In Ages of American Capitalism, Jonathan Levy provides a sweeping explanation of the Great Recession, arguing that it was not a rare or unexpected event, but rather a result of how today’s financial capitalism works. Levy situated the 2007-08 crisis not as a random “credit tsunami” or unforeseeable disaster, but as a logical outcome ofContinue reading “Illusion of Stability”
Author Archives: Prince Adhikari
Science vs Action
In Behind the Curve: Science and Politics of Global Warming, Joshua P. Howe critically examines the complex history of climate change science and its intersections with political actions, advocacy and public policy. He uses the concept of the “Keeling Curve”, which visually represents the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from 1958 to present. The KeelingContinue reading “Science vs Action”
When will it stop?
In “The Crisis of Profligacy,” Andrew Bacevich paints a sobering picture of America’s future, warning that the real danger isn’t coming from foreign adversaries, but from the internal rot of extravagance and entitlement. He identifies that America’s true crisis is one of self-indulgence and unwillingness to recognize limits, whether material, moral, or geopolitical. He arguesContinue reading “When will it stop?”
The Shifting Landscapes of Environmental Politics in America
James Morton Turner’s article, “The Specter of Environmentalism: Wilderness, Environmental Politics, and the Evolution of the New Right,” explores the transformation of environmental politics from 1960s to 1980s, focusing on the rise of conservative opposition to the environmental movement in the United States. He explores how, after the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s,Continue reading “The Shifting Landscapes of Environmental Politics in America”
Legacies of Falwell
Daniel K. William’s article, Jerry Falwell’s Sunbelt Politics: The Regional Origins of the Moral Majority, traces how political ideology evolved from Southern fundamentalism and segregationist populism into an ideology of evangelical morality, free-market economics, and hawkish nationalism. Williams details how Falwell, a Southern Baptist preacher from Lynchburg, Virginia, wove fundalist religious values with the economicContinue reading “Legacies of Falwell”
Beyond the Breaking Point
Gabriel Winant’s “The Enduring Disaster: The Recycling of the Working Class” presents a compelling analysis of the persistent nature of racial inequalities in a post-racial world. He does this by presenting economic transformations, particularly deindustrialization, at the center of his claim, and argues that the devastating impact of the decline of manufacturing, and the riseContinue reading “Beyond the Breaking Point”
Workers, War and the Myth
The Vietnam War era remains as a pivotal moment in American political and cultural history, often framed through a binary of working class “hardhats” vs elite antiwar protestors. Penny Lewis, in Hardhats vs Elite Doves, dismantles this overly simplistic narrative and argues that the reality was far more complex than what has been depicted. WhileContinue reading “Workers, War and the Myth”
Fighting for Survival: Class, War and Lies
Christian Appy’s work in Americans in Combat critiques the ways in which the Vietnam War’s realities were obscured by sanitized narratives of heroism, particularly emphasizing on how the working class bore the disproportionate burdens in the American military and how their contributions later got ignored. All of his arguments that he presents truly reflects howContinue reading “Fighting for Survival: Class, War and Lies”
Beyond the South
As an international student, having little knowledge about the history of the United States, I had always wondered about the situation of Black and African Americans beyond the south and would always be curious to hear about the stories from the Northern and Southwestern parts of the country. This essay by Theoharris was eye openingContinue reading “Beyond the South”
Did the Cold War Ever Leave The Great Plains?
Heefner’s Missiles and Memories: Dismantling South Dakota’s Cold War demonstrates an intersection of the nation’s military and arms history, local identity and memory. The article analyses South Dakota’s role in America’s cold war nuclear strategy, although it has been heavily overlooked. She begins by providing a compelling examination of how the Great Plains harbored 150Continue reading “Did the Cold War Ever Leave The Great Plains?”
Will Wright 