Class Struggle Built the Welfare State
The welfare state wasn’t created by enlightened dialogue or “sensible” moderate politics. It was a concession won by workers against bosses through decades of struggle.
20417 Article(s) by: Benjamin Case
Benjamin Case is a researcher, educator, and organizer living in Pittsburgh.
The Manhattan DA Race Could Be a Disaster for the Left
Next month, a little-discussed election will decide who will occupy one of the country’s most powerful offices: the Manhattan district attorney. But a divided left could throw the race to a Wall Street–funded opponent of criminal justice reform.
New York State Could Finally Get Single-Payer Health Care
For the first time since it was introduced 30 years ago, New York state’s single-payer health care bill, the New York Health Act, has the votes to pass — at least on paper. But getting it signed into law will take a major grassroots mobilization.
Rich People Are Fueling Climate Catastrophe — But Not Mostly Because of Their Consumption
Rich people have enormous carbon footprints. But the fundamental problem with their climate impact isn’t what they consume — it’s that they own the means of production, and it’s extremely profitable for them to pollute.
Australian Women Don’t Need Scott Morrison’s Empty Rhetoric — They Need Economic Justice
Scott Morrison has responded to scandals over misogyny and sexual assault with token gestures and hollow words that won’t get near the root of the problem. In order to challenge sexism, we have to empower working-class women through economic justice and redistributive policies.
Extremism Is on the Rise in Israel
Extremist Israelis marched in Jerusalem last week chanting “Death to Arabs.” It’s part of a deeply worrying trend of rising far-right Zionism in a country that was already saturated in it.
The Long History of Mexican-American Radicalism
Mexican-American workers have a long tradition of radical organizing, stretching back to the days of the Industrial Workers of the World and the mid-century Communist Party. And in 1968, with a longtime Communist Chicano family at the center, Mexican-American students in LA launched the largest student walkout in US history.
Mare of Easttown Is a Welcome Addition to the Small-Town Murder Mystery Genre
HBO’s Mare of Easttown is constructed around a familiar, virtually surefire plot: a shocking crime in a small town leads to an investigation that ultimately reveals every major local scandal in an astoundingly errant community. And it works.
May Day 1971 Was a Day Against War
Fifty years ago today, on May Day 1971, thousands of antiwar protesters descended on Washington, DC, to protest the Vietnam War. The ensuing three days of disruptive actions directly confronted the Nixon administration — and resulted in the largest civil disobedience–related detentions in US history.
The Nazis Stole May Day, But Socialists Took It Back
To win over German workers and replace their socialist loyalties with fascism, the Third Reich made a Nazi version of May Day a national holiday. But the real International Workers’ Day is the one that lives on today.
The Legacy of Raúl Castro
Throughout his career, two misleading stereotypes distorted our view of Raúl Castro. He was neither a pale shadow of his brother, nor a one-dimensional pro-Soviet ideologue, but a major historical figure who played a key role in shaping the Cuban system and then reforming it.
For the Love of God, Stop Celebrating Big Pharma’s COVID Profiteers
Over the past few months, pharma giants like Pfizer and Moderna have become household names and fodder for affectionate memes. But their prominence reflects how the market has cannibalized science and public health during a global crisis. Big pharma still is not your friend.
The One-State Solution
Israel has effectively made the establishment of a separate Palestinian state impossible. It’s clear what’s needed now: a single, democratic state with full rights for all people.
On Immigration, Biden’s First 100 Days and Trump’s Last 100 Days Are Hard to Tell Apart
On immigration, the Biden administration — far from offering an alternative to Trumpist policies that so many commentators characterized as fascistic — has largely followed in Trump’s footsteps. But Biden has encountered only a tiny fraction of the criticism Trump attracted for pursuing many of the same anti-immigrant policies.
At Mexico’s Tourist Resorts, Exploitation Is the Bottom Line
Every winter, thousands of North American tourists flock to sunny destinations in Mexico to be served by workers on poverty wages. The Mexican government has promoted tourism as a route out of poverty, but the profits from the industry are flowing away from local communities.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank Is a Subsidy Scheme for Big Business
Justin Trudeau’s government claims that the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) can solve Canada’s infrastructure problems. In reality, the CIB is a vehicle for private interests to get their hands on public assets and revenue streams. It should be excluded from coronavirus recovery plans.
The Art of Saying Nothing
Louis Menand’s new history of Cold War art and thought The Free World wants to rehabilitate liberal anti-communism. To do so, it downplays both the political repression of the US left and imperial America’s genocide against its Third World political opponents.
Citizen Kane — Brought to You by Coca-Cola
It’s hard to come up with a better encapsulation of capitalism’s dreary imprint on culture than the latest innovation in the field of advertising: the retroactive insertion of product placement ads into classic movies.
For Workers at Rutgers, Work Sharing Has Been a Weapon Against Austerity
At Rutgers University, unions have banded together to advance work-sharing as an alternative to the administration’s demands for massive job cuts. The approach has been an engine of solidarity between different groups of workers that has helped cut through the zero-sum logic of austerity.
Drug Companies Took None of the Risks to Develop the COVID-19 Vaccine. They’re Getting All of the Profits.
The US public poured billions of dollars into developing a COVID-19 vaccine, yet drug companies are reaping the profits and jealously guarding the intellectual property from poor countries. Let the drug companies cry: we should release the vaccines immediately.