South Africa has imposed one of the world’s most draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, slapping hundreds of thousands of mostly black and working-class people with criminal charges. The authoritarian response highlights again the lost promise of the post-apartheid government and the deep disparities that still plague the country.
Capitalism runs on economic coercion, presenting most people with the choice to work or starve. But many workers, from prisoners to college athletes, face other types of coercion that exact a heavy cost for anyone who dares to tell the boss “no.”
In turnout, perseverance, and in the ethnic and racial diversity of those participating, the last month of protest in response to the police murder of George Floyd is like nothing the US has experienced before. And most shocking of all, the protests are winning.
Cities across France are seeing a historic wave of protest against racism and the killing of young black people. The French revolt was sparked by the demonstrations in the United States — but it’s fueled by police brutality at home.
Set in Britain in the near future, the newly published sequel to the 1982 classic A Very British Coup presents a hellish but believable vision of political disillusionment and post-Brexit malaise.
Liberals are right to condemn Donald Trump for his disastrous mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic and his undisguised contempt for democracy. But Trump is no aberration: his rise was only possible because of a Republican and Democratic political consensus that has ravaged American politics and society for a generation.
Jordan Peterson’s message is simple: “evil” is endemic to humanity, and the domination of some people over others is biologically grounded.
Elites have the money and resources to hide in their homes and ride out the coronavirus pandemic till kingdom come. The rest of us will need a better plan.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos encouraged his white-collar workers to cancel meetings for Juneteenth and “reflect and support each other.” An Amazon warehouse worker fired after organizing for workplace protections thinks that’s “a bunch of bullshit.”
The Democratic donor class does not want progressives anywhere near the levers of power — even in races where they could clearly win. That’s why they’re backing centrist millionaire Democrat John Hickenlooper over a proponent of Medicare for All and the Green New Deal for a Colorado Senate seat.
Demilitarizing police is an urgent demand in this moment. But with the police force and army so entwined — both in terms of personnel and weaponry — demilitarization won’t be easy.
Jabari Brisport is a public school teacher and Democratic Socialists of America activist who cut his political teeth campaigning for same-sex marriage a decade ago. Now he’s running as a socialist to represent Brooklyn in the state senate, and he’s mounting a full-throated challenge to status-quo politics in New York.
Representative Barbara Lee wants to slash America’s bloated military budget. It’s a necessary move that’s long overdue.
The Supreme Court is a deeply conservative institution, stocked with conservative jurists. But this week’s Bostock decision was a win for LGBT justice — and it opens up new possibilities for emancipatory change.
Today’s protests for racial justice are strikingly multiracial. Civil rights organizers have historically considered this an asset and often used it creatively and strategically to their advantage, as they did during the Freedom Rides through the American South in 1961.
No Evil Foods markets itself as a left-wing, “revolutionary” food company. But its workers say the company recently busted their union drive and fired organizers.
Born this day in 1889, Camilla Ravera led the Communist Party of Italy through its first difficult years under Fascist tyranny. Her story shows how a generation of women became political leaders — by tying their liberation to that of the working class as a whole.
In the 1960s, an upstart union of New York City social workers forged alliances with welfare recipients while fighting to improve public services at the bargaining table. They’re a model for public-sector unions today, which should be pushing for better services and struggling to democratize the state.
Mitt Romney and a host of anti-Trump Republicans are rebranding themselves. But don’t be fooled by the rhetoric — they still hate the poor and working class as much as ever.
The Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t just need allies who condemn the murder of George Floyd — it needs comrades in the fight against racial injustice. Trade unionists have to join that fight.