Tim Christiaens
@timchristiaens.bsky.social
Political philosopher working on critical theory, the digitalization of work, platform capitalism, and workplace democracy. Assistant Professor of economic ethics at Tilburg University.
Just finished Kevin Anderson’s new book on colonialism, gender, and non-Western postcapitalism from @versobooks.bsky.social. It’s great! I used to do book summaries on Twitter, but Bluesky doesn’t seem to encourage that stuff. Would there be interest in a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the book?
November 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Just finished Kevin Anderson’s new book on colonialism, gender, and non-Western postcapitalism from @versobooks.bsky.social. It’s great! I used to do book summaries on Twitter, but Bluesky doesn’t seem to encourage that stuff. Would there be interest in a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the book?
Reading on Robert Michels’ critique of popular democracy and its roots in French syndicalism. Quite a fascinating yet alarming world with socialists supporting Mussolini, anarchists championing Malthusianism, and trade-unionists calling for eugenics to enhance the class warfare potential of workers.
November 16, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Reading on Robert Michels’ critique of popular democracy and its roots in French syndicalism. Quite a fascinating yet alarming world with socialists supporting Mussolini, anarchists championing Malthusianism, and trade-unionists calling for eugenics to enhance the class warfare potential of workers.
Altijd leuk om bekende namen tegen te komen in de boekenwinkel in Utrecht. Hier het nieuwe boek van @simontruwant.bsky.social .
November 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Altijd leuk om bekende namen tegen te komen in de boekenwinkel in Utrecht. Hier het nieuwe boek van @simontruwant.bsky.social .
What is it with experimental philosophy and the desire for dirty hands? I demand a psychoanalysis of experimental philosophy now. Or at the very least some hand soap.
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
What is it with experimental philosophy and the desire for dirty hands? I demand a psychoanalysis of experimental philosophy now. Or at the very least some hand soap.
Teaching today about Ulrich Beck’s Risk Society and the dangers of securitization and the state of emergency.
November 3, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Teaching today about Ulrich Beck’s Risk Society and the dangers of securitization and the state of emergency.
Waiting for the rain to stop with Yukio Mishima’s Life for Sale. And yes, the contents are as disturbing as the cover art.
November 1, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Waiting for the rain to stop with Yukio Mishima’s Life for Sale. And yes, the contents are as disturbing as the cover art.
Reading Sally Haslanger’s introduction to Resisting Reality, a book on ideology critique, race, and gender. I wonder whether Quine would have been happy with being the main source of inspiration for left-wing academia.
October 30, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reading Sally Haslanger’s introduction to Resisting Reality, a book on ideology critique, race, and gender. I wonder whether Quine would have been happy with being the main source of inspiration for left-wing academia.
Teaching the cybersecurity students today about Ulrich Beck and the politics of risk with social media content moderation as our case study. How are risks framed? Whose risks are worth consideration? How are risks shifted from one group of stakeholders to another?
October 27, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Teaching the cybersecurity students today about Ulrich Beck and the politics of risk with social media content moderation as our case study. How are risks framed? Whose risks are worth consideration? How are risks shifted from one group of stakeholders to another?
Nicolas Cage teamed up with the monk from the Da Vinci Code. That's the only explanation that makes any remote sense.
October 26, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Nicolas Cage teamed up with the monk from the Da Vinci Code. That's the only explanation that makes any remote sense.
Researching Christopher Lasch. What impresses me today more than the contents, however, is his stylistic ability to connect widely different phenomena without sounding unhinged. If I talk about Freud, disaster movies, workplace culture and mass media on a single page, people would be concerned.
October 22, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Researching Christopher Lasch. What impresses me today more than the contents, however, is his stylistic ability to connect widely different phenomena without sounding unhinged. If I talk about Freud, disaster movies, workplace culture and mass media on a single page, people would be concerned.
Rowan Atkinson’s satire of the tories is now actually elected in Parliament. To turn Marx on his head: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as farce, the second time as tragedy.”
October 21, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Rowan Atkinson’s satire of the tories is now actually elected in Parliament. To turn Marx on his head: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as farce, the second time as tragedy.”
I know clicking on op-eds from ragebait robots is basically feeding the machine. But oh my, it’s infuriating to just read such opening lines. Evidence-based research from UN experts is just on a par with online conspiracies apparently … My personal ethics of non-clicking is being tested.
