*Editorial Statement
The Platypus Review Editorial Board
"The Review seeks to be a forum among a variety of tendencies and approaches to these categories of thought and action—not out of a concern with inclusion for its own sake, but rather to provoke productive disagreement and to open shared goals as sites of contestation. In this way, the recriminations and accusations arising from political disputes of the past might be elevated to an ongoing critique that seeks to clarify its object."

Interview: Ernesto Laclau
Ashleigh Campi
Confronting the confusion and fragmentation that wrought progressive politics in recent decades, Ernesto Laclau’s work attempts to theorize the path to the construction of a radical democratic politics. In this interview, Laclau discusses his theory of hegemony, and comments on the relevance of an analysis of capitalism in addressing political problems today.

Jeff Wall: The Return of the Modern?
Laurie Rojas
Laurie Rojas reviews the Art Institute of Chicago’s recent retrospective exhibition of Jeff Wall’s photography. In referencing 19th century panoramas, history, and realist paintings, Wall’s photography recalls art practices opened up by modernism, and neglected by post-modernism.

On the Relationship between Psychoanalysis and Emancipatory Politics: Castoriadis, Marx, and Freud on Time and Emancipation
Amanda Armstrong
Amanda Armstrong argues that Freud’s prescription for the neurotic patient of psychoanalysis can be analogized to Marx’s model for social emancipation from capitalism. Although both Freud and Marx envision moving beyond a relationship with history that confines and limits the present, Armstrong warns against loosing sight of the tasks for social emancipation amidst the individual’s struggle for freedom.

Organization, political action, history, and consciousness: on anarchism and Marxism
Chris Cutrone
A response to Mayday magazine (UK) inaugural issue #1 (Winter 2007-08)
In its inaugural issue, Mayday magazine (UK) announces its mission for rebuilding leftist politics, and expresses its intention to engage with projects such as Platypus. In his response to Mayday Chris Cutrone draws out the differences between recent trends of anarchist politics and a possible Marxian critical project by considering the question of “revolutionary” leadership.

Review: “The Past and Future of Militant Anti-Capitalist Street Protest in North America” Discussion at Mess Hall.
Marco Torres
“Anti-capitalist street protest,” was up for discussion recently at Mess Hall, a central meeting place for Chicago anarchists. Participants considered different tactics for continuing radical, direct action. In his review of this event, Marco Torres questions whether the violence and destruction entailed in some protests has any redeeming political value.

The Failure of Pakistan: A Concise History of the Left
The Platypus Historians Group
Recent media coverage of Pakistan provides only fragmented glances of that country’s enduring political crisis. The Platypus Historians Group offers a brief history of leftist alternatives that shaped recent Pakistani politics. The authors investigate the path that led to the no-man’s land of progressive politics in which Pakistan struggles today.

Who Needs the Left? (Reflections on Joining the Industrial Workers of the World)
Joe Grim Feinberg
The Industrial Workers of the World offer a program for pursing progressive political goals outside of the limitations posed by sectarian leftist groups. In defending this stance, Joe Feinberg argues that social organizing efforts of the IWW are ends in themselves: they create democratic, autonomous structures that allow people to realize their power.