Labor Unions Need to Activate Their Members to Defeat Trump
If the labor movement is going to defeat Donald Trump and other anti-worker politicians, Painters union president Jimmy Williams Jr writes, it will need a wellspring of organized workers.
20187 Article(s) by: Abigail Torre
Abigail Torre grew up in Chile and now lives in Berkeley, California where she is cochair of the East Bay chapter of Democratic Socialists of America.
Big Pharma Drastically Overcharges the US Military
A government-granted monopoly has allowed a pharmacy benefit manager owned by Cigna to overbill the Defense Department for years, in what amounts to an enormous cash transfer from American taxpayers to Big Pharma’s shareholders.
Why Soviet Economic Reform Couldn’t Save the System
Long before Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet planners and economists engaged in wide-ranging debates about economic reform. But they never seriously considered the option of a genuinely participatory, democratic model of socialism that would empower workers.
We’re All Caught in the Land Trap
Jacobin sat down with the Economist’s Mike Bird to talk about his new book The Land Trap, on why land retains its centrality in our economy even into the digital age — and how land ownership cements existing inequalities.
The Nordics Have Low Inequality Mostly Because of Welfare
The Nordic countries have far less economic inequality than the United States. Most of the difference is due to the Nordics’ welfare states.
Humanity Needs Democratic Control of AI
The danger from artificial intelligence isn’t a Terminator-style robot uprising but tech capitalists using the technology to push their own interests. Seizing control from them is the best way to ensure algorithmic technology serves the social good.
Mamdani Can Learn From Latin American Municipal Socialism
From 2005 to 2016, against the wishes of both the country’s ruling and opposition parties, the small Venezuelan municipality of Torres underwent a radical experiment in democracy, giving residents direct power over the budget. It worked.
Demolishing the East Wing Without Much of a Fight
Historic preservation groups responded to the White House East Wing’s demolition with equivocal statements and “deep concern.” Their failure to mobilize reveals how dependent liberal advocacy has become on the billionaires funding Trump’s regime.
Your Party and the Perils of Left Populism
Already just a few months into its founding, Britain’s new left party has been dominated by factionalism and infighting. These are problems that have always plagued left populist movements. Your Party could learn from their history.
Americans Are Defaulting on Car Loans at an Alarming Rate
Across the US, people are increasingly defaulting on their car loans — a dire economic indicator because these loans are usually the last payment Americans are willing to miss. Meanwhile, auto insurers are raking in record profits after hiking rates.
An Eviction Moratorium Against ICE?
Thanks to its tenant unions, Los Angeles County could be on the verge of enacting an eviction moratorium to hit back against Donald Trump’s “mass deportation” raids.
The US-China Trade War Is Far From Over
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in South Korea yesterday to strike a deal to end the trade war between their two nations. Instead, China showed that it had learned from its rival how to use its economic heft as a weapon.
Trump Is Ready to Let Millions of Americans Go Hungry
The Trump administration says it will withhold funding for food stamps starting November 1. The move will inflict hardship on tens of millions of lower-income Americans who rely on the program and potentially cause broader economic disruption.
1960: The Year the Modern Horror Film Was Born
A combination of the breakdown of the Hollywood studio system, the decline of censorship, and the rise of wildly — and luridly — creative filmmakers across the world looking to cash in on sex and violence made 1960 the year of the modern horror film.
The Forgotten History of Socialism and the Occult
Socialism has a well-earned reputation as a secular, rational movement. But not all socialists throughout history were quite so grounded.
Plestia Alaqad: Western Media Language Is Enabling Genocide
Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad has been a leading witness of the genocide in Gaza. In an interview with Jacobin, she explains how Western media misrepresentations have enabled Israel’s crimes.
Liberal Capitalism’s Long Authoritarian Streak
There is no simple opposition to be drawn between the liberal market order of the early 1800s and the supposedly more violent neoliberal state of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Coercive projects and authoritarian visions run throughout both.
You Can’t Have Social Housing Without Building Housing
Zoning reform measures have divided tenant advocates in New York. Yet loosening the city’s anti-housing regime is essential if we ever want to build social housing at scale.
The Labor Movement Needs a Collective Anti-Trump Strategy
When authoritarianism rears its head, the labor movement needs to be at the center of opposing it. And right now, unions need to be at the center of the burgeoning movement against Donald Trump’s attacks on civil liberties and workers’ rights.
The Crisis of the Portuguese Left
The Portuguese Socialist Party once seemed to be a model for Europe’s center left, gaining support while its sister parties were in decline. But this year’s election was a crushing defeat that saw the Socialists fall behind the far-right group Chega.