Shakespeare, Elites, Power: Neema Parvini with Oliver Bennett

Shakespeare weighs heavily on the British political imagination. The Shakespearean ‘living tradition’ has seen his plays adapted to contradictory ideas and adopted by warring ideological factions. The playwright is as often construed as a proto-liberal as his plays are taken to be the foundation of an English concern with the social order. 

Neema Parvini, also known as Academic Agent, has gained prominence, if not notoriety, as a political commentator. On social media and in YouTube videos, he applies ‘elite theory’ to modern politics and culture. Parvini suggests that democracy is an illusion and that, instead, we should view history—and culture—as a contest between power elites. 

But Parvini’s background is in Shakespeare studies. In six influential books, he has examined Shakespeare’s moral and political compass, and argued against recent trends in the discipline.

What use is the canon to contemporary political analysis? The publication of Parvini’s two new works, Applied Elite Theory and Foundations of Shakespeare, invites a look into the overlap between the author’s two preoccupations. Are Shakespeare studies—and the plays themselves—a bellwether for the culture and political stage at large?

Oliver Bennett is an actor and director and co-founder of The Base.  

Get a copy of The Populist Delusion and Applied Elite Theory.

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