Since the global financial crisis, and even more over the last five years, capitalism’s popularity has fallen, while the fortunes of the capitalist class have risen steeply. Polls show that a majority of people under forty, of any political affiliation, view democratic socialism positively and capitalism negatively. Even a majority of Republican voters believe that our economic system favors corporations and the wealthy. Journalist John Cassidy discusses capitalism through the eyes of its critics. (Full-length presentation.)
John Cassidy, Capitalism and Its Critics A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025
The post Criticizing Capitalism appeared first on KPFA.
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The Fodder of Eco-Fascism
As the environmental crisis worsens, not everyone is drawing the same lessons. On the far right, xenophobic and racist ideas are increasingly dressed up as means of protecting nature. And, as scholar Alexander Menrisky posits, contemporary American culture furnishes a wealth of material for the right, from the ubiquity of apocalyptic and misanthropic ideas to concerns with Wellness and bodily purity. (Encore presentation.)
Alexander Menrisky, Everyday Ecofascism: Crisis and Consumption in American Literature University of Minnesota Press, 2025
The post The Fodder of Eco-Fascism appeared first on KPFA.
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Stepping Down, Looking Back
On the occasion of C. S. stepping down as regular co-host of Against the Grain after a 22-year run, he presents some reflections, reminiscences, and excerpts from cherished interviews.
The post Stepping Down, Looking Back appeared first on KPFA.
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Secularism’s False Promise?
If the problem is religious polarization and inequality, isn’t the solution secular governance? Secularism, after all, promises the equality of citizens regardless of religious affiliation. In a 2016 interview, Saba Mahmood argued that modern secular governance, contrary to its grand claims, has in fact exacerbated religious inequalities. It has also, she said, constrained our political imagination to a significant degree.
Saba Mahmood, Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report Princeton University Press
Obituary: Dr. Saba Mahmood, 1962-2018
The post Secularism’s False Promise? appeared first on KPFA.
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Racism, the Right, and the Anti-Tax Movement
How did a fringe rightwing movement calling for lower taxes become one of the most successful efforts in U.S politics, leading to a chronically underfunded government? The answer has more than a little to do with racism. Michael Graetz traces the rise and triumph of the anti-tax movement and the ways that politicians and think-tanks harnessed racial resentments for the benefit of the wealthy.
Michael J. Graetz, The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked America Princeton University Press, 2024
Photo credit: Mike Meadows, Los Angeles Times
The post Racism, the Right, and the Anti-Tax Movement appeared first on KPFA.
Acclaimed program of ideas, in-depth analysis, and commentary on a variety of matters—political, economic, social, and cultural—important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is produced and hosted by Sasha Lilley.
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