Yes, Socialism Would Handle the Coronavirus Pandemic Better Than Capitalism
My vision of democratic socialism wouldn’t be Utopia. But here’s the case it would be better than the status quo during both normal times and these times of crisis.
19690 Articles by: Adrien Beauduin
Adrien Beauduin is currently researching a PhD on Polish and Czech politics at the Central European University’s department of gender studies.
43 Million Americans Are About to Lose Their Health Insurance Because of Our Employer-Based Health Care System
Opponents of Medicare for All have cast it as a political nonstarter since it would “force people off their health insurance.” Now, as millions of laid-off workers lose their employer-provided insurance, the cynicism of that claim is being laid bare.
Meet the Brand-New Organization Trying to Boost Labor Standards for Minor League Baseball Players
Minor league baseball players make poverty wages and, because they don’t have a union, enjoy little say over their working conditions. A new organization of retired players is trying to change that.
Podemos’s COVID Tax Will Make the Millionaires Pay for Spain’s Recovery
In one of Europe’s most unequal countries, Spain’s working class is particularly suffering during the pandemic. Unidas Podemos’s “COVID tax” on millionaires’ assets will help rebuild long-neglected public services — and end decades of bipartisan tax giveaways to the rich.
Why Germany’s Far Right Wants Judges to Rule Europe’s Monetary Policy
For all its populist hues, Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland began in 2012 as a “party of professors” insisting on ordoliberal dogmas. Today, the conservative business elites who fed its rise are again in the headlines, now for pushing German judges to block aid to Europe’s hardest-hit economies.
Inside the Latest Plan to “Bankrupt” and Privatize Social Security
President Donald Trump’s motivation behind a payroll tax holiday is not to help families through this crisis, but to set the stage for devastating cuts to Medicare and Social Security. And Democrats might end up helping him.
You Should Know More About A. Philip Randolph, One of America’s Greatest Socialists
As the Left attempts to chart a new course in the wake of the Bernie Sanders campaign, there’s no better time to learn from America’s most underrated socialist, labor leader, and civil rights legend, A. Philip Randolph.
Palestinian Workers Are Bearing the Brunt of the Pandemic
Palestinian workers play a vital role in Israel’s economy, but they’ve been left exposed to the danger of COVID-19 without any support from the Israeli authorities or their own leaders. The pandemic has exposed the harsh realities of life for workers under Israeli occupation.
Why Social Distancing “Doesn’t Apply” to Germany’s Migrant Farmworkers
The German state emphasizes the need for social distancing — except for the Romanian migrants working in its farms. The EU’s neoliberal order has deepened the continent’s labor market inequalities, making a mockery of the rhetoric of European solidarity.
Julio Anguita (1941–2020)
When former Spanish Communist Party leader Julio Anguita was buried last week, crowds in his native Córdoba broke quarantine to sing the Internationale next to his coffin. The “Red Caliph” saved his party from the doldrums of the 1980s — and helped lay the basis for today’s Unidas Podemos.
Australia’s Superannuation System Enshrines Inequality
Australia’s compulsory superannuation system has made us all shareholders in a vast financial investment industry worth almost $3 trillion. These collective funds are enormously powerful, yet when it comes to retirement, lower-income earners are left with all too little in their hands.
Roe v. Wade Was Bigger Than Jane Roe
The news broke this week that Jane Roe, the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, was paid by the anti-abortion right to publicly switch sides later in life. But while the news is shocking, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that no single person was responsible for the partial victory of Roe — it takes collective action to win social change.
How Yemen’s Dream of Unity Turned Sour
Thirty years ago today, Yemen united as one country in a mood of optimism about the future. Those hopes were to be cruelly disappointed, thanks to the destructive, self-serving record and rivalry of Yemen’s political elites.
Domestic Workers Are Paying Dearly for the Coronavirus Crisis
Domestic workers have always been among the hardest hit by recessions. Fear of contagion may make the coronavirus crisis the worst yet — a catastrophe for millions of the most economically vulnerable workers.
Jeff Bezos Shouldn’t Be a Billionaire, Much Less a Trillionaire
Jeff Bezos is reportedly on pace to be the world’s first trillionaire. That’s a grotesque indictment of our society — and the only way to change it is to organize Amazon workers to wrest back the extraordinary power and wealth that Bezos is hoarding.
A Movement for Civil Rights Underpinned Republicanism in Northern Ireland
Mainstream accounts of republicanism in Northern Ireland tend to focus exclusively on the armed campaign that produced one of the most devastating conflicts in postwar Europe. Left out, however, is the radical, grassroots movement for civil rights that was a driving force for popular republicanism from the late 1960s.
Another Debt Crisis Is Looming for Argentina
Since the turn of the millennium, Argentina has been hobbling from debt crisis to debt crisis. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, the country is set to default for the third time in twenty years — an event that would plunge the country into chaos.
Hopeful Altruism Is No Substitute for Radical Politics
Rutger Bregman made a name for himself by dressing down Tucker Carlson and calling out the ultrarich at Davos. But his new book is closer to a hopeful self-help guide than a manifesto for radical political change.
How McCarthyism and the Red Scare Hurt the Black Freedom Struggle
In the years immediately following World War II, the movement for black equality, rooted in the militancy of black workers, was making massive strides. The McCarthyist anticommunist campaign of the late 1940s dealt a hammer blow to that project, attacking its unions and scattering its activists, ultimately narrowing the ambitions of the black freedom movement.
Capitalism Isn’t Working. But What Would a Viable Socialist System Look Like?
Criticisms of capitalism’s failures have more power if we can actually imagine an alternative. Here’s what a viable socialist society could look like.