What if Matter Is Sacred? Conversation with Jakob Hanschu on Arts and Crafts Movement (McCarraher 7-Audio)

October 25, 2020

In a discussion that launches from Part 4 of McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, especially the part on the Arts and Crafts movement and its preoccupation with beauty, we get into the question of how to view human labor and the material world. McCarraher’s sacramental view of nature informs a discussion of whether and how it is realistic and beneficial to see matter as sacred. What would it mean for Christianity and other religions if we did? What would it mean for work and for the economy?
… More What if Matter Is Sacred? Conversation with Jakob Hanschu on Arts and Crafts Movement (McCarraher 7-Audio)

What if Matter Is Sacred? Conversation with Jakob Hanschu on Arts and Crafts Movement (McCarraher 7-Video)

October 25, 2020

In a discussion that launches from Part 4 of McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, especially the part on the Arts and Crafts movement and its preoccupation with beauty, we get into the question of how to view human labor and the material world. McCarraher’s sacramental view of nature informs a discussion of whether and how it is realistic and beneficial to see matter as sacred. What would it mean for Christianity and other religions if we did? What would it mean for work and for the economy? … More What if Matter Is Sacred? Conversation with Jakob Hanschu on Arts and Crafts Movement (McCarraher 7-Video)

Corporate Love Affair: Populists & Socialists Too? (McCarraher 6-Audio)

October 18, 2020

I discuss content from Chapters 12 and 13 of Eugene McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, especially his treatment of the American populist and socialist movements. McCarraher shows that underneath their anti-capitalist rhetoric lies a deep agreement with US corporate capitalism. The corporate system was seen by both as a model of cooperation, organization and efficiency which they simply wanted to harness more productively for people as a whole. The populists did not dispute capitalism so much as they attempted to reform it. The socialists (somewhat apropos to my conversation with Chris Cutrone recently) thought the corporate system and scientific management would work better with the profit motive out of the way. Both, then, in their own way, according to McCarraher, were still enchanted with Mammon. … More Corporate Love Affair: Populists & Socialists Too? (McCarraher 6-Audio)

Corporate Love Affair: Populists & Socialists Too? (McCarraher 6-Video)

October 18, 2020

I discuss content from Chapters 12 and 13 of Eugene McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, especially his treatment of the American populist and socialist movements. McCarraher shows that underneath their anti-capitalist rhetoric lies a deep agreement with US corporate capitalism. The corporate system was seen by both as a model of cooperation, organization and efficiency which they simply wanted to harness more productively for people as a whole. The populists did not dispute capitalism so much as they attempted to reform it. The socialists (somewhat apropos to my conversation with Chris Cutrone recently) thought the corporate system and scientific management would work better with the profit motive out of the way. Both, then, in their own way, according to McCarraher, were still enchanted with Mammon. … More Corporate Love Affair: Populists & Socialists Too? (McCarraher 6-Video)

What is Freedom?

October 12, 2020

That means that those whose primary focus is ideological or economic, who spend most of their mental energy defending their earthly tribe or figuring out how to make the right money moves, are not free. Conversion can have the liberating effect of realizing the supremacy of God over all things human. All things human can come to seem inevitably partial, flawed, mixed. … More What is Freedom?

Chris Cutrone on the Hidden Potential of Liberalism and Possible Futures (Part 2-audio)

October 10, 2020

In this second half of my interview with Chris Cutrone, we discuss his view that Enlightenment liberalism holds the potential to liberate mankind but only if capitalism gets out of its way. We discuss ways in which this might happen (futures), and the potential risks and benefits involved. Along the way we discuss Democrats, Republicans, environmental challenges, and the reason to persevere in extremely challenging times. … More Chris Cutrone on the Hidden Potential of Liberalism and Possible Futures (Part 2-audio)

Chris Cutrone on the Hidden Potential of Liberalism and Possible Futures (Part 2-video)

October 10, 2020

In this second half of my interview with Chris Cutrone, we discuss his view that Enlightenment liberalism holds the potential to liberate mankind but only if capitalism gets out of its way. We discuss ways in which this might happen (futures), and the potential risks and benefits involved. Along the way we discuss Democrats, Republicans, environmental challenges, and the reason to persevere in extremely challenging times. Cutrone is Associate Professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism, and Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and he also teaches at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. He is the original lead organizer of the Platypus Affiliated Society, and the editor of the volume Marxism in the Age of Trump, co-author of Adorno’s Leninism, and the forthcoming Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory and the Party (out later this year), along with numerous articles on critical theory and current events. … More Chris Cutrone on the Hidden Potential of Liberalism and Possible Futures (Part 2-video)

Chris Cutrone on the Death (and Life) of the Left and the Meaning of Trump (Part I)

October 9, 2020

This is the first part of my recent interview of Chris Cutrone. In this part, he explains his slogan “the left is dead; long live the left,” and we get into his take on the meaning of the American Revolution. We discuss the place of the U.S. in revolutionary history, the impact we are having currently, and how that could be different. . … More Chris Cutrone on the Death (and Life) of the Left and the Meaning of Trump (Part I)

Chris Cutrone on the Death (and Life) of the Left and the Meaning of Trump (Part I-Video)

October 3, 2020

This is the first part of my recent interview of Chris Cutrone. In this part, he explains his slogan “the left is dead; long live the left,” and we get into his take on the meaning of the American Revolution. We discuss the place of the U.S. in revolutionary history, the impact we are having currently, and how that could be different. … More Chris Cutrone on the Death (and Life) of the Left and the Meaning of Trump (Part I-Video)

Does the Corporate God Love Us? (McCarraher 5-Audio)

September 26, 2020

Drawing from Part 3 of Eugene McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, I take a good look at the way evangelical Christians in the late 19th century put God and Mammon on the same level. The corporation was raised to the dignity of a human person in U.S. law, begging the question of whether anyone who believes that can really adequately respect human life as “made in the image and likeness of God.” … More Does the Corporate God Love Us? (McCarraher 5-Audio)