Multilevel Marketing Scams Expose Capitalism’s Foundational Lie
Pyramid schemes aren’t a corruption of capitalism — they’re a microcosm of how the class system arbitrarily creates winners and losers while falsely promising opportunity for all.
19079 Articles by: Alex Press
Management by Metrics Is Upending Newsrooms and Killing Journalism
Designed to discipline workers into producing clickable and profitable content, newsroom analytics are radically changing the nature of media work — and hastening journalism’s ugly decline.
The Anti-Politics and Anti-Comedy of Norm Macdonald
From his early days honing his craft at comedy clubs in Canada to his later Saturday Night Live fame, Norm Macdonald was one of the most brilliant stand-up comedians of his generation.
Íñigo Errejón: Podemos Missed Its Chance to Transform Spanish Politics
A decade since the 15-M protests rocked Spain, the country has its first left-wing coalition government since the 1930s. But as Íñigo Errejón tells Jacobin, today it’s the nationalist right, not the heirs to 15-M, who are dominating the political agenda.
Refugees in Melbourne Are Stuck in a Nightmare of Indefinite Detention and COVID-19 Infections
Since late 2020, the Australian government has indefinitely held 43 refugees in the Park Hotel in Carlton, Melbourne. This week, 19 tested positive for COVID-19. According to the detainees, the source could be any of the 20 security guards who refused vaccination.
The Right Is Embracing the Reactionary Brutality of “Special Operators” Like Eddie Gallagher
The military’s elite units have long stoked some of the country’s most reactionary politics. But the Right has recently worked hard to defend and normalize the barbarity of special operators — even those accused of major war crimes, like former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.
Don’t Give in to the Culture Industry’s Appeals to Nostalgia
The culture industry keeps churning out reboots and remakes, hoping to exploit a popular sense of nostalgia for gentler times. But tapping into nostalgia is a fundamentally conservative project, designed to arrest the future that we still desperately need to construct.
New York’s Future: Cuomoism Without Cuomo?
Few know his name, but Robert Mujica is one of New York State’s most powerful people: a neoliberal super-technocrat who long served as Andrew Cuomo’s right-hand man. Despite initially promising a clean break, Cuomo’s successor, Kathy Hochul, is signaling that Mujica will stay.
The Job Market Is Far From Recovered
COVID-19 sparked the worst job losses since the Great Depression. The most recent numbers make clear that while American workers are still suffering immensely, they’re also feeling emboldened to reject bad jobs.
David Graeber Knew Ordinary People Could Remake the World
A new book by David Wengrow and the late David Graeber is a brilliant rejection of the fatalistic myths of human history — and a defense of our power to shape our own world.
Paris’s Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, Is Running for President — but Her Socialist Party Is Dying
France’s Socialist Party has announced Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo as its candidate to take back the presidency. Yet far from reconnecting with working-class voters, her candidacy illustrates how France’s established parties have lost their roots.
Democrats Are About to Massively Spike Childcare Prices for Working-Class Families
The Democratic Party’s current childcare proposal would raise costs on many moderate-earning households by $13,000. It’s not clear the party realizes the disaster it’s about to thrust these families into.
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe Talks to Jacobin
Jacobin chatted with former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe about why he backed Bernie Sanders, his longtime support for progressive causes including South African anti-apartheid organizing, and why the B-52s are “fucking amazing.”
Kyrsten Sinema Didn’t Always Oppose Taxing the Rich
When Donald Trump was in office, Kyrsten Sinema opposed his “huge tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations.” But Democrats are now weighing taxing the rich — and Sinema is suddenly opposed.
Why Corporations Love DC’s Daily “Tip Sheets” Emails
Companies are using Washington’s tip sheet industry as a key weapon in their corporate media crusade against climate, health care, and anti-poverty legislation.
Ursula Le Guin’s Radical Utopias Still Resonate Today
Ursula K. Le Guin was born on this day in 1929. She used science fiction to explore the failures of capitalist society — and the alternative worlds we could build in its place.
Joe Biden Is Poised to Gut His Own Political Agenda — and the Democrats’ Electoral Prospects
Joe Biden’s whole agenda is being held for ransom by a handful of corrupt extortionists in the Senate — and Biden seems basically fine with it.
Why You’re Watching Squid Game
The extraordinary success of Netflix’s Squid Game demonstrates how many people relate to a portrayal of capitalism’s miseries — and how few feel there is any way to escape.
Meet Joe Manchin’s Appalling Daughter
As if his own record weren’t bad enough, former coal baron and current West Virginia senator Joe Manchin’s daughter Heather Bresch — who doubles as a major donor to Joe — is a price-gouging drug profiteer who has played a central role in her father’s destructive political career.
San Antonio Symphony Musicians Are Striking to Keep the Band From Breaking Up
Musicians say that management’s austere proposal, gutting the full-time orchestra and slashing pay and benefits, will destroy the San Antonio Symphony. They’ve gone on strike because, as one musician said, “We will not be complicit in our own destruction.”