As Donald Trump prepares to take power, Democrats are spending a disturbing amount of energy ramping up wars and trying to hand him the powers he needs to crush his political opponents.
Let’s Measure the Far-Right Threat Seriously
Donald Trump’s second term could empower the organized far right much more than the first. Its current mobilizing strength suggests it’s far from ready to take over the state apparatus — but it does have opportunities to build a dangerous threat.
Amazon’s Anti-Union Model and the Damage Done
Canadian postal workers are striking for fair wages and better working conditions. This is putting them in direct conflict with the business model Amazon champions, where workers are treated as disposable and unions are crushed.
Private Companies Will Cash In on Trump’s Immigration Policy
Now that a Trump White House is on the horizon, private prison companies and corporate interests are anticipating a return on their lobbying efforts to place millions of immigrants under electronic surveillance.
No Other Land: A Powerful Documentary With No US Distributor
No Other Land, an award-winning documentary about the dispossession of Palestinians in the West Bank, still hasn’t found a distributor in the US.
And until Democrats can find a way to win back some large chunk of working-class voters, Donald Trump’s successors will be favored in the next presidential election too.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling to Attack Other Women
Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni represent a new model of far-right political marketing. It presents Western neoliberalism as a beacon of women’s empowerment — claiming to defend women’s rights, even as they attack migrants and low-earners.
Democratic Elites Embraced the “Identity Politics” They Decry
After eight years of using shallow “identity politics” as a cudgel against the Left, Democratic pundits and elected officials are now blaming leftists themselves for the fact that such politics took over the party.
“Glicked”: Are You Not Entertained?
Don’t fight the arrival of Wicked and Gladiator II. Accept them, allow them both to wash over you and leave no trace.
Jean-François Lyotard and the Algerian Revolution
Jean-François Lyotard is best remembered today as a theorist of postmodernism. During the 1950s, Lyotard was actively involved in supporting Algeria’s freedom struggle, while realistically identifying the problems that would come after independence.
The Bipartisan Origins of the New Cold War
At the start of the century, there was a consensus that the US should cooperate, rather than compete, with China. But starting with Obama, American presidents embraced the idea of arresting China’s rise, opening the door to Trump’s trade wars and hawkishness.
Facing Embezzlement Charges, Marine Le Pen Plays the Victim
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is embroiled in an embezzlement trial that could see her barred from public office. After long demanding such bans for corrupt politicians, she now casts herself as victim of a judicial conspiracy.
John Milton’s Paradise Lost Mourned a Revolution Betrayed
John Milton died 350 years ago, leaving behind Paradise Lost, a poem composed in a state of deep despair. Blind, alone, and reeling from the failures of the English Revolution, Milton wrote an epic reflection on political defeat and the possibility of hope.
Democracy Is Not a Customer Loyalty Program
Liberal democracy’s assumption that political parties must compete for votes in the same way that businesses compete for customers is a dangerous trap. It reduces voting to a mere transactional choice and erases the participatory vision of self-governance