The Platypus Review

[ Die deutschsprachige Platypus Review ]

Latest Issue: #183

Decolonization and the Left

Andrew Sanchez, James Heartfield, Ralph Leonard

On June 2, 2023, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a panel on decolonization and the Left at Cambridge University. The speakers were James Heartfield (former member of the Revolutionary Communist Party (UK), author of The Aborigines’ Protection Society and Britain’s Empires, Ralph Leonard (writer at unHerd), and Andrew Sanchez (Professor of Social Anthropology at Cambridge, author of Criminal Capital.

[. . .]

The tragedy of Chilean electoralism: An interview with Pablo Abufom

Michael McClelland, Tobias Kohlberger

On February 22, 2025, Platypus Affiliated Society members Tobias Kohlberger and Michael McClelland interviewed Pablo Abufom, a philosopher, translator, and biologist living in Chile. Abufom has been involved in struggles against neoliberalism in Chile for almost 20 years, as a student organizer, an activist for a new pension system, former director of the political movement Solidaridad, and, more recently, spokesperson for the Coordinadora por Palestina, a coalition of social movements for Palestinian liberation. In 2019, Abufom was a community organizer during the Estallido Social (social outburst) in Chile.

[. . .]

The three Rs: Reform, revolution, and resistance

Antonio Rosello, Camilo Ernesto Mejia, Jorge Mujica, Pablo Abufom

On July 13, 2025, the Platypus Affiliated Society organized a panel discussion on reform, revolution, and resistance. The panelists were Pablo Abufom (Coordinator for Palestine in Chile; Solidarity Movement), Camilo Ernesto Mejía (Sandinista and anti-war activist), Jorge Mújica (MORENA), and Antonio Roselló (Partido Obrero in Argentina).

[. . .]

Ghosts of Eurocentrism past: A review of Decolonizing Economics

Anirban Karak

The authors of our volume consciously distance themselves from “fake” decolonization and “co-optation” into the status quo. Yet, their arguments exemplify tendencies that have contributed to the Left’s current helplessness. The book offers little beyond a synthesis of writings fashionable within the “academic” Left, and there are significant omissions in a text that seeks to open debate rather than foreclosing it. I shall argue that these follow from a one-sided view of modern history and its contradictions.

[. . .]

Trump’s crypto madness

Nathan Richardson

Yet, beneath this glittering ascent lies a more sinister narrative: the Trump administration’s so-called “crypto revolution,” a policy blitz that promises to crown America as the “crypto capital of the world” but risks inflating a colossal bubble at the expense of the working masses.

[. . .]

Staff

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Louis Sterrett

COPY EDITORS

Gabriel Almeida
Mike Bartlett
Austin Carder
Rory Hannigan
Thom Hutchinson
Stanley Sharpey
Patrick Unwin

DESIGNERS

Mike Atkinson
Chris Mansour

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Gabe Gottfried

DISTRIBUTION

Erica Gamble

Editorial Statement

Taking stock of the universe of positions and goals that constitutes leftist politics today, we are left with the disquieting suspicion that a deep commonality underlies the apparent variety: What exists today is built upon the desiccated remains of what was once possible.
[ . . . ]

Submission Guidelines

Articles will typically range in length from 750–4,500 words, but longer pieces will be considered. Please send article submissions and inquiries about this project to editor.platypusreview@gmail.com. All submissions should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style.

The Platypus Review is funded by:

The University of Chicago Student Government
Dalhousie Student Union
Loyola University of Chicago
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Student Government
The New School
New York University
The University of Illinois at Chicago
The Platypus Affiliated Society