Must We Slaves to Our Footballing Passions?
On 16 December 2023 the Marxist philosopher and militant Antonio Negri passed from this world. As someone who has been inspired by his work and ideas – particularly his ongoing emphasis never accepting defeat, always looking for new spaces and routes of class struggle – this really affected me. In the English speaking world he has always been the most visible face from the autonomous movements from the 1960s and 1970s. There is always sadness when a comrade departs, even if they have lived a full and vibrant life, especially one filled with more than enough epic moments and drama to fill more than a few blockbuster movies. For this essay I do not want to respond to Negri’s passing and life more generally, as there have been many tributes to him, not to mention an academic cottage industry devoted to responding to his writing and ideas. Rather I want to reflect upon a much less aspect of Negri’s life, namely his relationship with football. Negri was a lifelong supporter of AC Milan, so ...