Socialists aren’t anywhere near powerful enough to overcome capitalism, but we are now a force to be reckoned with in mass politics. This opportunity requires wrestling with the challenges of governing under capitalism rather than relying on old dogmas.
The Beatles Belong to the Left
Don’t let the baby boomers moderate the Beatles’ politics. They were undeniably men of the Left.
We Have to Figure Out How to Design a Warming Planet
Architects and designers are often left carrying out the orders of developers interested only in maximizing profits. But a new book argues they have a vital role to play in transforming our built environment in a world transformed by climate change.
A Labour Prime Minister Inaugurated Britain’s Neoliberal Era
Fifty years ago, British Labour leader James Callaghan used his party conference speech to promote some of the key ideas associated with neoliberalism. A close look at the speech can help explain why neoliberalism keeps defying predictions of its demise.
Mark Carney Is Taking Aim at Canada’s Labor Movement
Mark Carney wants to make Canada a destination for global investment. To this end, his new omnibus bill casts the right to strike as an obstacle to the “national interest” — and organized labor as a barrier to national strength rather than its foundation.
Is Trump Crashing the Dollar Empire?
Economist Mona Ali on how the United States wields the world’s most powerful currency to shore up empire and its own ruling class — and how Trump’s careless moves might blow it all up.
The real choice is not between globalization and deglobalization, free trade and tariff walls, but between empowering capital and empowering workers.
Who Killed Asylum?
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the US government, across Republican and Democratic administrations alike, has been slowly dismantling what was once the most generous asylum system in the world.
We Can’t Blame the Supreme Court for Congress’s Problems
The US does not suffer from a tyrannical Supreme Court so much as an ineffective Congress that, by constitutional design, delays and obstructs rather than acts on the most pressing issues facing Americans.
The United Arab Emirates Is Devastating Sudan for Profit
Several outside actors have stoked the flames of war in Sudan, but none has had as great an impact as the United Arab Emirates. The evidence of its destructive role is overwhelming, but the Gulf kingdom’s Western allies have turned a blind eye to it.
How Brazilian Cinema Survived Fascism
Under Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s national cinema was gutted, censored, and left for dead. Then Lula returned — and so did the movies.
Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri’s Empire became a campus sensation because it offered a master theory for globalization at a moment when old Marxist categories seemed exhausted. But the capitalist internationalism they saw as permanent has now crashed and burned.
In Italy’s Financial Capital, Socialism Is Back in the Air
With his down-to-earth focus on cost-of-living issues, Milan mayoral candidate Lorenzo Pacini is seeking to reconnect with Italian traditions of city-hall socialism.
Literacy Is Another Casualty of the Decline of Democracy
A new book by the journalist James Marriott purports to explain the decline of literacy. Instead, it offers a narrow defense of elite culture that that pays next to no attention to the role these elites have played in destroying the culture they are now mourning.
According to Polls, Americans Like Socialism a Lot
A crop of recent polls shows that socialism’s appeal is surprisingly broad. They also reflect a transformed US political landscape that is ripe for a socialist politician to capitalize on — if they’re willing to step up.
Video Game Workers at Blizzard Won First Union Contracts
Nearly 2,000 workers at Blizzard, a Microsoft-owned video game studio that makes popular games like Diablo, won their first union contracts earlier this month. Their protections include recall rights and guaranteed severance packages for laid-off workers.