2025 John McMenemy Prize

Winner: Simeon Goldstraw

Excerpt from jury report: Simeon Goldstraw offers a bold reinterpretation of Marx’s scattered reflections on leisure by reading them through an Aristotelian lens. He argues that Marx, like Aristotle, saw leisure not merely as free time but as a state in which individuals pursue ends in themselves—particularly through artistic and intellectual activities. This conception of leisure, Goldstraw contends, is central to Marx’s idea of human self-realization. His article not only reframes Marx’s relevance to contemporary debates about work, free time, and culture but also connects it to public policy and makes a compelling case for leisure as a vital, universal, and inclusive condition for human flourishing.