Working People Can Help Stop the Drive to War
The specter of war in the Asia-Pacific is leading to a gloomy cynicism. But the Australian working class has influenced debates on war before — and won peaceful outcomes.
19770 Articles by: Benjamin Case
Benjamin Case is a researcher, educator, and organizer living in Pittsburgh.
The US Government Is Complicit in the Drug Cartels’ Crimes
Last month, a federal US court found a former Mexican security chief guilty of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel. The trial showed how both the US government and its Mexican clients have been guilty of the criminal activity they’re supposedly trying to stop.
Bernie Sanders’s Interrogation of Howard Schultz Made Democrats Pick a Side
Bernie Sanders’s grilling of Starbucks’s union-busting billionaire Howard Schultz put a CEO in the hot seat on a national stage. It also forced Senate Democrats who might rather stay on the Democratic donor’s good side to denounce his flagrantly illegal behavior.
Chicago Mayoral Candidate Paul Vallas Is Being Bought by the Rich
With $1.6 million in his pocket from wealthy finance donors, Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is attacking his progressive opponent Brandon Johnson’s plan to fund public schools and city infrastructure by taxing financial transactions.
John Wick: Chapter 4 Is the Bloody Finale We’ve Been Waiting For
In John Wick: Chapter 4, Keanu Reeves’s puppy-avenging assassin returns for one last fever dream of violence and mayhem, giving viewers a final chance to watch John Wick seek the kind of revenge on the wealthy and all-powerful that we all dream about.
States Across America Are Trying to Weaken Child Labor Protections
It’s not just Arkansas: in states across the country, Republicans are making a concerted push to roll back laws protecting children from working dangerous jobs like construction and meatpacking.
Why the National Question Matters to the Left
Karl Marx famously wrote that “the workers have no country” — but he immediately added that they had to become “the leading class in the nation.” For over a century, the Left has struggled to reconcile the two ideas.
Pakistan’s Government Is Failing Flood Victims
At COP27, Pakistan’s government took credit for the role it played in setting up the loss and damage facility to compensate poor nations for climate change. At home, Islamabad has not done enough to protect flood victims from starvation and eviction.
Veterans Can Help Reinvigorate the Labor Movement
Military veterans like the great labor leader Tony Mazzocchi have played a central role in US labor battles in the past. And if the union movement is to rebuild itself, working-class veterans will have to play an important role today too.
Don’t Republicans Ever Get Tired of Carrying Water for the Banks?
Republican representative Patrick McHenry is staunchly defending a bank deregulation law passed under Donald Trump just days before leading an inquiry into the collapse of Signature Bank — which is his top donor.
Starbucks Is Hijacking Court Proceedings to Dig Up Info on Union Supporters
In a federal court case over alleged union busting by Starbucks, the coffee giant is using the proceedings to dig up information on employees so it can intensify retaliation against union organizers.
Conservatives Are Banning Books in America, Not Liberals
For all we hear from conservatives about liberals’ censoriousness, data newly released by the American Library Association is a reminder that the overwhelming majority of book-banning campaigns come from the Right.
Romance Under Capitalism Kills Our Libidos
Sexual activity among Americans is in decline, prompting moralizing about the end of romance and traditional gender roles. But the real problem is that people lack the economic and personal freedom to pursue their desires.
What US Social Movements Can Learn From France’s Pension Protests
France’s ongoing movement against pension reforms has an impressive level of popular mobilization. But it hasn’t relied on the “professional organizers” typical of US social movements — showing there’s a different way to build well-rooted mobilizations.
ChatGPT Will Never Replace Thomas Friedman
No amount of technological innovation will ever hold a candle to the very special brain that is New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s.
North Dakota Has the Country’s Oldest Public Bank. We Should Look to It as a Model.
With the ongoing financial crisis, it’s a perfect time to look to the Bank of North Dakota. It is the only state-owned bank in the continental US and was formed in 1919 by a left-wing farmer movement to free working people from the grip of private finance.
In Los Angeles, 60,000 Education Workers Just Went on Strike and Won Big
Two major education worker unions just walked off the job for three days in Los Angeles, grinding the school district to a halt. Their actions resulted in a 30 percent raise.
Who Can Stop Modi and His Authoritarian Vision for India?
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for criminal defamation is the latest sign that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is moving toward Hindu nationalist authoritarianism.
Joe Biden’s Rightward Pivot Isn’t Increasing His Popularity
After two years of touting his presidency as progressive and transformational, Joe Biden appears to be returning to form and moving rightward. It’s not only the wrong thing to do — according to the latest polls, it also isn’t winning voters over to him.
Under Humza Yousaf, the Scottish National Party Has a Choice Between Revival and Decline
Humza Yousaf narrowly won the SNP leadership contest against a conservative challenger. If Yousaf doesn’t follow through on the left-wing policies in his campaign agenda, his party and the wider cause of Scottish independence face decline.