Obama was expected to restore an ethical sheen to post-9/11 foreign policy, but he has intensified drone warfare in Yemen and Pakistan, pursued whistle-blowers, and failed to close down Guantanamo. Pankaj Mishra blowerclosedrone Change image and share on social
A free and rooted society ought to consist of a web of moral obligations. We have the right to ignore them, but we ought to be actually obliged not to let other people starve or to let them lapse into destitution. Pankaj Mishra consistdestitutionfree share on social
In the 1950s and 60s, geopolitical intrigues did not much engage masses in Asia and Africa; it was something for elites to sort out. Pankaj Mishra 1950s60safrica Change image and share on social
German writers in the late 18th century were the first to uphold a prickly, literary nationalism, in reaction to the then dominance and prestige of French literature. Pankaj Mishra 18thcenturydominance Change image and share on social
Living in a cultural milieu where the foreign writers most widely available and admired were Russian, I came very late to postwar American writers, and I had great trouble with the canonically exalted white male writers I tried first. Pankaj Mishra admireamericancanonically share on social
So much of western self-perception and intellectual worldview has been shaped by the moral rhetoric of the Cold War, the discourse in which communism featured as a clear enemy, determined to rule the world. Pankaj Mishra clearcoldcommunism share on social
It should be no surprise that religion in the non-western world has failed to disappear under the juggernaut of industrial capitalism, or that liberal democracy finds its most dedicated saboteurs among the new middle classes. Pankaj Mishra capitalismclassdedicate share on social
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 briefly disrupted celebrations of a world globalised by capital and consumption. Pankaj Mishra attackbrieflycapital Change image and share on social
'Islamism' itself is such a broad and nearly meaningless word as used by the mainstream Western press, including everything from Turkey's AKP party to al Qaeda. Pankaj Mishra akpbroadinclude Change image and share on social
Life in a Chinese village is much more organised because the Chinese Communist Party has a presence even in the remotest Chinese village - a presence of the kind that no governmental or non-governmental organisation has in Indian villages. Pankaj Mishra chinesecommunistgovernmental share on social
