The principal sources of the affordability crisis are less consumer goods and more child care, health care, and education. The Left’s response to that crisis should focus on universal, solidaristic, and visible social programs.
Financial Capital Didn’t Make New York City Great
The latest installments in Ric Burns’s documentary New York look at Gotham’s recent decades through rose-colored glasses. They ignore the political choices that eroded the city’s industrial base and reduced democratic influence on the economy.
Is Ecuador Still a Democracy?
After barring the opposition party from November’s elections, the far-right government of Daniel Noboa has arrested its leader, Luisa González, blurring the line between democracy and dictatorship.
Alberta’s Post-Referendum Hangover
Alberta’s sovereignty push has failed, but the province’s Conservative infighting continues, and working people are paying the price. The government has spent its energy pursuing partisan advantage while neglecting Albertans’ everyday concerns.
France’s Rulers Want Violence as a Pretext for a Crackdown
Ahead of Saturday’s mass protests in France, the government seemed almost desperate for new violent scenes. Lumping the organized left and protesters in with black bloc groups, it seeks to justify a broad crackdown on the high schoolers’ movement.
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.
Fatherland Feels Both Ancient and Tragically Contemporary
In the new film Fatherland, Thomas Mann is a standard-bearer for a tradition of liberal humanism that, though in many ways noble, proves completely incapable of fending off the most terrible evils.
Lula’s Win Is a Defeat for Donald Trump and MAGA
Just as it has throughout Latin America, the Trump administration was openly working to defeat a left-wing government in Brazil and replace it with a far-right one. With Lula’s victory, Trump failed.
Who’s Afraid of Gen Z Socialism?
From France to India, young people have led the current wave of protests. Rather than deny the importance of generational politics, we can see it as a way that people make sense of their life chances and of the opportunities they are denied.
Lula’s Surprise Victory Is a Beam of Hope in a Dark World
Lula’s defeat of the far right in Brazil not only secures the Brazilian president a definitive place in the history of global democracy but also offers valuable lessons for socialists across the planet.
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.
Israel Is Accelerating Plans to Annex Neighboring Lands
Israel’s ethnic cleansing of southern Lebanon and Gaza has reached a scale unseen since the Nakba. The history of Israel’s offensives shows how depopulation is soon followed by annexation.
1956 Was a Missed Opportunity for Socialist Reform in Poland
In October 1956, a protest movement in Poland brought a reform-minded communist leadership to power. Unlike Hungary, Poland managed to avoid Soviet intervention, but the opportunity to democratize its political and economic structures was missed.
Alberta’s Separation Ballot Ended With a Whimper
The result of Alberta’s referendum was widely expected: three-quarters chose to stay in Canada. The referendum’s other questions, and the political tensions they exposed, point to deeper struggles — over immigration and the country’s resource economy.
Adolph Reed on What It Will Take to Defeat Trumpism
Donald Trump’s popularity may be waning, but the political-economic conditions that gave rise to Trumpism remain, Adolph Reed argues. To defeat the Right, the Left needs to rebuild durable working-class organization and a universalistic politics.