In one sense, it feels a bit quick to already write one of these end of year reviews (see also 2019 and 2018). They always creep up. And yet 2020 dragged on. I mean, it really dragged. While the end of summer moved pretty quickly, I think it took about 5 years to get through March.
How long did 2020 take? If you recall, back in January we were talking about the Bernie Sanders campaign. Now that seems like it was…what, 10 years ago?
Anyway, let’s take a look at 2020!
As with most years, I tried to set a tone with my very first post of the year. This year? I started with a post on ‘Class Reductionism.’ And yes, as usual, it made for a theme for the year. I wrote at various points in 2020 about the uses and misuses of ‘class’ as a concept.
Most Viewed Posts
What were people reading in 2020? Here are the most widely read posts from this year:
1. Class Reductionism: What is it, and is it Bad? (mentioned/linked above)
2. Primitive Accumulation, Race, and Capitalism
3. Iowa Freedom Riders: A Review
In addition to these – as with past years – I have a few posts from 2018 and 2019 that continue getting heavy traffic. But the clear theme here appears to be race and capitalism. Given the nationwide racial justice protests this summer, I suppose that’s not too surprising. We’ll soon see the degree to which these themes carry over to 2021.
Popular Search Terms
In prior years, I’ve had some fun discovering what terms people use when they arrive at Base and Superstructure. I looked up the data for this year as well, though the changes weren’t especially large this time.
As with last year, the leading term – by far! – was some variation on ‘leftist quiz’ (Political Quiz: Leftist, Liberal, or Bernie?). After that, we saw ‘DSA caucuses’ (DSA Caucuses: What’s the Deal?) and ‘anti capitalist movies’ (5 Successful Anti-Capitalist Films). More broadly, the blog continues doing really well in search traffic!
The Financials of Blogging
My financial goals for this blog have always been pretty modest – I’d just like to make enough to pay the blog’s yearly expenses. However, it’s pretty tough to meet even modest goals when you have a fairly niche leftist/philosophical blog. But with that said, I’m not too far from the goal.
The blog now has a variety of (potential) revenue sources – Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, and, new in 2020, a Patreon account. Between all of these things, the blog earns just a tad under its yearly expense. So things are going reasonably well on this front!
Hidden Gems
Here are a few topics I’ve discussed on the blog that might’ve flown under your radar: misconceptions about black voters, public housing, the Elizabeth Warren campaign, how to build socialism, US foreign policy, the aftermath of the Bernie Sanders campaign.
I also published an ebook on Trumpism.
In short, it’s been a busy year!
2021 Preview
I do have a few ideas of what’s coming next to Base and Superstructure! Stay tuned in the next few weeks for posts about corporate culture, class politics, and unions.
