Notre Dame: The Cathedral Burned Down, Not the Church

The Catholic Church is one of the most reactionary institutions in the world. So as the historic cathedral burned in Paris, a well-known anticlerical phrase swept through social media: “The only church that illuminates is the one that burns.” Given the incredible hypocrisy of the capitalists and war criminals who are now pledging to rebuild the church, this sentiment is easy to understand. Nonetheless, the fire represents a great loss of culture and heritage. To think otherwise means forgetting key elements of working-class history.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 2: The Rise of the Right and the Resistance

Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is the depiction of a far-off and dystopian future, but its depictions of misogyny, gender essentialism, and religious fundamentalism hit way too close to home. Season two continues to develop the structure and oppression of the fictional nation of Gilead, but it also starts to depict the beginnings of a growing—and necessary—political resistance.

Weber’s Protestant Ethic: a Marxist Critique

The classical work by Max Weber has been used by sociologists and other scholars to proclaim the predominance of ideas over material forces. This is a critical reassessment of his work through the lenses of historical materialism.