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Jacobin is a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture.

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Eugene V. Debs addresses a crowd in front of an American flag.

In Defense of the Fourth of July

The Declaration of Independence has been quoted by abolitionists, suffragists, socialists, civil rights activists, and the Black Panthers. Why should conservatives get to own it now?

Diego Velázquez’s 1635 painting The Surrender of Breda

America’s Empire Is Ending Much Like Spain’s Did

As the US celebrates its 250th, it has begun to resemble the decadent Spanish Empire it replaced: producing nothing while collecting rents, sacrificing its interior to enrich a bloated elite, and embracing exclusionary nationalism to exploit its underclass.

A statue of Thomas Paine in his hometown, Thetford  England.

An Independence Day Without Common Sense

Americans have celebrated Thomas Paine’s Common Sense for generations. What gets lost in the fanfare is how common sense is not some eternal repository of political wisdom, but something continually reshaped by democratic debate, argument, and persuasion.

Subscribe

Jacobin is a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture.

$29.95
1 Year / 4 Issues
Digital Subscription
$39.95
1 Year / 4 Issues
Print + Digital Subscription