Benjamin Case is a researcher, educator, and organizer living in Pittsburgh.
Building on the work of Karl Marx, Hungarian philosopher Ágnes Heller developed a framework for distinguishing between truly essential needs and artificial ones. Her ideas are more important than ever in the face of a global ecological crisis.
Brad DeLong’s sweeping history in Slouching Towards Utopia chronicles a century of unprecedented economic progress driven by markets and innovation. But his faith in capitalism’s innovations undermines his attempts to make sense of this tumultuous era.
Private equity is taking over animal clinics to raise prices and close down practices where workers demand better wages.
The US working class has a long tradition of standing up against immigrant repression. This history is a reservoir of inspiration and strategic thinking — and it can help immigrant workers and communities confront Donald Trump’s promised wave of repression.
Last month, workers at a Whole Foods Market in Philadelphia filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, the first such filing since Amazon took over the grocery chain in 2017. We spoke with some of the workers about the union drive.
On Friday, veteran liberal François Bayrou was announced as Emmanuel Macron’s new prime minister. Macron has again formed a government without a majority in parliament — and its planned budget cuts seem likely to face fierce opposition.
Behind the confusion and debates about fascism lies a simple truth: it’s a power game driven by economic elites. Communists recognized that fascism’s form is shaped by class dynamics — an insight we shouldn’t forget.
After the Bolivian ultraright launched a coup in 2019, a mass movement restored the country’s socialist government — proof that it isn’t elites that protect democracy but organized workers.
The collective outpouring of admiration for a young alleged assassin points to a gaping void in American politics.
Briana Boston, a working-class woman fighting a health insurance claims denial, has been arrested for saying “delay, deny, depose” on a phone call to her insurer. The judge has set her bail at $100,000, “considering the status of our country.”
Fifty years ago, Studs Terkel documented American workers’ complex inner lives at a pivotal moment of social transformation. His interviews in Working revealed both the dignity and degradation of work, capturing a world on the cusp of profound change.
Some observers are hoping that Tulsi Gabbard, as Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, will be a counterweight to warmongering “neocons” in his administration. But a sober look at her record doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Recent reports from federal regulators warning about crypto’s volatility and lack of regulation echo alerts about the subprime mortgage industry before the 2008 financial crisis.
Removing border checks between many European states, the Schengen Area is often hailed as an internationalist triumph. Yet its creation went hand in hand with the tightening of Europe’s external borders — a contradiction that is hardening today.
After Romania’s election was canceled, both the far-right candidate and his liberal opponent wrote to Donald Trump to seek his backing. The country’s political leadership class remains strongly deferential to Washington.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been depriving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of access to work and wages. This has created a crisis that has driven millions of Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank into poverty.
Since the passage of the ACA, the US’s largest health insurers have dumped billions into enriching shareholders through stock buybacks — with nearly half spent by UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of CEO Brian Thompson’s UnitedHealthcare.
Yesterday Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted to block the reappointment of Democrat Lauren McFerran to the National Labor Relations Board. This means that when Donald Trump takes office, he can immediately establish a GOP majority on the board.
In the past few years, Lina Khan has found herself at the vanguard of a new anti-monopoly movement. But is her worldview too limited to truly rein in corporations?
Nina Turner reflects on the outpouring of anger at our for-profit health system in the wake of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing — and her concern that without radical change to our political system, political violence will continue to escalate.