Why Secondary Contradictions Matter: A Maoist View

Already a quick glance at our imbroglio makes it clear that we are caught up in multiple social struggles: the tension between the liberal establishment and new populism, the ecological struggle, struggles for feminism and sexual liberation, ethnic and religious struggles, the struggle for universal human rights, struggles against the digital control over our lives… How to… Continue reading Why Secondary Contradictions Matter: A Maoist View

Should the left’s answer to rightist populism really be a “Me Too”? Part II

Should the left’s answer to rightist populism really be a “Me Too”;? Part I Let’s take an (artificially) clear-cut case. Imagine a democracy, in which a large majority of voters succumb to the anti-immigrant populist propaganda and decide in a referendum to close borders to the refugees and make life more difficult for those who… Continue reading Should the left’s answer to rightist populism really be a “Me Too”? Part II

Refugees, Conservatism, and Cultural Incompatibility

[Transcript below video.] We who try to be decent people are bombarded by some kind of moral political pressure from two sides. First there is the worst one, of course, this anti-immigrant populist side; like, ‘why should we even allow refugees in; it’s their fault; third world travel and so on, there are enough poor… Continue reading Refugees, Conservatism, and Cultural Incompatibility

A Reply to My Critics (re: The Sexual is Political)

A Reply to My Critics (re: The Sexual is Political)

Lately I am getting used to attacks that not only render my position in a totally wrong way but also practice slander pure and simple, so that, at this level, any minimally rational debate becomes meaningless. Among many examples, suffice it to mention Hamid Dabashi, who begins his book Can Non-Europeans Think? with: “‘Fuck you,… Continue reading A Reply to My Critics (re: The Sexual is Political)

Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?

Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?

My short comment on the “war on terror” published online by New Statesman has triggered a series of critical reactions which definitely looks like a well-coordinated campaign, so it deserves a short reply. With regard to the statements quoted in my text and falsely attributed to Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkish intelligence, things are simple… Continue reading Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?

For a Leftist Appropriation of the European Legacy

For a Leftist Appropriation of the European Legacy

How, for Ranciere, did politics proper begin? With the emergence of demos as an active agent within the Greek polis: of a group which, although without any fixed place in the social edifice (or, at best, occupying a subordinated place), demanded to be included in the public sphere, to be heard on equal footing with… Continue reading For a Leftist Appropriation of the European Legacy

Rotherham child sex abuse: it is our duty to ask difficult questions

Rotherham child sex abuse: it is our duty to ask difficult questions

The outline of what happened in Rotherham is now more or less clear: at least 1,400 children were subjected to brutal sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013; children as young as 11 were raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities, beaten and intimidated. The perpetrators were (almost exclusively) of Pakistani origin, and their… Continue reading Rotherham child sex abuse: it is our duty to ask difficult questions

What is an authentic political event?

What is an authentic political event?

December 2013 I visited Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy located just behind the Harrods store in London. It was a rather depressing experience, in spite of the kindness of the embassy personnel. The embassy is a six-room apartment with no garden attached, so that Assange cannot even take a daily walk in fresh air.… Continue reading What is an authentic political event?

Syria is a pseudo-struggle

Syria is a pseudo-struggle

All that was false in the idea and practice of humanitarian interventions exploded in a condensed form apropos Syria. OK, there is a bad dictator who is (allegedly) using poisonous gas against the population of his own state – but who is opposing his regime? It seems that whatever remained of the democratic-secular resistance is… Continue reading Syria is a pseudo-struggle