Yet Another Substack by Yet Another Leftist!

But this one will be a little different from the others...

The world is drowning in daily deluges of digital content, but today I decided that, despite appearances, we need even more such content! The internet still suffers from a paucity of material. To wit, the world needs a Substack written by yours truly. Now that such a Substack exists, the digital ecosystem is complete.

Well, we’ll see. Maybe this will be just another exercise in creative mediocrity that interests no one and impoverishes the world for its existence. Still, being a writer, I’m kind of arrogant and think I have things to say. So, let’s take the plunge into writerly exhibitionism…

I say “exhibitionism” because part of the plan for this Substack is to post things I’ve already written but that have been read by almost no one, because they’re from a “journal of ideas” I’ve kept for nearly thirty years. (If you’re interested in skimming the journal itself, here’s a link to it and a description of it. Now that’s proper exhibitionism!) Since writers write to be read, it seems silly and self-vitiating to keep all this writing to myself. It covers a wide range of topics, from many areas of philosophy (in which I have a graduate degree) to modern and ancient history; from phenomenological psychology (think Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Max Scheler, and the like) to the horrors of contemporary U.S. politics; from music criticism (I’m a classical music nerd) to expositions of cognitive science and biology. I’ll also periodically post more personal columns and reflections, not because I think I’m of much interest but because I suspect others will identify with the thoughts, experiences, and feelings expressed—the experiences of living in the bowels of a dying empire reigning over a dying civilization.

Whoa, that got dark rather suddenly. Let me hastily add that I think there’s still hope for society!

So this Substack is going to be all over the place. Doubtless that’s somewhat of a flaw. But in a world that fetishes specialization—bureaucratization, professionalization, credentialing, policing boundaries, separating, narrowing—I think there’s something to be said for being a generalist.

Fair warning: since I’m a labor historian, and moreover I’m rational and value freedom and human dignity, the political content of this Substack will be from a Marxist and anarchist point of view. My two intellectual heroes are Marx and Chomsky. (The former was a much better writer than the latter, but the latter is probably of a higher stature, given his achievements in linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, history, political commentary, media criticism, etc., and his range of knowledge that surpasses everyone in history. Read his unimaginably prolific output if you think I’m exaggerating.) So if you’re not a fan of critical thinking about capitalist society….you should still subscribe to this Substack, because you might change your mind.

Speaking of subscribing: I’m a lowly adjunct professor who lives in a very expensive city, so I’d be infinitely grateful if you’d become a paid subscriber. Assuming you like what you read, that is. Being a leftist grad student, I wasn’t smart enough ten or twelve years ago to invest in the stock market or buy bitcoin or whatnot, so now here I am actually having to work for a (less-than-ideal) living.

Not everything I post here will be old material. I’ve been finding it hard lately to motivate myself to write the political articles I’ve sometimes published in the past (at CounterPunch, Truthout, Common Dreams, Dissent, Compact, and other publications), but I expect I’ll get back to political writing sooner or later. Meanwhile, I’ll keep writing informal reflections and book reviews and the like.

I’ll keep this first post uncharacteristically brief, for an academic. Thanks for reading, and eternal thanks if, out of the kindness of your anti-capitalist heart, you become a paid subscriber. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this (at the moment) brand-spanking-new Substack.