Simon Critchley, chair of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research has published an article in the November issue of Harper’s Magazine “The Amercian Void,” which is based on remarks he delivered at the American Political Science Association in Boston on August 30 and at The New School on September 18 titled, Branding Democracy: Barack Obama and the American Void.

In both outlets, Critchley examines Obama’s subjectivity, the existential detachment that seems to haunt this presidential candidate, and how all of this relates to our conceptions of democracy. When democracy is promoted as a brand, it can be seen to generate many desires, such as participation, freedom of expression, a sense of belonging, and the promise of individual success—all embodied in the notion of “liberty.” How and where do these desires find fulfillment or displacement?

The New School talk was presented in conjunction with university’s international, interdisciplinary exhibition—Ours: Democracy in the Age of Branding.