The multiplicity of interpretations to which the Commune has been subjected, and the multiplicity of interests which construed it in their favor, show that it was a thoroughly expansive political form, while all the previous forms of government had been emphatically repressive. Its true secret was this: It was essentially a working class government, the … Continue reading The Democratic Modernism of Peter Watkins
The Haunt emerges from an almost yeat-long slumber. I don’t know if you’ve seen this or not, but Horror Vanguard put out our yearly Halloween special episode. A few years ago we decided to do something special for the first time and put out an episode that cracked the three hour mark. The following year … Continue reading Amityville Postscript
‘Your Karl Marx still believes in letting natural forces take their course. No politics, no conspiracies, am I right? Everything out in the open, and nothing to fight for but wage rises ... To hell with you and your gradual evolution! Set fire to every town and city, cut the populace to shreds, raze everything … Continue reading Zola As Horror Writer
The apparent delight with which we dwell upon objects of pure terror, where our moral feelings are not in the least concerned and no passion seems to be excited but the depressing one of fear, is a paradox of the heart… difficult of solution. John and Anna Laetitia Aikin, “On the Pleasure Derived from Objects … Continue reading Hungry For Something
For FRJ. Fredric Jameson is dead and it feels like the world has moved on its axis, a center of gravity has shifted. It is almost impossible to give a full and fair summation of Jameson’s achievements - as an intellectual, writer and philosopher he can only be thought of in plural, as many Jamesons. … Continue reading Thought To The Second Power
A couple of years back, I went to a conference on Utopian Studies. For the most part, it was, to be blunt, rather disappointing. Papers were presented wherein the limit of utopian thought was a liberal beneficence -- less the great shock of the revolutionary New, but a more capitalist sense of “new and improved!” … Continue reading Raise Them Up From The Poison Swamp: Rupture and Heresy in The Books of Jacob
I was, for better or worse, raised in the Methodist Church. To try and explain precisely just what that means is difficult, as in many ways that iteration of the Methodist Church is no longer existent, or is found mostly in memories, kept alive by dwindling, gray haired congregations. The Methodism of the North of … Continue reading Re-enchanting Zion: On Sarah Perry’s Enlightenment
I’ve been doing a series of events for A Primer on Utopian Philosophy (available now, order it here etc etc). What has been perhaps somewhat surprising is the extent to which Bloch’s philosophical project seems to resonate with people. In the midst of the bleak nightmare of modernity, Bloch’s unabashed philosophy of hope could easily … Continue reading Blessed Are They That Mourn, For They Shall Be Haunted
The connections and similarities between Bloch and Benjamin are still, I think, under-appreciated -- reflecting the wider lack of interest in Bloch’s work. The two were contemporaries, knew one another and had a deep appreciation for one another’s work and methods. Just on the surface there are some interesting polarities -- Bloch, the exegete; loquacious, … Continue reading Now Time and the Not Yet
From a situation in which nothing is possible, suddenly anything is possible againMark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, Is There No Alternative Today marks the publication of my new book, A Primer on Utopian Philosophy: An Introduction to the Work of Ernst Bloch, out with Zer0 Books. The book -- more of a pamphlet really -- is … Continue reading Feeling Bloched
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