At Twitter, Elon Musk Is Doing a Great Job of Disproving the Idea of Meritocracy
Elon Musk is definitive proof that our capitalist overlords have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.
19079 Articles by: Alex Press
Don’t Fall for the Myth of the “Job Creator”
Billionaires like Howard Schultz like to claim that that we should be grateful for all the jobs they create. But the ultrarich don’t create jobs in any meaningful sense — they just reap the rewards of asset ownership and the labor of their workers.
Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar’s End Child Poverty Act Is a Political and Policy Home Run
US reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar just introduced the End Child Poverty Act, which would set up a universal child benefit. It’s a major improvement on previous proposals to help poor and working-class families — and would instantly slash child poverty.
Clarence Thomas Is Exactly What He Appears: a Corrupt, Plutocrat-Backed Ruling-Class Elite
A blockbuster new story reveals that Clarence Thomas has been traveling around the world on a superyacht and private jet owned by billionaire megadonor Harlan Crow. Yet somehow, right-wingers continue to pretend that Thomas is an enemy of “the elites.”
France’s Pension Protests Are the Culmination of a Long Rebellion Against Neoliberalism
Emmanuel Macron’s government has angered millions with its attack on the French pension system. But the strength of the protest movement owes to struggles that came before — and the organizations allowing a sustained challenge to the neoliberal agenda.
A Second Scottish Independence Referendum Isn’t Going to Happen
The arrest of former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s husband has dealt another blow to her political legacy. She has left her Scottish National Party greatly weakened — and with its plans for independence in tatters.
We Can Take Monetary Policy Out of the Hands of Technocrats
Defenders of the Federal Reserve often argue that we should just let the bank “do its job.” But a recent book shows that democratic forces have challenged this sharp separation between politics and economics throughout America’s history.
It’s Time to Talk About Class in Canada
Canada has a long history of ignoring its class divide. In recent years, the divide has become a chasm and can no longer be ignored. Accepting that class division is central to the national makeup is the first step in bridging it.
Yes, Socialists Should Support Industrial Policy and a Green New Deal
The capitalist system may be turbulent, inequitable, and antisocial. But there is no “iron law” of capital standing in the way of a program of economic planning for sake of the climate.
Childcare in the US Is an Unaffordable Mess. We Should Look to Finland and Quebec.
The US childcare system is a crazy quilt of unaffordable, marketized options for working families. We could learn from Finland and Quebec, which treat high-quality childcare as a basic right underwritten by the state, not a money-making opportunity.
Film Workers Say a Gun on the Hip of a New York City Film Producer Led to a Strike
German director Uwe Boll was filming an NYPD drama in New York City last month. On the third day of shooting, crew members say that his producer showed up with a gun. Within a week, they were on strike.
Manchester’s Music Scene Dragged the City Out of Postindustrial Decline
Manchester in the 1980s was home to bands like Joy Division and the Smiths and a world-famous rave scene. The music rose from the conditions of life in postindustrial Manchester — and, ironically, it paved the way for a new wave of capital investment.
Sanna Marin’s Government Failed Because It Wasn’t Ambitious Enough
Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin’s center-left government lost this past weekend’s elections. Her administration had great promise — but it failed to take the measures that would have delivered real material gains for working-class Finns.
Brandon Johnson Defeated Paul Vallas’s Austerity Agenda Last Night
In Chicago’s mayoral runoff last night, Paul Vallas’s vision of budget cuts and law and order lost to Brandon Johnson’s promises to tax the rich and invest in social services.
Donald Trump’s Legal Troubles Are Just Getting Started
When he faced prosecutors in New York yesterday, Donald Trump appeared worried about pending cases against him in Washington, DC, and Georgia. Those charges are far more serious than the New York case, indicating that his problems have only just begun.
Kathy Hochul Is Making Her Fossil Fuel Donors Happy
Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to gut New York’s signature climate law to effectively allow more methane emissions. She is doing so after receiving nearly half a million dollars in donations from energy corporations and lobbyists advocating for the move.
Why Do We Even Need Private Banks?
Since Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, some commentators have been waking up to the need for a socialization of deposit-taking banking. They’re right — but the same logic leads to a more radical conclusion: a fully socialized capital market, with no private banks.
Ernest Mandel and the Economics of Late Capitalism
Belgian Marxist Ernest Mandel popularized the term “late capitalism” to describe the way the system had changed in the postwar decades. Mandel’s work was a landmark in the study of capitalism, and we can still learn a lot from his analysis today.
The Solution to AI-Driven Job Displacement Is a Robust Welfare State
The idea that AI will wipe out all our jobs is generating lots of apocalyptic headlines these days. It’s no surprise why: in a society without an egalitarian welfare state and pro-worker policies, labor reallocation can be a disaster.
Ernest Mandel Was One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Marxist Thinkers
Born on this day a century ago, Ernest Mandel was one of the major political thinkers of his age. From his teenage activism in the anti-Nazi resistance to his final days, Mandel was an uncompromising defender of socialist ideals and working-class interests.