October 20, 2025 at 8:54 AM
I know clicking on op-eds from ragebait robots is basically feeding the machine. But oh my, it’s infuriating to just read such opening lines. Evidence-based research from UN experts is just on a par with online conspiracies apparently … My personal ethics of non-clicking is being tested.
Book acquisitions while on holiday. I read Despentes on the way back but obot terribly interesting tbh. Still looking forward to Mishima, though.
October 19, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Book acquisitions while on holiday. I read Despentes on the way back but obot terribly interesting tbh. Still looking forward to Mishima, though.
Back on the train from Denmark to the Netherlands with some nice memories of the 10th (!) edition of the Danish Marxist Society conference. Looking forward to next year with @dkmarxsoc.bsky.social
October 18, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Back on the train from Denmark to the Netherlands with some nice memories of the 10th (!) edition of the Danish Marxist Society conference. Looking forward to next year with @dkmarxsoc.bsky.social
When you receive yet another email about how to use AI in your teaching.
October 17, 2025 at 1:09 PM
When you receive yet another email about how to use AI in your teaching.
Spending the day studying Mikhail Bakhtin on popular culture and the carnivalesque.
October 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Spending the day studying Mikhail Bakhtin on popular culture and the carnivalesque.
On the train towards Aarhus for the @dkmarxsoc.bsky.social conference. Will be talking about why to put AI under public ownership without fostering an AI-driven state bureaucracy. But mostly looking forward to see friends again!
marxistiskestudier.com/2025/09/26/1...
marxistiskestudier.com/2025/09/26/1...
October 9, 2025 at 8:41 AM
On the train towards Aarhus for the @dkmarxsoc.bsky.social conference. Will be talking about why to put AI under public ownership without fostering an AI-driven state bureaucracy. But mostly looking forward to see friends again!
marxistiskestudier.com/2025/09/26/1...
marxistiskestudier.com/2025/09/26/1...
My paper is out on The Entrepreneurship Paradox in Platform Work 🥳 How can we explain platform workers’ sometimes enthusiastic embrace of entrepreneurial identity? I argue that postcolonial theories of informal labor offer some good suggestions.
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
October 6, 2025 at 11:58 AM
My paper is out on The Entrepreneurship Paradox in Platform Work 🥳 How can we explain platform workers’ sometimes enthusiastic embrace of entrepreneurial identity? I argue that postcolonial theories of informal labor offer some good suggestions.
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
Protesting for Palestine yesterday with 250.000 others (!) in Amsterdam. 🍉
October 6, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Protesting for Palestine yesterday with 250.000 others (!) in Amsterdam. 🍉
When criticizing Kantian liberalism, remember: “Nothing but ad hominem abuse is more than nothing.”
From Raymond Geuss’ Philosophy and Real Politi
From Raymond Geuss’ Philosophy and Real Politi
October 3, 2025 at 8:12 AM
When criticizing Kantian liberalism, remember: “Nothing but ad hominem abuse is more than nothing.”
From Raymond Geuss’ Philosophy and Real Politi
From Raymond Geuss’ Philosophy and Real Politi
I know of very few arguments as good for a 5% voting threshold as the Dutch electoral system.
September 30, 2025 at 8:08 AM
I know of very few arguments as good for a 5% voting threshold as the Dutch electoral system.
The book can be pre-ordered online already and you can find the table of contents below. For fellow academics, please let me know if you would like to organize a seminar or book presentation. I never get tired of talking about Italian philosophy anyway 😅
September 29, 2025 at 8:00 AM
The book can be pre-ordered online already and you can find the table of contents below. For fellow academics, please let me know if you would like to organize a seminar or book presentation. I never get tired of talking about Italian philosophy anyway 😅
I’m particularly proud of the cover art, which we as authors developed in collaboration with Bloomsbury. Very proud of the colour scheme. We were inspired by the poster of the recent Suspiria remake.
September 29, 2025 at 8:00 AM
I’m particularly proud of the cover art, which we as authors developed in collaboration with Bloomsbury. Very proud of the colour scheme. We were inspired by the poster of the recent Suspiria remake.
When you’re in Paris and you know you overdid it on the book purchases.
September 27, 2025 at 12:05 PM
When you’re in Paris and you know you overdid it on the book purchases.