The State Road to Universal Single-Payer Health Care
Unfortunately, any hope for a national Medicare for All is currently off the table. That’s why organizers throughout the country should launch campaigns at the state level to win M4A.
19586 Articles by: Benjamin Case
Benjamin Case is a researcher, educator, and organizer living in Pittsburgh.
The Thomas Sankara I Knew
Burkina Faso revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara was murdered on this day in 1987. Joséphine Ouédraogo recounts her time as a minister in his government — and their final meeting before he was ousted in a bloody coup d’état.
US Workers Are in a Militant Mood
Across the US, a more militant mood among workers is beginning to make itself felt. An uptick in private-sector strikes and record numbers of workers quitting their jobs are just two signs that the pandemic has changed workers’ willingness to accept a bad deal.
Norway Is Choosing Its Fossil Fuel Industry Over Climate Action
Climate scientists have called for Norway to stop drilling for gas and oil. But the Labor Party refuses to break its dependency on fossil fuel profits — and this week, it formed a government with centrists rather than the ecosocialist left.
We Need Thomas Sankara’s Political Vision Today
Thomas Sankara, the socialist president of Burkina Faso, was assassinated 34 years ago today. With Global South debt levels at an all-time high, Sankara’s call for resistance to debt as a tool of neocolonial domination has never been more relevant.
The Official Narrative About Mexico’s Drug War Is All Wrong
From assumptions about drug traffickers and police and elected officials’ corruption to Mexicans’ economic incentives for selling drugs, the Mexican drug trade has been drenched in sensationalist and inaccurate mythology. We need to totally upend our understanding of it.
Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Vaccine Mandates for Every Disease
If the GOP has its way, diseases like measles and tuberculosis could make a big comeback.
Michael K. Williams Was Brooklyn’s Son — And Its Champion
The late Michael K. Williams was both nurtured and vexed by Brooklyn, as though its triumphs and struggles were his own. We can’t understand his tragically short life without tracing the changing class and racial dynamics of the borough he always called home.
Why Won’t Biden’s Health Secretary Lower Drug Prices?
Joe Biden’s health secretary Xavier Becerra has called on the feds to limit pharmaceutical price gouging in the past. But now that he is in a position to actually lower drug prices, he’s dragging his feet.
Noam Chomsky: The GOP Is a “Gang of Radical Sadists”
From the debacle in Afghanistan to the ongoing devastation of COVID-19 to the unhinged cruelty of the Republican Party, Noam Chomsky notes, there is plenty of room for despair in America right now. But he insists that, despite it all, we have ample reason for hope.
Workers at One of the Country’s Biggest Bourbon Producers Have Been on Strike for a Month
Around 420 workers at the Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Distillery have been on strike for a month. They say the company is pushing to radically change scheduling and remove a cap on health insurance premiums.
When Italy’s Communists Made Comics for Children
For decades, Italy had the West’s largest Communist Party. A key part of the party’s communications to the masses of Italians were its comics, dedicated to resisting the right-wing influence of priests and fascists.
Gig Companies Are Taking Their War on Workers Beyond California
Just as it did in its campaign for California’s Prop 22, Big Tech is claiming rideshare drivers in Massachusetts will earn as much as $18 an hour if a new pro–gig company law is passed. But new analysis finds a majority will actually make less than $5 an hour.
How Feminists Can Support Afghan Women Living Under the Taliban
When the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, it froze billions of dollars in Afghan assets, grinding many of the country’s most essential operations to a halt and spreading misery. The US government must release those funds.
Striking Massachusetts Nurses Won Key Demands. They Say Management Is Retaliating.
Nurses in Worcester, Massachusetts, have been on strike for months. Now Tenet Healthcare, which owns Saint Vincent Hospital, has agreed to improve staffing — but the health care company is refusing to give striking nurses their old jobs back.
Rahm Emanuel Is Back, Thanks to Some Corporate-Funded Rehabilitation Efforts
Rahm Emanuel ended his two terms as Chicago mayor in complete disgrace. Lucky for him, Washington welcomed him back into the fold with open arms — after business interests quietly funneled him millions to push their agenda.
“Fiscal Conservatives” Have No Problem With Astronomical Military Spending
Conservatives in both parties are blocking the current infrastructure and reconciliation bills on account of the price tag. But the record shows they’ve never objected to sky-high defense budgets.
The Real Bad Art Friend Is the Horrible Political Economy of Writing
The “Bad Art Friend” saga has held readers spellbound, launching a thousand debates about which of the two central figures in the writers’ feud is to blame. But maybe the real culprit is a bleak economic landscape that leads writers to fight for scraps.
Socialism Isn’t Just About State Ownership — It’s About Redistributing Power
Throughout decades of neoliberal counterreforms, the most resilient parts of the Nordic welfare state have been the ones under direct popular control. Their experience shows that the best way to push back against capital is to democratize power in society.
The Ghost Workers in the Machine
Companies devalue them, and consumers rarely know they exist. But the apps and companies that millions of us depend on, like Uber and Amazon, couldn’t function without the invisible, low-wage labor of “ghost workers.”