Damage Report
Greatest hits from 2018 to present
Damage, while fairly new to Substack, has been around in one form or another for nearly a decade. The magazine began in 2018 as a modest attempt by a group of friends to understand the psychic damages wrought by capitalism and since has grown into a regular publication with enough subscribers to keep the lights on and enough detractors to keep things interesting.
We’ve published hundreds of articles to date. This year we’re increasing our output to release at least one article weekly, plus rolling out new regular columns from longtime contributors Amber A'Lee Frost and Dustin "Dino" Guastella. Amber will be writing “Cold Cuts,” a column on films and film criticism of the not-terribly-distant past, while Dino will be writing “We Live in a Society,” a column on class politics and social decay at the end of the neoliberal order.
In honor of this next phase, here’s a collection of some of our greatest hits from the past. If you like what you read, the best way to help keep all of this going is to become a paid subscriber, which gets you access to the full archive and all new paid articles. We receive no outside funding and our editorial group works on a volunteer basis, so a monthly or annual subscription also helps us pay writers, make books, and publish more articles. We’re incredibly grateful for your support.
Neoliberalism and Its Discontents
Trad Mad by Amber A’Lee Frost
Beyond the grifts and lifestyle porn, there is an objective truth to tradwifery, perverted through the algorithm though it may be: most women want meaningful work, family, and a home.
Build Stuff and Make Things by Dustin Guastella
To fix what deindustrialization broke, manufacturing still matters—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The Crisis of Coercion by Anton Jäger
The crises of the twenty-first century demand conscious public control. But this power is conspicuously absent, on both right and left.
The Internet is Made of Demons by Sam Kriss
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is is not what you think it is.
Mirroring and Pseudo-Empathy by Catherine Liu
AI chatbots create the fantasy of the always available, understanding Other. Such pseudotherapy inhibits subjective growth and promotes regressive, infantile ways of relating to others.
The Utility of Utilities by Matt Huber and Fred Stafford
Climate activists are no fans of electric utilities. But the market-based alternatives that they often prefer—for rolling out renewable technologies faster than utilities—will not deliver infrastructural change at the scale we need.
Odd Man Out by Benjamin Y. Fong
The Odd Fellows were once the largest fraternal organization in the United States. Much like other such associations, their decline has been rapid and devastating, but remarkably, some still bear great faith in the future of Odd Fellowship.
In Pursuit of the Family by Dustin Guastella
Some of our biggest social crises could be solved by a major investment in one of the smallest social institutions.
What was Psychiatric Deinstitutionalization?
An interview with sociologist and historian of psychiatry Andrew Scull about the history and legacy of psychiatric deinstitutionalization.
Breaking News by Daniel Boguslaw
It’s no secret that journalism is in tatters. In this situation, journalists have a responsibility to ignore the trappings of partisan praise and attack the powers that be.
Size Queen Nation by Christie Offenbacher and Benjamin Fife
The industry for bigger, harder dicks is booming. But what are those pills, pumps, and implants really meant to address?
Pathologies of the Progressive PMC
Anti-Social Socialism Club by Dustin Guastella
What happens to a Left that dislikes society?
Toward a Socialist Minimalism by Benjamin Y. Fong
It’s possible simply to have no definite opinion about many issues that our media outlets tell us are very pressing. In fact, this might be a principled position to hold.
For a Joyous Juneteenth by Amber A’Lee Frost
The ruling class loves Juneteenth. Or rather, they love something called “Juneteenth” that bears zero resemblance to Juneteenth.
Between Moral and Political Suicide by Dustin Guastella
Immigration is the toughest issue for the Left to solve. And the future depends on it.
The Regression in Psychoanalysis’s “Social Turn” by Ricky Levitt and Christie Offenbacher
The turn from clinical to social issues has led psychoanalysts no closer to solving social problems and further from working through the primary problems of the field itself.
The Left Should Leave Daycare Advocacy to the Libs by C. Kaye Rawlings
The insistence on “affordable daycare” as a viable solution to the problem of childcare reveals a consistent devaluation of gendered labor. It might also negatively impact children themselves.
Who Invited Robert? by Taylor Hines
Robert’s Rules of Order were designed to make large organizations of members with disparate interests and customs functional. No surprise that they have been rejected by many left groups since the 1960s.
Professional Populists in the Culture Wars by Catherine Liu
The cultural studies revolution rejected universalism and embraced popular culture. This has been a disaster for the humanities and social sciences, but enormously successful in obfuscating growing social inequality and inflating the importance of culture.
The Trouble with “Defund” by Dustin Guastella
There is nothing progressive about austerity.
Patrolling Class Theory by Matt Huber
A new crop of academic critics treat working-class differentiation as a theoretical conclusion rather than as a point of departure. This is a profoundly cynical position that obscures the true sources of defeat: working-class atomization and resignation.
The PMC Gets Organized by Dominic King
“Minority unions” could be a fruitful path forward at a nadir of labor’s power, but their lack of focus on traditional workplace demands speaks to a worrying professional-managerial class orientation within these pressure groups.
Everything All of the Time by Aurora Borealis
The Left is committed to fighting for everything to the extent that it is in denial of the fact that it is currently in a position to win nothing.
The Core Priority is Working-Class Power by Anselm McGovern
Fantasies of the “green imagination” are unnecessary, disorienting, and unappealing.
Arts and Culture
A Great Satan in This Grave by Sam Kriss
Why is Saudi Arabia, possibly the worst and most repressive country in the world, also the only place still keeping the modernist ethos alive?
From Blue Jeans to Blue Banisters by Benjamin Y. Fong
In adulthood, the enjoyment of universality can go beyond a fleeting feeling to a true intimation of eternity, and thus it can only be perceived from the outside as a wild contravention of reality.
Are You My Customer? by Catherine Liu
Service industry hero tales like The Menu, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Bear are not crafted for the people whose work they romanticize, but for their bosses, managers and customers. What message are these stories meant to deliver?
Abolish Tinder by Matte Silver
We don’t need socialized dating apps. We need to eliminate the social conditions that make them useful.
In Praise of the Berenstains by Benjamin Y. Fong
By the standards of most children’s books today, the Berenstains’ series is an absolutely audacious project.
Damage’s Top Ten Movie Moms by the Editors
We love our moms, and we love our movies. It’s Damage’s top ten movie moms. (Plus one because Almodóvar loves his moms, and plus another because RIP Shelley Duvall.)