“Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?”

About Peter Bloom

Peter Bloom is a lecturer in the Department of People and Organisations at the Open University. His primary research interests include ideology, subjectivity and power, specifically as they relate to broader discourses and everyday practices of capitalism and democracy. He is currently completing a manuscript entitled ‘Authoritarian Capitalism in the Age of Globalization’ to be published by Edward Elgar Press.

Articles by Peter Bloom

This week’s front page editor

Tom Rowley edits oDR.

European integration

Six countries. Six different paths to EU integration.

No to TTIP

The secretive EU-US trade deal explained

Symbolic politics - standing up for real democracy

Peter Bloom 23 October 2017

On both sides of the Atlantic, we need to stand up for genuine democracy and against a system that cynically defends itself by wrapping itself in flags.

Is Corbynomics a return to the socialist past or a vision of the progressive future?

Peter Bloom 17 October 2016

Jeremy Corbyn's economic programme isn't about taking us back to the past, but embracing the challenges of today.

Police brutality: Is America teetering on edge of sectarian violence?

Peter Bloom 21 July 2016

The tragic shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile occured because soldiers and police officers alike view themselves on the frontline and dangerous edge of preventing terrorist and criminal attacks.

One world labourism: can Corbyn link national security to global justice?

Peter Bloom 22 September 2015

Corbyn could lead a fundamental shift in Britain's foreign policy.

Authoritarian capitalism in modern times: when economic discipline really means political disciplining

Peter Bloom 22 July 2015

The global spread of capitalism depends on an authoritarian form of politics. How can democracy survive alongside economic discipline in today's world?

A ‘hero’ for the twenty-first century: meet the CEO politician

Peter Bloom and Carl Rhodes 14 May 2015

In the twenty-first century, politicians behave more like CEOs. When voters are seen as shareholder citizens, what is left for democracy?

Baltimore’s dangerous politics of containment

Peter Bloom 29 April 2015

The city of Baltimore was in a ‘state of emergency’ long before the rioting began.

An institution under siege

Peter Bloom 26 January 2015

The foot soldiers of American law enforcement should not seek to cast blame on politicians and protesters. Instead they should look to the gilded system which has placed them in the line of fire.

Under divine instruction

Peter Bloom 22 December 2014

The fanaticism of the ‘war on terror’ has long been a mere mask for elite self-interest. The US Senate report into the CIA’s torture programme is a call to end western fundamentalism.