The Rich Want Their Own Cities
From Honduras to California, the dreams of the rich are reshaping urban spaces into exclusive private domains. The future of our cities must not be ceded to elites striving to construct walled utopias.
19639 Articles by: Benjamin Case
Benjamin Case is a researcher, educator, and organizer living in Pittsburgh.
Joe Biden Isn’t Rescuing Hostages — He’s Enabling War Crimes
Earlier this month, Joe Biden expressed his concern for the Israelis taken hostage in Gaza. But if he really cared about their safety, he wouldn’t be sending Israel weapons for its indiscriminate and criminal bombing campaign.
American Fiction Is a Scathing Satire of Representation Discourse
The 2023 film American Fiction, starring Best Actor nominee Jeffrey Wright, aims to spark discussion through a darkly comedic portrayal of a long debate about representations of black Americans on film. It’s a worthy directorial debut by Cord Jefferson.
Vince McMahon Is Even More Depraved Than You Thought
A former World Wrestling Entertainment employee just filed a lawsuit against WWE cofounder Vince McMahon. The details of the suit, which charges the billionaire wrestling mogul with sexual assault and sex trafficking, are hard to stomach.
Emmanuel Macron Has Handed Another Win to the Far Right
France’s parliament passed a migration bill limiting birthright citizenship, but on Thursday the Constitutional Court struck down parts of the law. Some pro-government figures call this a good compromise — recklessly relying on judges to correct MPs’ votes.
The Death Penalty Is Premeditated Murder
Alabama executed a man last night using a method that experts have deemed too cruel for animals. It was a display of barbarism.
North Carolina’s Legislature Wants to Destroy Public Schools
North Carolina’s voucher plan diverts vast amounts of public money to private schools, many of which provide substandard education and engage in open discrimination. Weakening public schools in the process, the scheme violates the universal right to education.
Workers at Brooklyn’s She Wolf Bakery Are Trying to Unionize
Complaining of discrimination and being forced to work in extreme temperatures, workers at bread maker She Wolf Bakery in Brooklyn are trying to form a union. Jacobin talked to some of the workers about their organizing drive.
ICJ’s Genocide Ruling Is a Rebuke to Israel and the US
In a clear censure of Israel and the US, the International Court of Justice just ordered Israel to cease its violations of the Genocide Convention. It’s a victory for the Palestinian rights movement and the civilians of Gaza.
Strikes Are Up. Union Density Is Still Down.
New figures show that US union density dropped again last year, despite high-profile strikes. We should admit that we don’t know exactly what will turn things around for labor, other than bold experimentation.
Why Israel’s War Is Genocide — and Why Biden Is Culpable
Israel has made no secret of it: it has embarked on a genocidal plan to “create conditions where life in Gaza becomes unsustainable.” And Joe Biden is its accomplice.
British Universities Are Repressing Free Speech on Palestine
In the last three months, several hundred people in Britain have been investigated or threatened with dismissal at work for expressing pro-Palestinian views. This is the biggest attack on free speech for decades, and universities are its main battleground.
Internationalism Is in Labor’s Interest
The old labor slogan “An injury to one is an injury to all” isn’t just a moral imperative. It’s the practical foundation of a strong labor movement.
Quebec’s Common Front Strikes Are a Blueprint for Labor Power
Quebec’s public sector witnessed an unprecedented winter of discontent as the Common Front coalition, uniting four major unions, took to the streets. Separate unions brought the total number of workers involved in these historic strikes to well over a million.
Why a Decade of Protests Didn’t Lead to Revolution
Between 2010 and 2020, a wave of protests erupted around the world. In some cases, these movements strengthened socialist forces. In others, they opened the door to the Right. Vincent Bevins spoke to Jacobin to explain the causes of this divergence.
The Silicon-Tongued Devil
ChatGPT feeds on language, outputting texts that reinforce the basic assumptions of our culture. The rise of AI forces the Left to take a hard look at the politics of language and the linguistics of Noam Chomsky.
Biden Could Rescind Trump’s Boeing Immunity Deal
In the wake of two 737 Max crashes, Donald Trump’s administration made a deal with Boeing that allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution. Now, if claims of airline safety issues are proven true, Joe Biden’s DOJ could rescind it.
Ron DeSantis’s Presidential Bid Was Always Doomed
Cartoonishly unlikable, Ron DeSantis was a candidate seemingly engineered to appeal only to the hyperspecific grievances of social media–addled right-wingers. His failed bid shows just how cloistered the conservative movement has become.
Europe’s Leaders Are Addicted to Austerity
The pandemic exposed the fragile state of Europe’s public services after years of austerity. Now the European Council has backed a new set of austerian fiscal rules — imposing an estimated €100 billion in cuts, which will hit working-class people hardest.
State Repression Is What Fuels the Conflict in Balochistan
An exchange of air strikes between Iran and Pakistan put Balochistan on the global news agenda this month. Pakistan’s largest province is also its poorest, and the only way to establish peace there is by ending a long history of discrimination and repression.