online archive

Left movements, the environment and sex

From Turbulence, at the end of the 20th century many involved in various movements around the world had the sense that we were winning. In 2007 things appear much more complicated. What would it actually mean to win? Politics in an age of fantasy: If progressives want to be a meaningful political force in the 21st century we need to start dreaming, argues Stephen Duncombe; Sandro Mezzadra and Gigi Roggero on the crisis of the "movement of movements"; how do we engage with existing social struggles without falling back into empty sloganeering? Ben Trott suggests the idea of directional demands might provide a way out of the impasse; if the cell form of capitalism is the commodity, the cellular form of a society beyond capital is the common.

Nick Dyer-Witheford discusses the circulation of commons and the conditions they would create for new collective projects and waves of organising; the demand for a basic income de-linked from wage labour appears to be gaining ground, in parts of Europe at least. But is it really as radical as it sounds?; Euclides André Mance celebrates a new mode of production which is expanding as part of a network revolution, and argues that it could form the material basis for new post-capitalist societies; the crazy before the new: Complexity, critical instability and the end of capitalism; and politicising sadness: After the euphoria of the event, the melacholy of the comedown, as our power-to-act wanes and we sense new possibilities receding.

The threat from outer space: An article on the ultimate environmental catastrophe. A look at why climate engineering is doable, as long as we never stop. James Hansen finds it almost inconceivable that "business as usual" climate change will not result in a rise in sea level measured in metres within a century. Is he the only scientist who thinks so? The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain, Or Does It? Climate change explains shifting rainfall patterns: wet places getting wetter and dry places drier. The localvore's dilemma: Sometimes buying local food helps in the battle against climate change. Sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes, it's just too confusing to decide. Ten Dispatches About Place: As Everywhere becomes Nowhere, we establish private landmarks for the presence of the eternal in daily life.

Married Man Seeks Same for Discreet Play: He has a loving wife, a small child—and sex with men on the side. How the Internet has made it easier than ever to lead a detection-proof double life. Why do men kill their wives? Could some of these murders really be no more than "divorce substitutes"? The upcoming trials of Neil Entwistle and James Keown might provide some answers. Helen Fisher on The Laws of Chemistry: Whom you are most attracted to reflects the biology of your brain as much as the heat of your heart. And it may not have to do with us—it's all about the kids; and Marriage, a History: Long ago, love was a silly reason for a match. How marriage has changed over history. Is monogamy natural? A lifetime of love versus a quick roll with a stranger. It's funny how we can have two seemingly opposite urges at the same time. Ron Jeremy will hit the open highway with Pastor Craig Gross, founder of the anti-porn Web site XXXchurch.com, to debate the issue of pornography. Is it seriously wrong to have virtual sex with a virtual child? Peter Singer on virtual vices.