Zohran Mamdani’s early wins are a testament to what a talented left-wing municipal executive can accomplish even in the face of major obstacles. But much of his ambitious agenda will remain blocked if he can’t convince the state to tax the rich.
Resource Competition With China Lay Behind Trump’s Iran War
The US war on Iran may have seemed like an irrational move by a president who is as reckless and impulsive as he is destructive. But there was a geopolitical logic behind the attack, based on Washington’s desire to deny China access to vital resources.
Ben Lerner Hears Ghosts in the Wires
Critics read Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription, as a commentary on smartphones. But with gothic style and a Victorian temperament, it meditates on a much older technology — the spectral quality of disembodied speech introduced at the dawn of telephonics.
Capitalist Profits Depend on Stealing Our Future
Capitalists have succeeded in arranging the future as a calculable source of extraordinary wealth, enriching a few in the present by imposing debts on the vast majority — and undermining the environmental conditions for a better tomorrow.
Serbia’s Government Is Targeting the Public University
The recent death of a student at the University of Belgrade triggered a police raid and fresh government attacks on education. Professors appear as the vanguard of a broad social movement, but their plans for change are less clear.
Under capitalism, technological “progress” like AI systematically deskills workers, deepens managerial control, and turns the labor process into a site of conflict rather than liberation. This is by design.
Zohran Mamdani’s 100 Days of 21st-Century Sewer Socialism
In his first one hundred days as mayor, Zohran Mamdani has realized that New Yorkers — and all Americans — need to see the government working for them.
Iran Is Stuck in Permanent Crisis
War, and now a fragile ceasefire, is not bringing collapse in Iran but reinforcing and reorganizing its existing structures of power and inequality.
It’s Tech Versus Teachers as Strike Looms Over LA Schools
Los Angeles public school teachers have declared a strike deadline of April 14. The conflict forces the question of whether schools are an EdTech business opportunity or a public responsibility.
SCOTUS Is Siding With Capitalists Over Trump
The Supreme Court’s willingness to protect the Fed — in contrast to every other independent regulatory commission — reflects the strength of its loyalty to neoliberal capitalism over the Trump administration and even the vaunted “unitary executive theory.”
Neoliberalism didn’t win an intellectual argument — it won power. Vivek Chibber unpacks how employers and political elites in the 1970s and ’80s turned economic turmoil into an opportunity to reshape society on their terms.
Hungary’s Narrow Path Out of Orbánism
Elections on Sunday could finally remove Viktor Orbán from power. Opposition forces have rallied behind rival candidate Péter Magyar, less out of belief in his program than from desperation at the country’s authoritarian turn.
Dark Money Is Flowing Into Trump’s Legacy Projects
Funneling millions to the Trump administration through undisclosed donations, a slew of corporations and lobbyists are potentially violating disclosure laws to help bankroll the president’s ballroom and other pet projects.
Bernie and AOC Pump the Brakes on Artificial Intelligence
A bill from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposes a moratorium on new AI data centers until oversight mechanisms and legal safeguards are in place. Only federal legislation stands a chance at leashing a monster of this size.
The Fight Against Trumpism Can Reinvigorate Labor
The danger posed by Donald Trump’s authoritarianism means that unions can’t afford to remain in a defensive crouch. And history suggests that fighting to defend and revive democracy at moments of maximum peril can create a window of opportunity for labor.