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 selfrealization. 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.