Communist Ontologies

Richard Gilman-Opalsky, Bruno Gulli

“To be communist is to be lost, looking for an answer, looking for a way out. Communist Ontologies breaks with the monologue form, brings us away too from any monological concept of anti-capitalist politics… A stroll by two communists, immensely rewarding, immensely subversive.” – John Holloway, from the Preface to Communist Ontologies

What does it mean “to be” in a world of capitalism now bearing (once again) all of its fascist teeth? What is the nature of communist being-in-the-word when so much of the world is ferociously anti-communist? In their new book, Communist Ontologies (2024), Bruno Gullì and Richard Gilman-Opalsky undertake a philosophical and political inquiry into capitalist forms of life and new forms of life, or communist ontologies.

Together, they aim at a new synthesis of theory about possible and desirable beings-in-the-world. Rejecting capitalist conceptions of labor, politics, sovereignty, economy, (neo)liberalism, community, the individual, art, revolution, social change, and even the human person, Gullì and Gilman-

Opalsky propose new ways of thinking and being antagonistic to the existing world. In this Seminar, Gullì and Gilman-Opalsky introduce the basic concepts and arguments of their book for general interest and consider present challenges facing the emancipatory dreams and struggles of everyday people.

The “main event” of this seminar will feature open discussion with the authors. While reading Communist Ontologies before the seminar is encouraged, no knowledge of the book is necessary. We welcome anyone with interest in the subject to join us with nothing more than their curiosity.

Facilitators: Bruno Gullì is professor of philosophy at CUNY-Kingsborough and of comparative literature at the Graduate Center – CUNY. He is the author of five books, including Communist Ontologies, Labor of Fire, and Singularities at the Threshold. Richard Gilman-Opalsky is professor of political theory and philosophy in the School of Politics and International Affairs at the University of Illinois. He is the author of nine books, including Communist Ontologies, Imaginary Power, Real Horizons, The Communism of Love, Specters of Revolt, and Precarious Communism. Gilman-Opalsky has lectured widely throughout the world, and his work has been translated and published in Greek, Spanish, French, and German. In 2018-2019, he was named University Scholar at the University of Illinois.

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