College Administrators’ Dangerous COVID-19 Response Is Literally Killing Students
The response of university systems in states like North Carolina have been wildly inadequate to the coronavirus pandemic’s gravity. Students are now dying as a result.
19462 Articles by: Benjamin Case
Benjamin Case is a researcher, educator, and organizer living in Pittsburgh.
By Nixing Stimulus Negotiations, Trump Is Immiserating Tens of Millions of People
Just how cruel, heartless, and cold-blooded is Donald Trump’s decision to halt negotiations over a new stimulus package? Last night, the top post on Reddit’s unemployment tag included suicide prevention hotline numbers.
We Can’t Trust Oil Companies to Regulate Themselves
Newly leaked documents show that ExxonMobil is planning a major increase in oil production, despite warnings from scientists about calamitous climate effects and the company’s own promises. We can’t keep relying on oil companies to regulate themselves — they need to be brought under democratic control.
Arundhati Roy: India’s Hindu Right Are Willing to Bury Democracy
While India’s rulers downplay the brutal murder of a Dalit teenager by an upper-caste gang and acquit Hindu nationalists guilty of historic crimes, Arundhati Roy argues, they are concocting another show trial of Muslims and progressive activists to intimidate dissenters.
Evo Morales Tells Jacobin: We’re Still Fighting the Multinationals Who Drove the Coup
Ousted Bolivian president Evo Morales tells Jacobin about his experience of last November’s military coup — and why his MAS party is poised to win this month’s presidential elections.
Jeremy Corbyn Was Successful When He Stuck to His Socialist Principles
Owen Jones’s This Land promises to tell the story of the movement behind Jeremy Corbyn and his ultimate failure. While it offers important comments on the obstacles Labour faced, its strategic proposals are less convincing — watering down some of the principles that allowed for Corbyn’s initial victory.
Trump Reduced Workplace Safety Enforcement — Then Workers Died While Begging for Help
New data shows that COVID-19–related deaths followed after workers requested help from federal safety officials. Instead of helping, Donald Trump reduced enforcement of workplace safety laws.
Corona Couture and the Fast-Fashion Face Mask
The fast-fashion industry has long been known for its exploitative practices, which have continued during the pandemic, despite the health risk to garment workers. The production of “fashion masks,” which substitute actual protection for mere simulation, shouldn’t surprise us.
The Top 1 Percent Owns Nearly Everything in the US. We Need to Seize Their Wealth.
Capitalism systemically concentrates wealth at the top of society, as the latest US figures confirm yet again. The solution: massive wealth redistribution that attacks disparities across the board.
Why They Let Breonna Taylor’s Killer Go Free
Protestors in Louisville, Kentucky have been demanding justice for Breonna Taylor for months. But on September 23, Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron announced that none of the officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s murder would face charges for her death.
The Regina Manifesto and the Origins of Canada’s Parliamentary Socialists
Canada’s Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, forerunner of today’s New Democratic Party, may have been less militant than some of its contemporary rivals. But its founding document is a powerful call to arms — and present-day socialists could learn from its boldness.
Towards a Democratic Socialism
One of socialists’ primary aims must be to transform the state — wedding representative democracy to new types of popular power while battling to democratize the authoritarian aspects of the state.
The Campaign to “Kill” the BDS Movement Against Israel Extends Far and Wide
Israel is facing declining public support in the United States and sees the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign as a key threat to its legitimacy. That’s why Israel is enlisting the US government, American university administrators, and even tech companies like Zoom and Facebook to try to destroy the BDS movement.
Greece’s Golden Dawn Aren’t Just Nazis — They’re Violent Mafiosi, Too
After a trial lasting over five years, tomorrow will see the verdict on murder and racketeering charges against 68 members of neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn. A lawyer representing some of the victims explains why Golden Dawn is a mafia organization — and why justice demands a guilty verdict.
Don’t Mistake Public Shows of On-the-Job Cleanliness for Real Workplace Safety
The importance of cleanliness in the workplace has become key in the COVID-19 era. But conspicuous scrubbing can also become a key form of boss propaganda — and a substitute for real worker protections.
Workers Have Always Been Fighting Against Disease
More than fifty years ago, the black lung movement shone a spotlight on the ways that hazardous and exploitative conditions were making coal workers sick. In the age of COVID-19, we’re reminded once again of the need for collective organization to fight against disease where we work.
The Left Can Win the American South
Republicans captured the South through racist “dog-whistle” appeals and by exploiting the deindustrialization that ravaged the region after NAFTA. But we can’t write off the South as hopelessly reactionary — there’s a base for progressive politics that speaks to workers of all races.
For the Owners of Loblaws, Ripping Off Canadian Workers Is a Family Business
The Westons, owners of Canadian retail giant Loblaws, are leading the fight against decent pay in Canada. Having profited during the pandemic while working people faced hunger and eviction, the family is now fighting tooth and nail to deny labor any share of the gains.
Senate Dems Have a Big Supreme Court Opportunity Today. Will They Use It?
Mitch McConnell desperately wants unanimous consent to pass a measure keeping Trump’s Supreme Court nomination on track. Democrats could potentially stop it. The question is whether they’re willing to.
US Military Bases Are Key Pieces of the Global War Machine
We don’t hear about them very often, but the estimated 800 US military bases around the globe have played an essential role in turning the whole world into a bloody battlefield. Any effort to roll back US empire has to include dismantling the machinery of US military bases.