Critical Voices: Conversations on American Politics and Culture with:

Benjamin Barber is the Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society at University of Maryland, College Park and the Principal and Director of the Democracy Collaborative. His most recent work is Fear’s Empire (Norton, 2003). For more information on his writings and activities, see his website www.benjaminbarber.org.  Q: Professor Barber, perhaps you can give…

Frances Fox Piven is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at The Graduate Center, CUNY. A member of the executive board of Logos, her most recent book is The War at Home (New Press, 2004). Q: Prof. Piven, you were one of the most prominent supporters of Ralph Nader’s last campaign.  What do you…

Q: Is the United States a republic or an empire? A: It’s both. We’re in the moment where the American empire is devouring American democracy and we have to fight it. But it’s both. The United States has 650 military facilities in 132 countries, a ship in every major ocean, a presence on every major…