Hadas Thier

Last updated
Hadas Thier
Born1976 (age 4748)
Rehovot, Israel
Education City College of New York (CUNY)
Occupation(s)Journalist, author
Website hadasthier.com

Hadas Thier (born 1976) is an American writer, journalist, and activist based in Brooklyn, New York. She has written articles for Jacobin , In These Times , Teen Vogue , Dollars & Sense , and The Nation , delivering information and analysis on issues such as economics, American politics, and the Middle East. She is the author of A People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics (2020). She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Hadas Thier was born in Rehovot, Israel and later immigrated to the United States. She earned a bachelor's degree in history from the City College of New York.

At City College, while protesting military recruiters on campus, she was arrested and suspended from campus, along with two other students and one staff member [2] ("The City College Four"). [3] A national campaign [4] [5] eventually reinstated all four students and faculty, and the school dropped the charges. [6]

Thier has been an activist involved in movements against wars, [7] corporate globalization, [8] and police violence. [9] In an interview with Truthout she said that her success as a self-taught Marxist economist came from her experience as an activist: "Some of the best aspects of academia is that it encourages a certain intellectual rigor... There’s an organic version of that in the left activist community, which is that you’re accountable to your comrades. Nobody is grading you, but something more important is on the line of actually trying to work out these questions together and figure out the questions of the day." [10]

Career

Throughout her career, Hadas Thier has published news and opinion articles, most prominently for Jacobin Magazine, an American socialist magazine based in New York. Her writing emphasizes the perspectives of Democratic Socialist politicians, such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in American politics. [11] [12] [13] Thier's articles also feature critiques about the current American Democratic party and Republican party alike, often examining specific politicians, such as Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg. [14] [15] Thier is a contributing author to two books on the topic of Israel and Palestine. [16] [17] She has conducted many interviews most notably about Marxism, capitalism, and economics for podcasts such as A World to Win, Citations Needed, Reply Guys, Haymarket Books Live, New Left Radio, and Jacobin Radio. [18] She also produces a series of video shorts explaining Marxist Economics, called "Marxism in a Minute." [19] Speaking to Nomiki Konst on the Nomiki Show, Thier argued, "[The economy] needs to be in the hands of the people. But in order for that to take place, in order for us to be able to make the kind of demands that we need to make, to organize our side properly, to ultimately overturn the way that the economy works, we have to understand it." [20] Her perspective is marked by an emphasis on the dysfunction of capitalism, through a Marxist lens, and its tendency to result in economic crises and inequality. [21] [22] [23]

In 2020, she published A People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics with Haymarket Books. The book was meant to provide an accessible read into the issues of capitalism, inequality, and economic crises, following the arc of Karl Marx's Capital . [24] In a review for Climate and Capitalism, Michael Roberts wrote: "It is not easy explaining relatively complex ideas in a simple and clear manner. Ask any teacher. It’s a skill lacking in many. Hadas Thier has brilliantly succeeded in that challenge with her book introducing Marxist economics. She has delivered a clear, straightforward and entertaining explanation of all Marx’s basic theoretical insights into the nature and development of capitalism." [25]

Select publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialist Appeal (Britain)</span> Political party

Socialist Appeal is the British section of the International Marxist Tendency. It describes itself as a "Marxist organisation which stands for the socialist transformation of society." Its stated aim is to build a revolutionary leadership capable of leading the working class in a struggle against capitalism.

Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical perspective to view social transformation. It originates from the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As Marxism has developed over time into various branches and schools of thought, no single, definitive Marxist theory exists. Marxism has had a profound impact in shaping the modern world, with various left-wing and far-left political movements taking inspiration from it in varying local contexts.

Criticism of Marxism has come from various political ideologies, campaigns and academic disciplines. This includes general intellectual criticism about dogmatism, a lack of internal consistency, criticism related to materialism, arguments that Marxism is a type of historical determinism or that it necessitates a suppression of individual rights, issues with the implementation of communism and economic issues such as the distortion or absence of price signals and reduced incentives. In addition, empirical and epistemological problems are frequently identified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard D. Wolff</span> American Marxian economist (born 1942)

Richard David Wolff is an American Marxian economist known for his work on economic methodology and class analysis. He is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor in the graduate program in international affairs of the New School. Wolff has also taught economics at Yale University, City University of New York, University of Utah, University of Paris I (Sorbonne), and The Brecht Forum in New York City.

Communism is a left-wing to far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need. A communist society would entail the absence of private property and social classes, and ultimately money and the state.

Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. In practice, social democracy takes a form of socially managed welfare capitalism, achieved with partial public ownership, economic interventionism, and policies promoting social equality.

19th-century German philosopher Karl Marx, the founder and primary theorist of Marxism, viewed religion as "the soul of soulless conditions" or the "opium of the people". According to Marx, religion in this world of exploitation is an expression of distress and at the same time it is also a protest against the real distress. In other words, religion continues to survive because of oppressive social conditions. When this oppressive and exploitative condition is destroyed, religion will become unnecessary. At the same time, Marx saw religion as a form of protest by the working classes against their poor economic conditions and their alienation. Denys Turner, a scholar of Marx and historical theology, classified Marx's views as adhering to Post-Theism, a philosophical position that regards worshipping deities as an eventually obsolete, but temporarily necessary, stage in humanity's historical spiritual development.

Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis that originates in the works of 19th century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism analyzes and critiques the development of class society and especially of capitalism as well as the role of class struggles in systemic, economic, social and political change. It frames capitalism through a paradigm of exploitation and analyzes class relations and social conflict using a materialist interpretation of historical development – materialist in the sense that the politics and ideas of an epoch are determined by the way in which material production is carried on.

<i>Jacobin</i> (magazine) American socialist magazine

Jacobin is an American socialist magazine based in New York. As of 2023, the magazine reported a paid print circulation of 75,000 and over 3 million monthly visitors.

<i>Why Marx Was Right</i> 2011 non-fiction book by Terry Eagleton

Why Marx Was Right is a 2011 non-fiction book by the British academic Terry Eagleton about the 19th-century philosopher Karl Marx and the schools of thought, collectively known as Marxism, that arose from his work. Written for laypeople, Why Marx Was Right outlines ten objections to Marxism that they may hold and aims to refute each one in turn. These include arguments that Marxism is irrelevant owing to changing social classes in the modern world, that it is deterministic and utopian, and that Marxists oppose all reforms and believe in an authoritarian state.

Democratic socialism is a left-wing set of political philosophies that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a market socialist, decentralised planned, or democratic centrally planned socialist economy. Democratic socialists argue that capitalism is inherently incompatible with the values of freedom, equality, and solidarity and that these ideals can only be achieved through the realisation of a socialist society. Although most democratic socialists seek a gradual transition to socialism, democratic socialism can support revolutionary or reformist politics to establish socialism. Democratic socialism was popularised by socialists who opposed the backsliding towards a one-party state in the Soviet Union and other nations during the 20th century.

Neo-Marxism is a collection of Marxist schools of thought originating from 20th-century approaches to amend or extend Marxism and Marxist theory, typically by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions such as critical theory, psychoanalysis, or existentialism. Neo-Marxism comes under the broader framework of the New Left. In a sociological sense, neo-Marxism adds Max Weber's broader understanding of social inequality, such as status and power, to Marxist philosophy.

Post-Marxism is a perspective in critical social theory which radically reinterprets Marxism, countering its association with economism, historical determinism, anti-humanism, and class reductionism, whilst remaining committed to the construction of socialism. Most notably, post-Marxists are anti-essentialist, rejecting the primacy of class struggle, and instead focus on building radical democracy. Post-Marxism can be considered a synthesis of post-structuralist frameworks and neo-Marxist analysis, in response to the decline of the New Left after the protests of 1968.

The socialist mode of production, sometimes referred to as the communist mode of production, or simply (Marxist) socialism or communism as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels used the terms communism and socialism interchangeably, is a specific historical phase of economic development and its corresponding set of social relations that emerge from capitalism in the schema of historical materialism within Marxist theory. The Marxist definition of socialism is that of production for use-value, therefore the law of value no longer directs economic activity. Marxist production for use is coordinated through conscious economic planning. According to Marx, distribution of products is based on the principle of "to each according to his needs"; Soviet models often distributed products based on the principle of "to each according to his contribution". The social relations of socialism are characterized by the proletariat effectively controlling the means of production, either through cooperative enterprises or by public ownership or private artisanal tools and self-management. Surplus value goes to the working class and hence society as a whole.

Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought which emerged after the death of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the late 19th century, expressed in its primary form by Karl Kautsky. Kautsky's views of Marxism dominated the European Marxist movement for two decades, and orthodox Marxism was the official philosophy of the majority of the socialist movement as represented in the Second International until the First World War in 1914, whose outbreak caused Kautsky's influence to wane and brought to prominence the orthodoxy of Vladimir Lenin. Orthodox Marxism aimed to simplify, codify and systematize Marxist method and theory by clarifying perceived ambiguities and contradictions in classical Marxism. It overlaps significantly with Instrumental Marxism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Kautsky</span> Czech-Austrian Marxist theorist (1854–1938)

Karl Johann Kautsky was a Czech-Austrian philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, which emphasized the scientific, materialist, and determinist character of Karl Marx's work. This interpretation dominated European Marxism for two decades, from the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Crisis theory, concerning the causes and consequences of the tendency for the rate of profit to fall in a capitalist system, is associated with Marxian critique of political economy, and was further popularised through Marxist economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Marxism</span> Overview of and topical guide to Marxism

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Marxism:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Fraad</span>

Harriet Fraad is a feminist activist, psychotherapist and hypnotherapist in New York City. She has been practicing as a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist for 37 years. She is said to be a founding member of the Feminist movement, owed in part to her founding of the Women's Liberation Movement in 1968. She is the founder of the journal Rethinking Marxism and specializes in writing about the intersection between economics and psychology.

<i>This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom</i>

This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom is a book by philosopher Martin Hägglund, which pursues a critique of the religious ideal of eternity and reconceives faith in secular terms as the fundamental form of practical commitment. Through new interpretations of G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Martin Luther King Jr., Hägglund develops the social and political stakes of his analysis of our temporal existence, arguing that labor under capitalism alienates us from our finite lifetime. Calling for a revaluation of our values, Hägglund presents a novel vision of democratic socialism as a post-capitalist form of life in which we could truly own our time and recognize our shared freedom.

References

  1. Mahon, Griffin (March 4, 2021). "Marx's ideas have held up : Hadas Thier Gives us Marxism in More Than a Minute". Democratic Left. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  2. Arenson, Karen W. (March 10, 2005). "New York Metrobriefing". New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. Jenks, Charlie. "Campus Antiwar Network on Counter-Recruitment". Traprock Peace Center. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. Goodman, Amy (March 18, 2005). "Campus Resistance: Students Stage Counter-Recruitment Protests Across the Country". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. Jenks, Charlie. "Picket the City College of New York administration in defense of free speech!". Traprock Peace Center. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  6. "CCNY Cracks Down on Anti-Military Protesters". Socialist Voice. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  7. Goodman, Amy (March 18, 2005). "Campus Resistance: Students Stage Counter-Recruitment Protests Across the Country". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. @Hadasthier (April 1, 2021). "An important point from @graceblakeley about the Left's weakness on globalization. 20 yrs ago I was very active in anti-globo movement, which was the best shot at a new Left for some years. It fell apart on 9/11/01, unable to confront imperialism & its relationship to capitalism" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  9. @Hadasthier (April 21, 2021). "In 1999 Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times in front of his home. Unarmed, reaching for his wallet, he was 23 yrs old, my age at the time. It was a defining moment for a generation. Daily protests of thousands for months, hundreds of arrests (my first)" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  10. Katch, Danny (April 18, 2021). "COVID Profiteering Exposes the Need to Make Marxism Accessible to All". Truthout. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  11. "Why the Differences Between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders Matter". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  12. "Bernie's Campaign Strategy Wasn't the Problem". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  13. "AOC's Anti-Sexism Speech Yesterday Was a Triumph". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  14. "Biden and the Dems Should Have Buried Trumpism. But They Provided No Alternative". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  15. "Mike Bloomberg Tried to Buy the Election. It Didn't Work". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  16. Malloy, Sean (2021). Palestine Israeli Apartheid and Antisemitism. Resistance Books. pp. 36–42. ISBN   978-1-876646-85-1.
  17. Selfa, Lance (June 2002). The Struggle for Palestine. Haymarket Books. pp. 92–102. ISBN   9781931859004.
  18. "8 of Hadas Thier Podcasts Interviews | Updated Daily - OwlTail". www.owltail.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  19. Thier, Hadas. "Marxism in a Minute". Haymarket Books YouTube. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  20. Konst, Nomiki. "People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction To Marxist Economics w/ Hadas Thier". The Nomiki Show. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  21. Marx Was Right: Economics for the 99% , retrieved 2021-03-29
  22. "Media with Hadas Thier". We Are Many. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  23. "Under Capitalism, There's No Such Thing as a "Fair Day's Wage for a Fair Day's Work"". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  24. Leigh, Steve (September 22, 2020). "Economics For the People". New Politics. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  25. Roberts, Michael (November 5, 2020). "A People's Guide to Capitalism". Climate and Capitalism. Retrieved 26 April 2021.