We Should All Be Working Part Time for Full-Time Pay
Here’s a transformative demand: part-time work for all, at full-time pay. We could live freer, more enriching lives, all while cutting carbon emissions.
21012 Article(s) by: Alex Press
Big Tech Is Lobbying Hard to Keep Copyright Law Favorable to AI
Big Tech is pushing back hard against federal efforts to apply copyright law to AI systems. It’s a bid to avoid protection for the human creators that ChatGPT and similar programs get their material from.
With Their Five-Month Strike, Hollywood Writers Scored a Historic Victory
With their 146-day strike this year, Hollywood film and TV writers made major gains in defending their livelihood against exploitative streaming models and the threat of AI. In an interview, two writers involved in the strike discuss the historic walkout.
The US Labor Movement’s Pro-Israel Consensus Is Starting to Crack
Unions in the US have a long history of supporting Israel and suppressing rank-and-file solidarity with Palestine. Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, and the targeting of US workers who oppose it, is starting to change that.
W. B. Yeats Was a Conservative Opponent of Democracy, Not the Bard of Liberal Centrism
Political centrists love to quote Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming” as they face a world where “things fall apart” and “the center cannot hold.” But the great Irish poet was a radical conservative whose hostility to democracy led him to sympathize with fascism.
US Labor Is Having a Movement Moment
The successful UAW strike was the latest sign that the union movement is having a moment. Amid so much gloom in the world, US labor has emerged as an unlikely bright spot with genuine dynamism.
Jeremy Corbyn: “History Will Judge Those Who Had the Opportunity to Stop This Massacre”
Jeremy Corbyn argues that we need an immediate cease-fire to stop the slaughter of civilians in Gaza — and that the end of the Troubles in Northern Ireland shows how a cease-fire might pave the way to a just, lasting peace.
Should the Transition to Socialism Be Fast or Slow?
Socialists considering how to break with capitalism are confronted with a dilemma: support a gradual move to social ownership, so workers can build up the know-how to run those firms, or support a rapid transition so capitalists can’t sabotage the economy.
After a Historic Strike, UAW Members Have Ratified Contracts With the Big Three Automakers
United Auto Workers members have officially ratified contract agreements with the Big Three automakers following a historic six-week strike. The vote totals at Ford, Stellantis, and GM largely reflect worker satisfaction with big gains.
A Pro-Palestine Socialist Is Hoping to Unseat an AIPAC-Backed Congresswoman in Houston
In retaliation for their criticism of Israel, the right-wing group AIPAC plans to spend big to unseat the Squad in 2024. But in Houston, a pro-Palestine and democratic socialist candidate for Congress is taking the fight to an AIPAC-endorsed incumbent.
Blacklisted Communist Writer Albert Maltz’s Last Novel Will Finally Be Published in the US
When Communist writer Albert Maltz was blacklisted in the McCarthyist era, no commercial publisher in the United States would touch his novel A Tale of One January. A new edition slated for US distribution means his 70-year blacklist will finally end.
The “Human Shields” Defense of Bombing Gaza’s Civilians Is Morally Bankrupt
Apologists for Israel’s bombing spree of schools and hospitals in Gaza say Hamas is using the civilians there as “human shields.” But that justification makes no sense even if we accept the premise — in a hostage situation, you don’t just kill the hostage.
Progressive Governments Across Latin America Are Condemning Israel
From Chile to Honduras, Latin American governments are recalling ambassadors, severing diplomatic relations, and openly condemning Israel — a country with a history of propping up dictatorships across the region — for its crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In Orange County, a Police Union Tried To Take Down a Progressive — And Failed
From police associations to real estate interests, California power players are launching an aggressive strategy of recalling progressives in retaliation for votes they don’t like. In Santa Ana, Orange County, they just fell flat on their faces.
A New Album of Old Labor Songs Revives a Forgotten Era of Class Struggle
On the anniversary of songwriter and union organizer Joe Hill’s execution by firing squad, a new album revives early 20th-century labor movement songs, capturing the original spirit of loud, raucous brass bands.
Argentina’s Crossroads Election Reminds Us to Never Underestimate the Far Right
Argentina goes to the polls today to decide between the centrist candidate Sergio Massa and far-right libertarian Javier Milei. The stakes could not be higher.
The Swedish Left Failed the Vulnerable During the Pandemic
Sweden’s “hands-off” COVID-19 response was hailed by libertarians abroad but also by most left-wingers at home. Far from enlightened, the Swedish left’s approach combined deference to authority with a disturbing faith in national exceptionalism.
Fotografiska’s Museum Chain Is Turning Artists into “Value Makers” for Venture Capital
For-profit museum chain Fotografiska has opened a new Berlin location. It’s a miniature version of what Berlin has become — promoting a financialized, libertarian idea of creativity that prices out the artists who have given the city its character.
Real Public Investments in British Columbia Can Debunk the “Big Spending” Myth
Business groups will always carp about “overspending,” but in British Columbia the decline in public spending has been huge hit to ordinary people. The province should use its vast economic capacity to invest in making workers’ lives better.
We Can’t Grow Numb to Reports That the Rich Are Getting Obscenely Richer
Reports continue to reveal the thriving fortunes of the wealthy, which surged during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such reports should still have us up in arms — and we should put our outrage to work to dismantle a rigged system.