Adam McKay Is Mad as Hell

From Will Ferrell comedies to The Big Short, Vice, and Succession, Hollywood’s greatest populist is taking aim at oligarchy — from the hard left.

Organizing Australia’s Food Supply Chain

The farming industry has long been one of the most exploitative and abusive sectors in Australia. Our organizing drive in the sector could change that.

Kshama Sawant Passes the Amazon Stress Test in Seattle

Seattle socialist city council member Kshama Sawant prevailed over Amazon in her recent reelection. Sawant won by using the same strategies that make for successful workplace organizing — strategies that socialists around the country could take up against the corporate behemoths that want them to lose.

In Sri Lanka’s Ethnocracy, Tamils Will Always Lose

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the architect of Sri Lanka’s genocide against Tamils in 2009. He was also just elected president of the country. It’s the culmination of a decade of impunity following the end of the Sri Lankan civil war that has enabled genocidaires to be feted as “war heroes.”

“Scorsese Versus Superheroes” Misses the Point

Martin Scorsese’s recent comments bashing superhero movies provoked a torrent of outrage. But the real issue isn’t Marvel movies — it’s a funding model that prioritizes easy blockbusters over riskier, daring films.

The WeWork Con

The $47 billion WeWork implosion is proof that the rich are the biggest suckers of all.

The Tories Are the Proud Party of Racism

In Britain, the choice is clear: the Tories are led by people who have done grave material harm to ethnic minorities. Labour is led by people with a record of determined opposition to racism.

Is Bernie “Trumpian”?

Only to frightened elites.

The Little Man on the Big Screen

Everyone knows Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, but it was director Preston Sturges who captured the volatile reality of success, failure, and the American dream.

Into the Void

Over the past 40 years, working-class parties have slid rightward toward neoliberalism and workers have increasingly dropped out of the political process.

White-Collar Populism

On the politics of professional-class anxiety.

Winning the Battle, Not the War

Pink Tide populism was built in the context of two decades of deindustrialization and industrial fragmentation. But we need a socialist left that can reverse those very trends.

Halfway Between Jefferson and Marx

A close look at the 1892Omaha Platform, the program of the Populist Party.

The Right-Populist Advance

Throughout Europe, right-wing populists captured voters from the collapsing center-left, winning legislative seats at home and in the European Parliament.

A Forgotten Country

Country music doesn’t deserve its right-wing reputation — its roots lie with the hopes and travails of working people.

From Socialism to Populism and Back

Why Aufstehen Failed

After drawing a flurry of attention last fall, Sahra Wagenknecht’s Aufstehen movement has run out of steam. Yet its call for the German left to reconnect with working-class voters remains unanswered — and is the far right is taking advantage.

Issue 35: Letters + The Internet Speaks

Because communication is at the heart of any good relationship.

Bootstrap Populism

Rallying behind “free enterprise” mythology, American capitalists have long claimed to be gritty underdogs facing off against a rising statism.

Expert Wisdom

Too often just a term of abuse, some academics have attempted coherent definitions of populism.