The Point, Issue 1

The Point is a twice-yearly journal of essays on contemporary life and culture, based in Chicago. A mix of criticism, memoir and reviews, The Point goes beyond intellectual tourism by challenging its readers to recognize the impact of ideas on their everyday life. Early issues have considered whether it is possible to live an honorable social life on Facebook, what Thorstein Veblen would say about Goldman Sachs, how Stendhal might help us with dating, and why todays conservatives ought to read Marx. Each issue also contains a symposium consisting of several shorter pieces relating to a topic chosen by the editorsfor instance, film, conservatism, or contemporary music.

Issue 1 of The Point will include essays on Barack Obama as a philosopher king, David Foster Wallace's escape from irony, Eckhart Tolle and the consolations of self-help, and a symposium on the nature of liberalism.