now, always.

The Vital Possibility of Abdul El-Sayed

Maximillian Alvarez

August 03, 2018

That Abdul El-Sayed is even possible in the dark terrain of our present moment is a sign that history is moving.

Don’t Let Them Win

Maximillian Alvarez

July 20, 2018

Politics is endless war; silence will not protect you.

The Death of Media

Maximillian Alvarez

June 20, 2018

As the planet chokes on electronic waste, a recycler goes to prison.

The Feminist Horizon

Maximillian Alvarez

February 28, 2018

The International Women's Strike on March 8 is meant to be a “political strike”; that is, a strike whose concerns are not limited to the workplace.

Don’t Give Up on Universities

Maximillian Alvarez

February 14, 2018

Antiracist and antifascist politics like #StopSpencer are providing a catalyst for many on campuses to confront anti-democratic power arrangements.

No Re-Turning Point, U.S.A.

Maximillian Alvarez

January 26, 2018

When I look at TPUSA, I don’t see an organization looking for dialogue—I see an occupying force.

The Year History Died

Maximillian Alvarez

January 18, 2018

In the battle over who gets to wield history’s power, if we continue to play by the assumption that history has “ended,” we will lose.

A Show Trial that No One Watched

Maximillian Alvarez

December 21, 2017

Today, a jury in the Washington, D.C. Superior Court rendered a verdict of not guilty on all counts for the first six defendants in the J20 trials.

Administering Evil

Maximillian Alvarez

November 29, 2017

The modern neoliberal university has no solid answer for someone like Richard Spencer.

Norms Follow Function

Maximillian Alvarez

November 15, 2017

Change is all the things you don’t notice.

The Commons Are Rumbling

Maximillian Alvarez,  Ben Becker,  Jodi Dean,  Karina Garcia

August 16, 2017

Most people in their communities already recognize both the problem and the solution.