Few people embodied the inspiring rise of democratic socialism in the 2010s as much as Jeremy Corbyn. During his nearly five years as leader of the Labour Party, he more than doubled party membership, advanced a raft of socialist policy proposals, and, in 2017, scored an election result that inspired millions. Since stepping down in 2020, he has continued to campaign tirelessly for social justice in Britain and around the world in the face of ongoing hostility from the media and parts of his own party.

Two weeks ago, he was in Berlin to speak at the Jacobin-sponsored conference Socialism in Our Time. During his keynote, he spoke passionately about the need to oppose the drive to further militarization in Europe, to build solidarity with oppressed groups around the world, and to continue the long-haul struggle for socialism no matter what setbacks our movement faces.

Afterwards, he sat down with Loren Balhorn, an editor at Jacobin’s German language edition, to talk more about the strategic impasse facing the Left today, his new book project, and where he gets his boundless optimism from.