In a time of crisis, the relationship between language and politics becomes more vivid, if not urgent

The language of war is used by the mandarins of power to both address the indiscriminate viral pandemic that has brought capitalism to its knees and to reinforce and expand the political formations and global financial system that are incapable of dealing with the pandemic

Trump has played down the urgency of the pandemic, blamed the media for distorting its seriousness, and believes that brown people are more of a threat to national security than real threats such as a pandemic and climate change

In the face of the emerging tyranny and fascist politics that are spreading across the globe, it is time to merge a sense of moral outrage with a sense of civic courage and collective action

Democratic institutions such as the independent media, schools, the legal system, certain financial institutions, and higher education are under siege worldwide

The ghosts of fascism should terrify us, but most importantly, they should educate us and imbue us with a spirit of civic justice and collective action in the fight for a substantive and inclusive democracy

Language is emptied of substantive meaning, actions are removed from any notion of social responsibility, and truth is detached from the search for justice

Neoliberalism functions not simply as an economic model for finance capital but as a public pedagogy that operates through a diverse number of sites and platforms

Trump is unapologetic about the looting of the country by the ultra-rich (including him) and by mega-corporations

Marx was certainly right in arguing that the point is not to understand the world but to change it, but what he…