I Owe a Lot to Michael Brooks
Michael Brooks’s quiet acts of interpersonal graciousness were inseparable from his loftiest political aspirations. His untimely death leaves an enormous hole in our lives and on the Left that will never be filled.
19079 Articles by: Alex Press
How a Working-Class Soldier and Platoon Leader in Iraq Turned Against Our “Forever Wars”
American foreign policy is often relegated to the margins of political consciousness in the US. But some of the most powerful voices against US intervention are those who have come from inside the military — and turned vehemently against it.
Who Are the Mysterious Firms Working for Ilhan Omar’s Challenger?
More than 65 percent of the spending by Ilhan Omar’s primary opponent for her House seat has been funneled through anonymous corporations, circumventing traditional campaign finance disclosures. Who are they?
Unemployment Benefits Have Saved the US From Economic Calamity. They Expire at the End of the Month.
The only thing keeping workers in the United States from absolute destitution has been unemployment insurance and other social welfare benefits. If Congress doesn’t extend unemployment benefits at the end of the month, the economy will hurl off a cliff — and millions will be immiserated.
The Forgotten History of the Jewish, Anti-Zionist Left
The roots of modern Zionism are in colonialism. This was the foundation of the Jewish left’s opposition to Zionism in the 1930s and ’40s, on the grounds that it is a form of right-wing nationalism and imperialism that is fundamentally opposed to working-class internationalism.
Remembering Our Friend and Comrade Michael Brooks
We lost an irreplaceable part of the Jacobin family today. Let’s honor the life and legacy of Michael Brooks.
Organizing Rank-and-File Academics in Australia’s Universities
Australian universities have been badly hit by COVID-19, with already deregulated workforces suffering job losses and pay cuts. On the back of recent setbacks, rank-and-file organizing is trying to reinvigorate the Tertiary Education Union as a site of struggle.
How Colonialism Shaped Policing in France
Inspired by the George Floyd protests, thousands have demonstrated in France against the brutality and racism of their country’s police — a force shaped by the crime of French colonialism.
Health Care Lobbyists Are Donating Large Amounts to Democrats. They Want Execs’ Immunity From COVID-19 Lawsuits.
Earlier this year, New York governor Andrew Cuomo helped a donor shield health care executives from COVID-19–related lawsuits. Washington Democrats are weighing similar legislation. Now, new data shows that a lobbying group funneled campaign cash to New York Democrats as the bill was being passed.
Trump Wants Federal Agents to Invade American Cities. Democrats Aren’t Doing Much to Push Back.
Donald Trump deployed unidentified Department of Homeland Security agents to Portland, where they abducted protesters off the street into unmarked vehicles, and he wants to do the same elsewhere. House Democrats rightly say they’re horrified by Trump’s actions — yet are refusing to do anything substantive to stop them.
Melania Trump Is No Victim
A new book shows that the current first lady got to where she is through a combination of ambition, calculation, and persistence. But her path to becoming Donald Trump’s wife is tied up in the post-communist collapse in Eastern Europe — and the diminishing gender equality that followed.
Israel’s Annexation Plan Is the Latest Stage in a Long History of Violent Dispossession
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has missed its first deadline for annexing part of the West Bank, but this Trump-backed scheme for land theft is still firmly on the table. The goal of Netanyahu and his US sponsors is simple: they want to liquidate Palestinian national aspirations.
In Bernie’s Brooklyn, Political Revolution Was Mainstream
To many Americans, Bernie Sanders’s brand of socialism seemed to leap onto the national stage from out of nowhere. But in the postwar Jewish Brooklyn where he grew up, the socialist tradition and a veneration for the New Deal were central touchstones of mainstream politics.
Bernie’s Campaign Is Over, but Student Organizers Like Me Are Just Getting Started
Bernie Sanders’s campaign was never about simply electing him — it was about a broader commitment to fighting for a better world in elections, workplaces, and the streets. For Students for Bernie alumni like me, the question isn’t whether we continue organizing, but how.
“The Postcoup Government Is the Best Campaign Manager MAS Could Have Hoped For”
Luis Arce is far in the lead in polls for Bolivia’s repeat election, after his MAS comrade Evo Morales was overthrown in last November’s military coup. The postcoup regime has attracted almost no popular support — the question now is whether Bolivia’s right will even allow free elections to take place.
Feminism Needs Capitalism Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle
The inclusion of more women at the top of oppressive power structures shouldn’t be confused with women’s liberation. We need a radical, socialist feminism, not a repackaged version of Sheryl Sandberg’s corporate-friendly “lean-in” brand.
Trump the “Putin Puppet” Just Dramatically Escalated the Undeclared War Against Russia
The national security state has claimed a dangerous new victory: receiving authorization from Trump to conduct cyberattacks against enemies around the world with greater leeway — especially Russia. It’s the latest success for a years-long pressure campaign by the national security bureaucracy centered on Orwellian claims that Trump’s foreign policy is somehow pro-Russian.
Why Haven’t We Heard From Racial Justice Protesters in Their Own Words?
The US prides itself on its freedom of speech, but when it comes to television coverage of the protests, there has been remarkably little space given to demonstrators to voice their concerns or explain their motivations — a marked contrast to less liberal countries undergoing similar unrest.
The Tories Can’t Save the UK From Economic Calamity
The United Kingdom is headed for a massive economic crash. Unsurprisingly, the Tories’ proposals for fixing it fall far short. We need significant intervention by the state, not a wild throwing of money at corporations and praying they’ll use it to help us.
Why We Need Working-Class Cultural Institutions
Creating a vibrant left ecosystem doesn’t just mean building stronger labor and tenant unions — it means building cultural institutions that prize democracy over privatization and embed themselves in everyday working-class life.