Article Subjects and Geography: Media

Marxian Ecology and the Critique of AI Capital

Marxian Ecology and the Critique of AI Capital

by John Bellamy Foster

October 1, 2026

What is the rise of AI capital, and what does it mean for contemporary work, culture, and the ecological state of our planet? John Bellamy Foster dispels the myth of a "hyperorganized AI capitalism." As Foster writes: "We are not entering a stable new age…but rather a new, capitalist-engendered global disorder in which humanity, according to climate science, is headed ever more rapidly toward a planetary 'point of no return.'" The only way out—the only way, that is, to ensure the survival of humanity—is a radical shift away from the catastrophically destructive regime of capital accumulation and toward sustainable human development through socialism.
Babylon Burning: Reggae and Black Liberation

Babylon Burning: Reggae and Black Liberation

by Christian Noakes

October 1, 2026

Christian Noakes explores the deep connections between the Jamaican Black Power movement and the political roots of its renowned indigenous musical genre, reggae. From the history of capitalist oppression in Jamaica and the indelible influence of Guyanese revolutionary Walter Rodney, Noakes provides essential context for incendiary political radicalism within reggae. Musically innovative and lyrically radical, reggae, he writes, was "instilled with a sense of militant determination that was at once a reflection of the culture it came from and a source of defiant resilience in the face of rampant inequality."
September 2026 (Volume 78, Number 4)

September 2026 (Volume 78, Number 4)

by The Editors

September 1, 2026

Taking as a starting point two classic works of the mid-nineteenth century—Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil; or the Two Nations and Frederick Engels's The Condition of the Working Class in England—this month's "Notes from the Editors" explores the way both authors articulated the plight of workers in their own era, drawing key parallels to our own time. The similarities are particularly conspicuous when examining the so-called affordability crisis, exposing the regime of social murder that accompanies the increasing polarization of economic life.
Beyond Scarcity: Thomas Sowell and the Limits of Neoclassical Economics

Beyond Scarcity: Thomas Sowell and the Limits of Neoclassical Economics

by Elliot Goodell Ugalde

September 1, 2026

Through the work of neoclassical economist Thomas Sowell, Elliot Goodell Ugalde dissects the orthodox view that takes for granted that scarcity is at the center of economic life. In a world of various kinds of surpluses, Goodell argues, the idea that scarcity is the only organizing principle of our economic is inadequate to describe the complex interactions of institutions, history, and social power that make up economic organization under capitalism.
Tech Billionaires, the AI Threat, and Resistance

Tech Billionaires, the AI Threat, and Resistance

by Martin Hart-Landsberg

July 1, 2026

Martin Hart-Landsberg gives an in-depth account of the oligarchs of Silicon Valley and their embrace of transhumanist ideologies that celebrate individualism and technological advancement above all else. However, he asserts, all is not lost, as growing dissatisfaction with capitalism "is slowly but steadily helping to grow a movement of resistance"—a resistance that must recognize that it is not just tech billionaires but capitalism itself threatening humanity's chance at a better future.
Capitalism and Cognition: The Fate of Science in a System in Decline

Capitalism and Cognition: The Fate of Science in a System in Decline

by Helena Sheehan

July 1, 2026

The world is being roiled by a crisis of meaning, leading to a pervasive sense of despair and stagnation. Helena Sheehan gives an account of the present-day epistemological nihilism resulting from the corrosion of "the foundations of knowledge production"—that is to say, the devaluing of rigorous scientific inquiry and the rise of irrationalism. Marxism provides us with both an understanding of how this crisis of cognition relates to the "Structural Crisis of Capitalism," as well as the socialist opposition that seeks to resolve its manifold contradictions.
The Thermodynamics of Capital: Artificial Intelligence, Energy Crisis, and Ecological Crisis

The Thermodynamics of Capital: Artificial Intelligence, Energy Crisis, and Ecological Crisis

by Te Li

June 1, 2026

Te Li unravels the myth of digital dematerialization so heavily promulgated by Silicon Valley and other AI boosters, which presents the technology as a phenomenon that has escaped the material realm and thus, entropy itself. In fact, Li shows that the material and energetic requirements of AI places it squarely in the physical realm, then situates the technology within the context of the metabolic rift under capitalism.
Digital Imperialism and Emotional Tribute in East Asia

Digital Imperialism and Emotional Tribute in East Asia

by Jianlu Bi and Ting Zhou

June 1, 2026

"In the contemporary era of stagnant monopoly-finance capital," Jianlu Bi and Ting Zhou begin, "the maintenance of global hegemony…necessitates the systemic colonization of digital consciousness. In examining the presentation of Sino-Japanese political tension across three media outlets, the authors describe digitally manufactured hatreds that "serve a vital imperialist function: the prevention of horizontal class solidarity" that may threaten U.S. hegemonic power in East Asia.
Capitalism and the Crisis of Meaning in Our Times

Capitalism and the Crisis of Meaning in Our Times

by Helena Sheehan

June 1, 2026

Philosopher and frequent MR contributor Helena Sheehan considers the implications of living in a world in which a lack of meaning runs rampant, as well as how it is expressed in the literary world. If we lack coherent analysis, the varied crises of our times can seem disconnected and overpowering. A materially grounded Marxist worldview, she notes, allows us to clear away the fog of meaninglessness engulfing contemporary society and chart a path toward socialism.
Slipping into Gogol’s “Overcoat”: A Winter’s Tale

Slipping into Gogol’s “Overcoat”: A Winter’s Tale

by Andy Merrifield

May 1, 2026

Andy Merrifield reflects on Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Overcoat," tying it to "a distinctively Marxist problematic." In the protagonist of the tale, a Russian counsellor whose life is forever changed by the acquisition of a new overcoat, Merrifield finds a character who, like Marx, knows firsthand what a single coat can tell us about the structures of society.

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