Derek Guzman

Identity Politics: Why Class Still Matters—But Not Alone

Race, Gender, and Paychecks: Why Intersectionality Can’t Be Ignored * Karl Marx teaches that capital exploits workers, but not "class reductionism" or the neglect of woke identity politics by reducing systemic injustices to mere wealth distribution. * U.S. civil justice advocate and scholar of critical race theory, Kimberlé

Alienation Isn’t Normal: How Capitalism Separates You from Yourself—and How to Reconnect

When Work Feels Soulless: Marx’s Alienation in the Modern Day * The Marxist notion of alienation explains the estranged relationship capitalist mechanisms create in your relationship with yourself and your community. * Alienation causes superficiality, lack of purposeful work and living, isolation, and mental health issues like burnout. * Capitalism induced detachment

How Language Shapes Reality: A Writer’s Guide to Postmodern Philosophy

Why Every Word You Write Is a Political (and Philosophical) Act * Postmodernism posits that language is a cultural action that actively shapes reality rather than a passively describing it. * Derrida, Foucault, and Lyotard lay the foundation for the postmodern notion of subversive language. * Language is never neutral, and is either

Sisyphus in the Studio: Finding Joy in the Eternal Struggle of Creation

Why pushing your creative boulder up the hill is the point (not the problem). * Sisyphus’ eternal and meaningless boulder rolling parallels the unending frustration artists experience with creative blocks. * There’s an absurd joy that comes with the steady process of failures that pave an artists road to their masterpieces.

The Sartre Guide to Social Media: Why ‘Hell Is Other People’s Comments’

From selfies to selfhood: reclaiming authenticity in a world of performative posts * Sartre's "gaze" and "bad faith" explained. * Why social media is a Sartrean hellscape. * Sartre's antidotes for digital despair. One of my favorite viral memes was a post saying they'

Rituals 2.0: How Technology is Reinventing Community in the Digital Age

* Mircea Eliade and Emile Durkheim define a basis and utility for ritual in human connection. * Ritual is what's missing in modern society leading to depression, anxiety, and the loneliness epidemic. * Ritual can be embedded in UX design. * Technology is only isolating if the humans behind it neglect its