The Ideas Letter
The world today hardly brims with bright spots. Find good news wherever you can. Bangladesh may just be your ticket: After the brutal and kleptocratic Awami League was ousted from power last autumn by an organized group of enraged students, there has been some hope for a better future there. We asked our colleague Shehryar Fazli, who has been spending time in the country for some years, to give us a sense of how Bangladesh’s founding in 1971 is being recontested in the wake of Sheikh Hasina’s overthrow. His piece is at once inspiring and clear-eyed.
Our other commissioned essay comes from the political philosopher Michael Marder, who ingeniously revives the concept of perestroika, long associated with the late Soviet regime, to critically reconceive and try to solve the polycrisis affecting the planet today. Long-suffering Gorbachev fans, this is your moment!
We kick off our curated content with a trio of pieces about Artificial Intelligence. Leading the pack is Qiaoyu Cai’s arresting examination of the cultural politics of technology, specifically AI in China.
We follow with an unusual reading of the political theorist Judith Shklar, which focuses on a lesser-known aspect of her oeuvre: the concept of ideology. Unsurprisingly, Shklar stakes a realist ground that is hard to shake.
Not many universities outside Hungary and North Korea have illiberalism studies programs (though those should be a growth industry). George Washington University does, and Usha Kumar dissects for its in-house publication the toxic advance of nativist Hindutva politics within the Indian diaspora in America.
Last, Marshall Steinbaum takes another swing at what afflicts post-neoliberal politics, emphasizing all the things the US has gotten wrong in its ambivalent attempts to achieve more equality.
For our musical selection,
Featured Essays
What is The Ideas Letter
Welcome to The Ideas Letter, a publication that prizes the unconventional. We are not in the business of persuading. We won’t try to convince you of anything—other than that the world is complex and reality ever-shifting. We are not here to advocate. What you will find, and we hope embrace, are contributions from across ideological aisles, from a broad range of disciplines and a true cross-section of thinking. If catholicity is your métier, and you are uneasy with banging the drum but would rather hear its many sounds, this is the place for you.
We really like critique. Not the mean-spirited or spiteful kind, but rather commentary that raises tough questions, unpacks assumptions, sometimes calls people on the carpet, and always provides opportunity for discussion. That is what we are really after—facilitating, augmenting, furthering, and bolstering debate around issues of consequence.
You’ll find here articles, essays, and criticism that will challenge you to think. Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to tell a friend. Or even someone with whom you disagree!