Michael Lazarus is Lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Political Economy. Before coming to King’s College London, he was Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University and Deakin University Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute. He holds a PhD in Politics from Monash University. His research covers major themes and thinkers in political theory, political economy and moral philosophy. His first book, Absolute Ethical Life: Aristotle, Hegel and Marx, was published in 2025 by Stanford University Press. Currently, he is working on a second book project related to the ideas of labour, money and colonialism in Adam Smith and G.W.F. Hegel. In addition to his many scholarly publications, he regularly writes for non-academic venues.

A full list of publications can be found at: https://www.michaellazarus.net

Office hours

Thursday: 14.00 - 15.00

Friday: 15.00 - 16.00

Please e-mail for an appointment.

Research interests

• Critical theory
• History of political thought
• Moral philosophy
• Critical political economy
• Contemporary social and political theory
• Theories of capitalism
• Political economy of work
• Aristotle and neo-Aristotelianism
• Hegel and German Idealism
• Marx and Marxism

Teaching

• Critical Theory
• Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy

Latest publications

Absolute Ethical Life: Aristotle, Hegel and Marx (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2025)

Recent articles:

From the Invisible Hand to the Rabble: Smith, Hegel and Social Ontology, Cambridge Journal of Economics (2025): 10.1093/cje/beaf046

Economy and State: the Politics of Citizenship and Universality in Gillian Rose, Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg, Thesis Eleven (2025): 10.1177/07255136251314511

Where Is the Cross: On Gillian Rose. An Interview with J.M. Bernstein, Thesis Eleven (2025): 10.1177/07255136251314510