Some of my work is written in peer-reviewed philosophy journals with fancy names. These are mostly free to read for everyone, but are aimed at academics. You can find that under ‘research’. Some of my work is written to be accessible to everyone. For instance:
‘Why OpenAI is a prime example of the ethical limits of capitalism’, in The Conversation, 8 December 2025. I argue that OpenAI’s journey from idealistic nonprofit to trillion-dollar corporation shows how capitalism squeezes morals out of business.
‘Trying too hard’, in Times Literary Supplement [paywalled], 18 April 2025. A review of Bart Schultz’s ‘Utilitarianism as a way of Life’, which reflects upon utilitarianism’s entanglements with imperialism.
‘Welcome to Mugsborough’, in New Socialist, 25 October 2024. I reflect on the bible of British socialism, Robert Tressell’s 1914 novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. It is in many ways a surprising text, but has much to teach us today.
‘To be or not to be’, in the Times Literary Supplement [paywalled], 13 September 2024. A review of two books on population ethics: Elizabeth Finneron-Burns’s What We Owe To Future People and Tim Mulgan’s Philosophy For An Ending World.
‘Why not socialism?’, on the Effective Altruism Forum, 15 May 2024. Effective altruists believe that the current distribution of economic resources is bad, and that altruistic motives can be harnessed to change this. So: why aren’t they socialists?
‘Risk, non-identity, and extinction’ (with Kacper Kowalczyk), in Reflective Altruism, 19 April 2024. A precis of our peer-reviewed paper of the same name. We object to recent arguments that we should favour human extinction, for fear of something worse.
‘Daniel Ellsberg: Real Life Decision Theory’, in the LSE Philosophy Blog, 27 June 2023. The late Daniel Ellsberg did ground-breaking philosophical work on decision-making under uncertainty, and went on to leak the Pentagon Papers. I explore the connections between these two parts of his life.
‘A Socialist Guide to Effective Altruism’, What To Do About Now, 31 March 2023. I explore effective altruism from a socialist perspective, offering critiques but also arguing for a productive engagement between the two movements.
‘How the Monarchy Dominates Us’, What To Do About Now, 21 September 2022. I draw on the philosophical theory of ‘republicanism’ to show how even the UK’s ‘constitutional’ monarchy involves objectionable political domination.
‘The Ethics of Strikes’, What To Do About Now, 26 June 2022. I argue that workers ought to have the right to strike, ought to use it, and that considering norms around striking sheds light on some questions about the nature of morality.
‘Society’s to Blame: Banks, Structures and Climate Change’. What To Do About Now, 22 May 2022. I ask whether regarding climate change as a structural injustice absolves particular agents – such as banks who finance fossil fuel extraction. I conclude that whlist they may do nothing morally wrong, they are still liable to direct action and punitive policy as a means of altering structural incentives.
‘Why We Can’t Quit Facebook – and What To Do About It’, Justice Everywhere, 18 October 2021. I ask why it is so difficult for us to leave social media, even when we understand its problems – concluding we must break the social media companies’ grip on our need for social life.
‘Empathy, Sympathy and Solidarity’, What To Do About Now, 23 October 2020. An argument (using Hume) against the idea that we should expect world leaders’ personal experiences of coronavirus to care more about their populations, and for the value of solidarity, as opposed to empathy, in politics.
‘Resisting Surveillance Capitalism’, New Socialist, 25 August 2020. A critical review, from a Marxist perspective, of Shoshana Zuboff’s book ‘The Age of Surveillance Capitalism’.
‘Statues, Philosophy, and Charitable Intepretation’, What To Do About Now, 12 June 2020. A response to CM Lim’s article ‘Vandalizing Tainted Commemorations’, involving some thoughts on how the use of the principle of charity can help and hinder philosophical engagement with real world politics.
‘Is it wrong to be a lockdown hypocrite?’, What To Do About Now, 6 May 2020. A defence of the position that it is sometimes permissible for individuals to breach lockdown regulations, and for those same individuals to blame politicians and officials who do so.
‘Should governments prioritise lives, or the economy?’, What To Do About Now, 18 April 2020. An investigation into the choice that the Covid-19 pandemic is often said to pose, involving some thoughts on what ‘the economy’ is.
Media
My desk, and some personal thoughts about philosophy, featured in Contralytic‘s ‘The Philosopher’s Desk’ series, 15 September 2025.
Interview on Rahul Sam’s podcast, 29 September 2024. I discuss my research programme in ‘left-utilitarianism’ and give some views on effective altruism.
In my youth I did some quizzing, including the BBC’s University Challenge.
Nikhil Venkatesh 