This essay explains why it is bad for democracy that almost the entire center and right flank of Mexican representatives are being transformed into a homogenous group of opposition, and only opposition. Much has been written about the need of a strong opposition, and their function in checking and challenging those in power. Yet given…
Nationalism is commonly associated with the political ‘right’, yet as a philosophy it is sufficiently empty in terms of social and economic stances to allow other ideologies to mix in elements of it. In this essay we explore how a Left nationalism could look like. Nationalism as an ideology of the political (far) right has…
Besides indignation, the photo shoots of the entourage of the governor of Nuevo León handing out bread to the homeless people should inspire discussion on the problem of poverty is handled by state governments. This essay explains what structural poverty reduction does and does not look like. The apparently weekly photo opportunities of the NL…
One source of uneasiness amongst young people is the contrast between the pervasive difficulty of steering one’s (work)life and the ideological promises of meritocracy and opportunity. In this essay we explore this tension and some of the ways society tries to fill this gab, including role playing games. For those who spend little time with…
Reflections of a foreigner who wants to be Mexican on Mexicans who want to be foreigners; or on how Malinchismo is just concealed classism. During the latest global diplomatic offensive of Mexico, conservative commentators acted like panicked parents at a school interview. Whether it was hosting the summit of the Community of Latin American and…
Nobody works more than Mexicans. While for some this is a matter of pride, behind this reality lies the massive abuse of the Human Right to rest and reasonable work time. We will first explore the consequences of a society without time, before proposing some alternatives. “No one is to be found who is willing…
Privileged people love to talk about entrepreneurship, but how does a progressive vision of the topic look like? We first discuss the difference between a traditional and progressive appropriation of the concept, before introducing a policy that is both social and encourages young entrepreneurs. The word ‘entrepreneur’ is of crucial ideological importance to modern society….
Topics like abortion, sex education or same sex marriage have produced some of the poorest public debates this country has seen. In this essay, I discuss strategies for debating identity politics in the difficult context of Northern Mexico. Public debate in Mexico suffers from many woes, including fake news, hyper division, tribalism, bias in corporate…
It is ironic that while Jesus Christ himself criticized the power lawyers enjoyed (Mt: 23), two thousand years later our largely Christian country is for a considerable part still ruled by them. We will examine some of the consequences of living in a republic of lawyers. Law is by far the most common background of…
In many countries one can find political movements that combine a proclaimed concern for ‘family values’ with neoliberal economic policies. As we will discuss in this essay, those two positions stand in a tense relation with each other and require rethinking. When my first son was born, the private hospital asked us if we wanted…
