There is much to celebrate in Jacobin’s ten-year anniversary. In a remarkably short time, what started as a tiny online nook has grown to become a major voice on the global left. This is no doubt partly a sign of the times. It is hard to imagine that it would have met with a similar success if it had started in 2000, as opposed to 2010.

Jacobin came at the perfect moment, when a global rebellion against neoliberalism was starting to gain momentum and, most remarkably, discussions around socialism suddenly reentered the political culture thanks to Bernie Sanders. But while these factors have served as a most fertile environment, they cannot of themselves account for Jacobin’s success. Plenty of other socialist ventures have failed during these years or remained confined to a tiny corner of the Left online arena. Jacobin’s success is very much an achievement, however much it has been buoyed by the growing interest in socialism.

I would suggest that two aspects of Jacobin’s efforts are particularly noteworthy, one political and the other institutional. Politically, the magazine has had a remarkably clear vision and a focus that is unmatched on the intellectual left, not just among new magazines, but more widely.