Mark McConaghy breaks down what we know about the deal Cyprus struck to avoid fiscal collapse, and why it sets a very dangerous precedent for fiscal policy in the 21st century. Are we going to find ourselves in a world where even our personal bank accounts are not off limits from state power? A deal […]
Read more "The Age of the Bail In: Cyprus in Crisis 2"By Sean Callaghan The Revenge of Marx? On March 25th, Time magazine published an article detailing a resurgent interest in Marxism. The title: “Marx’s Revenge: How Class Struggle is Shaping the World.” The basic argument: that the current widening divide between rich and poor since the financial crisis of 2008 has become so apparent in […]
Read more "The Homer Problem"By Mark McConaghy. The people of Cyprus are facing an egregious betrayal of trust by their own government, who has proposed to steal 10% from their citizens personal bank accounts to pay for an EU sponsored bailout. With yet another European country on the verge of total financial collapse and social upheaval, the question that […]
Read more "Cyprus in Crisis"By Mark McConaghy Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as pope and has taken the name Francis 1. As a follow up to my wishlist for the papal appointment written last week, I have been encouraged by our readers to provide my thoughts on his election. As the first pope from Latin America, Francis 1 will […]
Read more "Francis 1: New Pope, Many Questions"By Mark McConaghy At a time of acute crisis in the life of the Catholic Church, what are five things that it could do to make itself into a revitalized, socially progressive, and powerfully empathetic institution for the 21st century? 1. A Comparative Perspective In the mid 18th century, the power of the Manchu Qing […]
Read more "Five Things I Want From the New Pope"Article by Sean Callaghan. Some thoughts on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained coupled with my own brief, alternative history of violence in the Western. (Note: Spoiler alert for Django, Django Unchained, and Shane – though by now I think most people are familiar with the poignant last scene of Shane.) The Critics Quentin Tarantino is at […]
Read more "Violence Unchained – Quentin Tarantino Rewrites the Western"By Mark McConaghy Some of our most mundane activities- watching hockey, taking in an awards show- can reveal to us how ideology operates in our current society. Taking a moment to think about why we invest emotionally in certain things reveals a crucial problem that we must face as progressive intellectuals: the traditional understanding of […]
Read more "On What Being an Oiler Fan Teaches You About Ideology"By Sean Callaghan. I used to love watching the Oscars. I used to wait the whole year in anticipation of drinking in the glitz and the glamor. I can’t do it anymore. Here are some of the reasons why. 1. Ricky Gervais. He changed awards shows forever. 2. It’s an event that lauds people who […]
Read more "Top Ten Reasons why I Didn’t Watch the Oscars This Year"From the 2012 Brave New Voices Competition. Article by Sean Callaghan Before I say why I love this spoken word performance, let me put this in context. It seems like I’ve been reading and writing a great deal about race in the last little while. My article on Quentin Tarantino’s new flic Django Unchained came […]
Read more "It Was Never Just About Race"A list of Westerns with something more to say than “bang bang! your dead!” by Sean Callaghan I love running down a list and checking off the things I’ve done. I also love Westerns. So here’s something that joins these two loves together. This list is not organized based on general watchability, though. In each […]
Read more "Top Five: Westerns with Edge"
The 14th Floor 