Forces of History

Jacob Blumenfeld in conversation with Robin Celikates “Human beings make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances,” Marx wrote in 1852. But do human beings still make their own history, and if so, under what circumstances? That is the question of this episode, which explores the potentials and limits of the forces of history for human emancipation in an age where natural catastrophes, global crises, and economic chaos seem to be overwhelming the possibility for human control over their own fate. Can human beings live up to the demands of the present, or are they condemned to replay the past? Can revolution create something new? And what does it mean to let the dead bury the dead? To get into this deeper, Jacob Blumenfeld speaks with Robin Celikates about history, emancipation, and the promises of critical theory today. The occasion for this discussion was the Forces of History roundtable that took on July 8, 2026 in Berlin with Alyssa Battistoni, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lillian Cicerchia, Maeve Cooke, and Massimiliano Tomba, moderated by Robin Celikates and Rahel Jaeggi. The episode discusses and plays numerous clips from the event. Thanks to Lane Hots for sound recording and editing. Forces of History roundtable: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/en/event/forces-of-history/ Critical Theory Summer School: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/en/summer_school/