The storming of the Bastille was the opening act in a century-long upheaval that broke with the premodern world and finally put ordinary people in charge of their nation’s destiny. That’s the legacy of the French Revolution.
The Left Needs Its Own Foreign Policy
Outrage at US complicity in the war on Gaza has pushed many Americans to think about international politics for the first time. The Left should seize this moment to push its vision of how the global order should run.
What Marx Can Tell Us About Artificial Intelligence
Karl Marx’s analysis of capitalism’s tendency to replace living labor with machines can help shed light on how AI take-up may develop.
Unable to Accept Defeat, Donald Trump Presses On in Iran
Iran has destroyed much of the US’s military infrastructure across West Asia and strengthened its position by controlling the Strait of Hormuz — yet Trump has learned nothing from his defeat.
Everybody Should Welcome Nationalizing AI
Bernie Sanders wants to nationalize half the stock of major AI companies and create a sovereign wealth fund for the American people. The case for going even further is stronger than most people realize.
American Freedom Was Built on Endless Conquest
The Founders made expansion the precondition of American freedom. We must find an alternative.
Jonathan Chait’s Atlantic essay claims the Democratic Socialists of America has betrayed the legacy of its founder, Michael Harrington. It gets DSA’s history, and what the organization is today, wrong.
As Mass Incarceration Rose, Corporate Crime Ran Amok
We spoke to political scientist Marie Gottschalk about how corporate criminals have been let off the hook as prisons have exploded and what the path to ending mass incarceration might look like.
Young Washington: a Simpleminded Take on Our First President
The Christian conservative Angel Studios’ Young Washington feels more like a MAGA political project than a movie. Sadly, it’s the exact kind of paint-by-numbers George Washington biopic you would’ve expected.
Pasta, a Weapon Against Fascism
When Benito Mussolini was ousted in 1943, a farming family called the Cervis celebrated by serving free helpings of pasta in the village square. It’s a ritual still repeated each July, upholding the community spirit at the heart of Italian antifascism.
Samsung Workers’ Fight Is Just Beginning
Semiconductor workers at multinational South Korean corporation Samsung won significant contract gains after a credible strike threat this spring. Their struggle is a crucial one for the global labor movement as AI reshapes the world economy.
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.
In the Baltics, Rearmament Clashes With Regressive Taxes
In EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas’s homeland of Estonia, increased military spending is putting pressure on the national budget. What makes it worse is a regressive tax system, which is putting the costs of rearmament on the lowest-income households.
AI Is a Product of Humanity. Humanity Should Own AI.
Big Tech has looted humanity’s creative output to create artificial intelligence. We don’t just deserve a share of AI’s profits — we deserve control over it.
Lower the Voting Age
There’s no good reason not to change the US voting age from 18 to 16. Expanding the franchise isn’t just good for democracy — it offers the Left a significant opportunity to build its forces.
We Can’t Rely on Green Capital for Decarbonization
Under Joe Biden, green capitalists primarily sold commodities to help wealthier homeowners decarbonize. Real climate action will require a much more robust public-oriented politics of public investment, public goods, and public ownership.