
The Big Tech Deep State
Digital technology was sold as a liberating tool that could free individuals from state power. Yet the state security apparatus always had a different view — and now it’s taking back control of its own creation.
Enver Motala is an associate of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) at the University of Johannesburg and of the Centre for Integrated Post-School Education and Training at the Nelson Mandela University.

Digital technology was sold as a liberating tool that could free individuals from state power. Yet the state security apparatus always had a different view — and now it’s taking back control of its own creation.

One problem with ultrarich people like Bill Ackman is that their riches often spill over beyond the economic realm into other realms — like, in his case, the kind of delusional self-confidence that led him to buy his way into a professional tennis match.

Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill isn’t just a modern assault on SNAP and Medicaid — it’s the revival of a 150-year-old playbook. From Civil War pensions to modern welfare programs, political elites have long moralized against need while rationing care.

Reactionary hysterics over James Gunn’s Superman reboot bring some delight to America’s otherwise plainest superhero.

It seems increasingly likely that artificial intelligence will mean major changes to the economy and daily life. We need a public jobs program for displaced workers, and we should regulate AI as a public utility.

In her address to the Bogotá Conference earlier this week, UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese explained why the world’s nations must suspend all ties with Israel. Jacobin republishes her remarks here.

Anyone who wants to make it easier for Americans to start families should support childcare policies like the ones being proposed by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source capacity over the last decade.

By substantively rebuilding its national sovereignty, Canada can de-link itself from US economic and political domination.

Wrangling over the construction of nuclear power in New York State has revealed the priorities of some of the state’s biggest environmental lobbies. For them, creating bureaucratic procedures they can oversee is more important than building clean energy.

French historian Jean-Pierre Filiu has visited Gaza many times — but he had to make his most recent visit in December in secret. Defying Israel’s attempt to control reporting, his latest book is a devastating account of the destruction of Gazan society.

The global birth rate collapse threatens more than economic dynamism and the viability of the welfare state. It poses a threat to the future of radical politics.

In both of the absurd controversies over Zohran Mamdani’s college application to Columbia and the furor over the phrase “globalize the intifada,” we see the experiences of one subjugated people being used to preclude any understanding of another subjugated people.

Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City’s mayoral primary last month has resulted in absolute meltdowns from billionaires, genocide supporters, and other assorted defenders of the status quo. Let’s pause for a moment to enjoy them.

The horror of Donald Trump’s war on Iran as experienced by an Iranian living in New York City.

Israel has used snipers and even naval artillery to attack Gazans lining up for aid as part of a long-term plan to ethnically cleanse the strip. Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani explains what might be capable of constraining Benjamin Netanyahu.

Saikat Chakrabarti, a founder of Justice Democrats and former top AOC aide, is challenging Nancy Pelosi for her seat in Congress. He talked to Jacobin about his vision for an ambitious program to transform the US economy and reverse class dealignment.

Pundits have emphasized Zohran Mamdani’s videos and charisma and Andrew Cuomo’s weaknesses in Mamdani’s victory. But easily the most important factor in that victory is the movement that the Democratic Socialists of America have built in New York City.

Zohran Mamdani’s recent win in New York City drove home the political promise of economic populism. A bold progressive economic agenda can win working-class voters in the Midwest too.

Is it possible for American democracy to be further degraded by the influence of billionaires? Thanks to champion of the working class J. D. Vance and his right-wing friends, including “dark money kingpin” Leonard Leo, we may soon find out.