New York’s Winter Rent Strike Inspired Generations
On this day in 1907, 10,000 New York families led by socialist teenager Pauline Newman — the “East Side Joan of Arc” — began a historic rent strike.
20407 Article(s) by: Alex Press
How Strange It Feels to Watch Your Country Die
I woke up one morning to find my parents whispering and nothing on TV but Swan Lake. Then I heard someone say the words “the Soviet Union fell apart,” and suddenly my whole world changed.
How the Russian Left Survived in a Post-Soviet World
After the demise of the USSR on December 26, 1991, the Russian left had to find its place in a society transformed beyond recognition. In the face of huge challenges, its activists have led important struggles against the system established by Yeltsin and Putin.
We Can Only Go Beyond Communism by Coming to Terms With Its History
Thirty years ago today, the Soviet Union collapsed. Twentieth-century communism should be understood in all its complexity, as revolution and regime, a spur to anti-colonialism and an alternative form of social democracy.
Eugene Debs on “Jesus, the Supreme Leader”
In a 1914 essay, Eugene V. Debs pronounced Jesus “the world’s supreme revolutionary leader” and “as real and persuasive a historic character as John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, or Karl Marx.” We reprint the essay here in full as our Christmas gift to you.
It’s a Wonderful Life vs. the FBI
Amid Cold War paranoia, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI set its sights on a potential source of communist subversion: Frank Capra’s Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life.
Oliver Stone’s JFK Assassination Documentary Shouldn’t Be Dismissed
Oliver Stone’s new JFK assassination documentary struggled to reach US screens, only to meet with media ridicule when it did. But if there’s nothing to see here, why is the government still blocking the release of records 60 years later?
We Should All Dream of a World With No Scrooges
The Muppet Christmas Carol story rightly insists that greed is a sin and charity a virtue, and trumpets a future where there are no more Scrooges around.
Éric Zemmour Is Another Right-Wing Fake Populist Created by Corporate Media
Far-right pundit Éric Zemmour says he is running for the French presidency in order to stand up to elites. Yet far from a grassroots endeavor, his campaign has been driven by some of France’s biggest corporate media.
Edward Said’s Orientalism and Its Afterlives
Edward Said’s Orientalism instilled an anti-imperial sensibility into an entire generation of Western scholars. But even while it castigated the imperial project, its actual analysis didn’t give us the intellectual resources to overturn it.
Teachers in Buenos Aires Are Striking Against Neoliberalism
Buenos Aires’s neoliberal government has used the pandemic to impose austerity on the city’s primary and secondary school teachers. Argentine teachers are fighting back with a campaign of rolling strikes.
The Secret to the Weston Family’s Wealth Is Exploitation, Not Hard Work
Canada’s ruling class is fond of praising the Westons for representing an ethical form of capitalism. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The Westons made their fortunes by ruthlessly exploiting workers.
The Equality That Socialists Care About Most Is Equality of Power
When socialists talk about creating a more equal society, we don’t mean a society where everyone has an exactly equal share of everything. We mean a society where power has been equalized by extending democracy into the economy.
Failure to Prioritize Vaccinating Incarcerated People Will Harm Everyone, Again
Omicron is coming for America’s overcrowded jails and prisons. Prioritizing vaccines for incarcerated people and rolling back our massive prison-industrial complex is good public health for everyone.
How Chile’s Left Won
Gabriel Boric’s victory in Chile is a vindication of the mass movement that took to the streets in 2019 — and points toward a country ready to bury Pinochet’s legacy and neoliberalism for good.
The Problem With Joe Manchin Is the Problem of American Democracy
Joe Manchin’s blocking of the Build Back Better Act is maddening. But it was only possible because we live under a deeply undemocratic political system and are stuck with a Democratic Party still dominated by corporate interests.
When Debts Become Unpayable, They Should Be Forgiven
For centuries, debt and indebtedness have had profoundly destabilizing effects on human societies. In the ancient world, rulers and their subjects had a solution: known as a debt jubilee, it involved a periodic, unconditional wiping out of debt. We need such a jubilee today.
Joe Biden and the Democrats Will Pay a Heavy Price for Betraying Young Voters
The Biden administration has reneged on key promises that candidate Biden used to entice younger voters to turn out for him in 2020. Surprise: his approval ratings with the young are now in free fall.
We Don’t Need More Brinkmanship With Russia
With threats of sanctions and military aid, US saber-rattling over Ukraine is escalating an already tense confrontation with Russia. It’s a dangerous game that the United States should stop playing.
Today’s Supreme Court Reformers Should Learn from the Popular Politics of FDR’s Court-Packing
There are few fights as urgent in American politics as the one to reduce the reactionary, undemocratic power of the Supreme Court. To win that fight, reformers should examine how FDR took his case for court reform to the masses.