In the penultimate essay in his series on Walter Benjamin, Andrew Robinson examines the critique of the state in Benjamin's much-discussed “Critique of Violence”. Robinson explains why Benjamin saw the state as an expression of a fatalistic worldview, what kind of action he believed could destroy oppression, and what this means for the possibilities of diffuse social power.
Around the world, U2 lead singer Bono is seen as the archetypal celebrity philanthropist, jetting across the globe campaigning against hunger and injustice in Africa and elsewhere. Harry Browne’s new book, The Frontman, unmasks a very different picture.
As the Editor of Left Foot Forward, James Bloodworth is an increasingly prominent voice on the Left in the UK. And yet, Ian Sinclair argues, Bloodworth's positions, notably on the "war on terror", have more in common with those of hawks in the UK and US Governments.
'Dirty Wars', the hard-hitting documentary based on Jeremy Scahill's book, is an insightful examination not only of some shameful episodes in the US's "war on terror" but also of the dehumanising psychology of US exceptionalism, argues Roger Bromley.