New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is trying to demonstrate that the public sector can match or even surpass the private sector in excellence. It’s high time the Left reclaimed the value of “efficiency” from right-wing forces of privatization and austerity.
Max Beckmann, an Unintentionally Political Artist
German artist Max Beckmann is often regarded as interwar Germany’s foremost apostle of despair. Yet while he emphasized his own apolitical character, his work was also the product of a spiritual foreboding that never escaped politics.
My Life as a “Terrorist”
Historian Steve Fraser looks back on the strange experience in 1969 when he and fellow New Leftists were accused of plotting to blow up Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.
When Protesters Shut Down the World Trade Organization
The new documentary WTO/99 reconstructs the 1999 protests against a global neoliberal trade order, the violent police repression, and the hope for a different world that found vibrant expression on the streets of Seattle.
How Gig Capitalism Came to Thrive in Nordic Labor Markets
Platform companies haven’t overthrown Nordic labor institutions. But they have navigated around them, growing by exploiting the Nordic model’s uneven and conditional protections.
If Zohran Mamdani is serious about delivering on his promises, he needs more than policies — he needs institutions that empower working people. Popular assemblies offer a way to build a new, bottom-up political culture in New York City.
The Right’s Civilizational New World Order
Civilizationalism, the idea that world politics revolves around culturally bounded civilizations led by great powers, is energizing the Right on both sides of the Atlantic. It is key to the effort to dismantle universalism and remake the international order.
Cuba’s Revolution Always Had an Internationalist Spirit
Sixty years ago, delegates from all over the world gathered in Havana for the Tricontinental Conference, forging ties of solidarity and resistance. The anniversary came last month, just as the US stepped up its aggressive campaign against Cuba.
How to Build Pro-Worker Governance in Cleveland
Rust Belt cities like Cleveland face a much more hostile landscape for passing pro-worker policies than major cities like New York. But a range of policy options is available to legislators who want to take advantage of them.
Survivor Has Become a Bleak Mirror of Modern Capitalism
When Survivor debuted in 2000, its appeal stemmed from the tension of clashing values, with some contestants taking a nakedly transactional approach and others appealing to the common good. In recent years, market logics have won.
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.
Israel’s Economy Has Problems, but It’s Not Collapsing Yet
In spite of the Gaza genocide, Israel still has plenty of customers for its high-tech exports, especially the weapons it produces. But it is experiencing a debilitating brain drain as secular, highly educated Israelis are emigrating in growing numbers.
Gambling on the Wisdom of Crowds Is a Bad Bet
Prediction market cheerleaders want us to put our money up, invoking the wisdom of crowds to justify betting on everything from sports to elections. But the probabilities are shaped by speculation and market design, not reliable forecasts.
South Korea’s Would-Be Coup Leader Has Been Jailed for Life
Yoon Suk-yeol, the disgraced conservative president who tried to mount a coup against South Korea’s democracy in December 2024, has received a life sentence in prison. The popular resistance to Yoon shows the way for other countries facing authoritarian threats.
The Power of Power Structure Research
Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an important weapon in civil rights, antiwar, and labor struggles.