Two Demands: Free Gaza, Free Speech
College administrators have been trying to preemptively shut down the eruption of new protests against the genocide in Gaza. The movement needs to emphasize the urgent importance of protecting free speech.
280 Articles by: Ben Burgis
Ben Burgis is a Jacobin columnist, an adjunct philosophy professor at Rutgers University, and the host of the YouTube show and podcast Give Them An Argument. He’s the author of several books, most recently Christopher Hitchens: What He Got Right, How He Went Wrong, and Why He Still Matters.
This Can’t Be It
In last night’s debate, Kamala Harris rightly insisted that much of the country is exhausted by and ready to move on from Trump. But we deserve to move on to something better and more substantive than what Harris had to offer.
Shawn Fain Has Been a Light in the Darkness
UAW president Shawn Fain’s speech was the best part of the DNC. It featured a direct focus on workers otherwise absent from party rhetoric, and sidestepped the culture wars to identify the “one true enemy” of corporate power.
Let a Palestinian Speak at the DNC
The Democratic Party has refused the request of “uncommitted” delegates to let a Palestinian American speak at the DNC. Remember this moment if Kamala Harris loses Michigan this fall.
Obama’s DNC Speech Was the Same Old Technocratic Liberalism
Obama’s speech last night at the DNC showcased his rhetorical talent. But it was also a reminder of his incrementalist brand of liberalism, which failed to meaningfully address the profound issues facing the working-class majority.
AIPAC Bought Cori Bush’s Seat
Wealthy pro-Israel donors drove Congresswoman Cori Bush out of office because she thinks Palestinians’ lives matter.
J. D. Vance Got His Faux Populism From Internet Weirdos
Vance’s political rebrand as a self-styled right-populist wasn’t an organic reaction to what he saw in deindustrialized Appalachia. He was radicalized by online discourse goblins.
Bernie Sanders Should Be Kamala Harris’s Vice President
If Kamala Harris really wants to show she is ready to turn a new page in the campaign against Donald Trump, it’s obvious who her choice as running mate should be: Bernie Sanders.
Joe Biden’s Replacement Must Embrace Economic Populism
Joe Biden is out of the race, and a second Trump term would be a nightmare. To avoid it, Democrats need more than a candidate who can complete sentences. That candidate must put pro-worker policies at the heart of their campaign.
So Much for a Newly Reborn Republican Party
People keep saying that economic populism and an antiwar, anti-interventionist spirit have swept the GOP. But there wasn’t much substantive evidence of that at the RNC.
On Stochastic Terrorism and Speech as Violence
The theory of stochastic terrorism dangerously undermines free speech norms by blurring the line between speech and violence.
The Right Way to Politicize This
Yes, after the Donald Trump shooting, now is a good time to talk about the need for better gun laws.
Democracy Requires Disempowering the Supreme Court
New rulings on presidential immunity, workers’ rights, and Chevron deference make it clear: we can have social progress, or we can have a powerful Supreme Court, but we can’t have both.
Biden Is Betting Everything on a Very Shaky Strategy
Joe Biden thinks he doesn’t need to deliver for American workers in order to beat Donald Trump, wagering that concern for democratic institutions will do the work for him. He’s sleepwalking into a catastrophe.
Rashida Tlaib Is Right: the Supreme Court Is Corrupt
The Supreme Court is an unelected super-legislature that is riven with bribery and corruption, in addition to justices’ extreme antimajoritarian views. Rashida Tlaib’s call for impeachment and reform is causing outrage, but she’s right.
Israel Killed Hundreds of Civilians to Save Four of Its Own
Last Saturday, Israel massacred hundreds of Palestinian civilians in an operation to rescue four Israeli hostages. American commentators rushed to justify the brutal operation.
For Pamela Paul, Free Speech Attacks Over Palestine Don’t Count
The New York Times’s Pamela Paul postures as a free speech champion. Yet somehow, employers blacklisting student Palestine protesters doesn’t seem to bother her.
The Rule of Law Being Applied to Trump Is Good
Presidents and ex-presidents should be subject to the same laws as the rest of us. But don’t be too quick to assume this conviction will save Joe Biden.
NYU’s Vapid Reeducation for Palestine Protesters
New York University is punishing students who protested the genocide in Gaza by forcing them to take a philosophically confused course on “integrity.” University administrators are the ones who need to brush up on that subject.
We Can’t Have a Fair Society Under Capitalism
Random chance governs far more of our lives than most of us are comfortable admitting. Fully appreciating the influence of luck on life chances should lead us to rethink our economic and political institutions from the bottom up.