Ask Me Anything: Where Should We Go Next?

It’s been a while since my last Q & A, and we’ve covered a tremendous amount of ground together this year. Between the study groups on Althusser, Lacan and Clouscard, my recent writing workshop, ongoing podcast interviews, various Substack essays and my new book, The People Are Not One: Socialist Strategy After Left Populism we’ve explored a wide range of philosophical and political questions. I’d love to hear from all of you about where you’d like to go next. What books should we study together? Who are some guests you’d like me to interview on Emancipations? What kinds of series, lectures, or workshops would you find most valuable?

I also want to encourage you to ask me any theoretical questions you’ve been thinking about. Whether they’re broad philosophical questions or very specific problems you’ve encountered in your own reading, I’d be happy to take them up in the next Q&A. I will host this Q & A in the next two weeks on the main Emancipations YouTube channel. Please submit your questions by next week, July 15.

Here’s a few potential topics for questions:

1. The Collapse of the Academy
How can we navigate the fall of the university? What does it mean to continue to engage in intellectual work outside of the university? How should we relate to a university system that refuses to take seriously its own shortcomings?

2. Marxism and Philosophy
How should we understand Marxism as a comprehensive philosophical, historical, and political project rather than simply a contemporary activist framework?

4. The Legacy of Freudian Marxism
Questions related to our studies of Michel Clouscard and his critique of Freudo-Marxism. Or questions related to my own work on Freudian Marxism. I offered a seminar on Freudian-Marxism recently.

5. The Future of Psychoanalysis
Does psychoanalysis still offer indispensable insights into the human subject, ideology, and politics despite its declining institutional influence?

6. How to Improve Your Writing Practice
Questions related to my writing workshop or questions related to your writing.

7. Philosophy and Character Formation
Should we aspire to cultivate virtue, discipline, and moral character? If yes, what models and theories should guide us?