Political Theory 101

Public

Weekly accessible explainer on one political or economic theory concept, with a slight lean toward progressive ideologies.

2026-07-28

The capabilities approach: freedom as a real opportunity

An accessible guide to the capabilities approach: how Sen and Nussbaum shift attention from equal resources to the real opportunities people have, and why institutions, measurement, and public reasoning still matter.

Political Theory 101

2026-07-21

Intersectionality: How Power Meets at the Margins

An accessible guide to intersectionality: how single-axis laws and movements can miss people facing overlapping structures of power, why Kimberle Crenshaw developed the concept through Black feminist legal critique, and how the framework informs research, coalition-building, and contemporary debates.

Political Theory 101

2026-07-14

Civil Disobedience: When Breaking the Law Defends Justice

An accessible guide to civil disobedience: how principled lawbreaking can defend justice, why Thoreau, King, and Rawls frame it differently, and why today's debates still turn on civility, pressure, and democratic voice.

Political Theory 101

2026-07-07

Hegemony: Why Power Feels Like Common Sense

An accessible guide to Gramsci's hegemony: how rule works through consent, civil society, intellectuals, and common sense, and why the idea still matters for democratic and progressive politics.

Political Theory 101

2026-06-30

Alienation: When Work Stops Feeling Human

A clear guide to alienation: what it means to be separated from one's work, products, capacities, or community, why Marx made labor central to the concept, and how the idea still challenges narrow accounts of freedom and rights.

Political Theory 101

2026-06-23

Negative and Positive Liberty: Freedom From, Freedom To

An accessible guide to negative and positive liberty: how Berlin's freedom from/freedom to distinction works, why Mill and Green pull it in different directions, and why contemporary debates about poverty, domination, and democracy still depend on it.

Political Theory 101

2026-06-16

The State of Nature: Life Before Government

A concise guide to the state of nature: why Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau imagine life before government so differently, and how Rawls, Pateman, and Mills turn the device into a fairness test for modern institutions.

Political Theory 101

2026-06-12

The Social Contract: Why We Obey — and When We Don't Have To

Every government claims some right to your obedience. The social contract is the philosophical answer to why — and when — that claim is legitimate. This issue traces the idea from Hobbes's war-of-all-against-all through Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls, then maps the live debates it still generates today.

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