I have a new piece out on Gandhi for Aeon. It’s free to read here:
https://aeon.co/essays/on-the-varna-system-gandhis-plan-to-empower-the-workers
Citizens and spinning wheels
Tag: India
The Varna System in Gandhi’s Theory of Civic Education
I’ve published a new academic article in Economic and Political Weekly on Gandhi’s attempt to recover the varna system so as to generate time for spiritual and civic activity and produce an Indian subject capable of self-rule, or “swaraj.” It’s available here: https://www.epw.in/journal/2024/20/special-articles/varna-system-gandhis-theory-civic-education.html
Green New Deal is More New Deal Than Green
Like many of you, I’ve seen that clip of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) arguing with children about the Green New Deal. If you haven’t seen it, I have it right here for you:
In and amidst the hostility, Feinstein said something quite honest in this exchange:
Well, it’s [climate change] not going to get turned around in 10 years.
I have a certain admiration for honest centrism. So often these days, politicians pretend to be more radical than they are to excite voters, only to disappoint them. But it’s not merely because we can’t get the votes in a Republican senate to pass the Green New Deal. No–it’s because the United States is at this point no longer capable of cutting its own emissions enough to deal with climate change, and it’s unlikely to successfully lead other states in this direction even if it tries.
Continue reading “Green New Deal is More New Deal Than Green”
Rape in India: Who is to Blame?
Recently, a girl in India was gang-raped and killed. The incident produced a nationwide dialogue about India’s rape culture and the causes thereof, some of which has spilled over into the wider global conversation about gender roles, feminism, and so on. The blame has been directed a number of different ways with most of the arguments being impassioned, emotional, and defensive. I would like to cut away the passionate recriminations and attempt to come to a reasonable conclusion as to what the source of rape is and how states might go about combating it.
Territorial Disputes and the Future of Asia
It has been in and out of the corner of the western press’s eye the last few years. China has been flexing its muscle in Asia, attempting to press claims to territory, both land and sea, on its various borders. This has not gone unnoticed by China’s neighbours, who are quite furious with China over some of its more belligerent acts. The matter has been simmering, off and on, for some time. What I find most interesting about it, however, is how this dispute has set the nations of Asia against each other, dividing it between two sides, one pro-China, the other against.
Continue reading “Territorial Disputes and the Future of Asia”
Benjamin Studebaker 