“Pro-Worker Conservatism” Has Only Empty Gestures for Workers
The “pro-worker” conservatism of Sohrab Ahmari has a critique of neoliberalism. But for all its ridiculing of the establishment, it has no real solutions to decades of attacks on labor.
19661 Articles by: Elizabeth Mahony
The Child Labor of Early Capitalism Is Making a Big Comeback in the US
Child labor was common in urban, industrial America for most of the country’s history. It’s now making a disturbing comeback: lawmakers across the US are undertaking concerted efforts to weaken or repeal statutes that prohibit employing children.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon: We’re in Danger Because the Government No Longer Controls the Police
Emmanuel Macron’s party has accused an “incendiary” left of stirring up violent protests after the police murder of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk. For left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the problem is the government’s failure to rein in unaccountable police.
Teamsters Are Close to the Largest Strike in Decades
Today Teamsters are erecting practice picket lines as the July 31 expiration of their contract with UPS rapidly approaches. After negotiations broke down yesterday, the second-largest strike at a single employer in US history is a real possibility.
The Black Radical Tradition Can Guide Our Struggles Against Oppression
Historian Robin D. G. Kelley has uncovered a tradition of African American radicalism that was — and is — a crucial part of the American left’s history. He talks to Jacobin about the need to connect struggles against racism and class oppression.
Corporations Will Never Defend Social Justice
The recent success of right-wing boycotts against brands like Target and Bud Light proves yet again that profit-driven corporate actors are never going to be effective guardians of inclusion and human rights.
Rich Countries Are Exporting Climate Breakdown to the Global South
From waste to deforestation to drastic flooding, wealthy countries of the Global North are outsourcing the impacts of their resource extraction to poorer countries in the Global South. Call it “carbon colonialism.”
Toronto’s Metro Grocery Workers Have Voted Unanimously to Strike
After years of low wages and precarity, Metro grocery workers in the Greater Toronto Area have spoken loud and clear, voting 100% in favor of a strike. It’s a strong start to nationwide grocery sector contract talks in the wake of the pandemic profit surge.
The Nomination of Elliott Abrams Is a Stain on Joe Biden’s Human Rights Record
Elliott Abrams is one of America’s worst living human rights abusers. That the Biden administration would nominate him to anything other than a prison sentence is baffling.
Billionaires and Monarchs Now Run Soccer
The transfer of stars like Karim Benzema to the Saudi Pro League has fed calls to stop its poaching of big-name players. But Saudi control is the natural outcome of the sport’s transformation into a plaything for billionaires.
Mexico Has Fully Recognized the State of Palestine
In fealty to US foreign policy, Mexico has long refused to recognize Palestinian statehood. Last week, that finally changed, with AMLO’s government officially acknowledging Palestinian statehood and establishing a full embassy in Mexico City.
Palestinian Resistance Will Not Be Snuffed Out by Israel
This week’s Israeli incursion into Jenin showed the violence of occupation and blatant disregard for Palestinian rights. At least 133 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the start of this year alone.
British Columbia’s New Housing Legislation Could Help Ease the Housing Crisis
If handled correctly, British Columbia’s new Housing Supply Act can ease municipal roadblocks to adequate housing. In tandem with an increase in nonmarket housing, such legislation has the potential to help stave off the housing crisis.
How Right-Wingers Hijacked Green Politics in Norway
Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago 1,234 miles off coast, has become a site of climate change–fueled conflicts around immigration and workers’ rights. Right-wingers have used the crisis to advance their own agenda — offering a cautionary tale for the Left.
The French Riots Are a Result of Miserable Conditions in French Society
Riots like the ones France is seeing after the police killing of a teenager don’t happen as a result of petty criminality. They only happen as a result of widespread anger at murderous policing, racial inequality, and social deprivation.
Is a Fractured Right a Cause for Celebration or Concern?
Sure, it can be a good thing if the Right is fractured and fighting among itself. But the Left can’t win simply by letting reactionaries fight among themselves — we need to fight for a vision of greater freedoms through improving the welfare of all.
To Fix the Housing Crisis, We Need Better Public Housing, Not More Homeowners
A government willing to confront the housing crisis head-on, rather than focusing on fostering owner occupation and the numbers game of maximizing private house-building, would do better to invest in quality public housing.
Demanding Better Pay, University Staff Across the UK Are Refusing to Grade Students’ Work
In the UK, university staff are engaged in a grading and assessment boycott as part of a long-running dispute over pay, pensions, and precarity. But university administrations are refusing to listen, leaving many students unable to graduate as normal.
Part-Time UPS Workers Say Their Jobs Are Brutal
In 1997, the central slogan of the Teamsters’ UPS strike was “Part-Time America Won’t Work.” Today, as the Teamsters weigh another UPS strike, part-time workers at the company say their pay and working conditions are still unbearable.
What a Marxist Classic Can Teach Us About Embracing AI
Almost 50 years ago, metalworker and economist Harry Braverman published Labor and Monopoly Capitalism. It showed how bosses use technology to disempower workers — but that by taking control of the labor process, workers can free themselves from drudgery.