The Velvet Underground Brings Back the Thrills of the 1960s Avant-Garde
Todd Haynes’s excellent new documentary on legendary rock band the Velvet Underground reminds us of just how daring both music and film once was not that long ago.
19153 Articles by: Enver Motala
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.
Halyna Hutchins’s Death on the Set of Rust Was “Not a Freak Accident”
Halyna Hutchins’s death during the filming of Rust is a tragic consequence of studios prioritizing profit and speed over crew members’ lives. Alec Baldwin’s culpability isn’t about him pulling the trigger on a prop gun — it’s about his and his fellow producers’ cost-cutting decisions.
Class Politics in America Is Far From Dead
A venerable theory about people’s political values is making a comeback: the theory of “postmaterialism.” But despite what you may have heard, the theory doesn’t say class politics is doomed in rich countries — and neither did the scholar who created it.
Billionaires Are Partying in Space While Planet Earth Burns
At a time when people around the world are suffering from shortages due to supply chain bottlenecks, megalomanic capitalists are organizing space flights with B-list celebrities — further proof of the urgency of separating the billionaires from their billions.
Netflix’s Maid Offers a Rare Portrayal of Low-Wage Domestic Work
Adeptly exploring the compound effects of low-wage work, unsupported parenthood, and our broken social support system, Maid rings true for millions of working-class women.
The Progressive Pieces of the Budget Reconciliation Bill Are Quickly Disappearing
Democratic leaders are moving to gut the parts of the budget reconciliation bill that would aid workers and fight climate change. House progressives like Pramila Jayapal shouldn’t vote for an empty husk of a bill.
Meet the Detroit Socialist Running to Rein in the Police
Landis Spencer is a socialist running for the civilian board that oversees the Detroit Police Department. His goal: to curb police power and shift public money to poor and working-class residents.
Big Tech Won’t Make Health Care Any Better
Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed in 2019 that his company’s greatest achievement will be “about health.” But the pandemic has shown that Big Tech’s involvement in health care is all about data collection.
Argentine Filmmaker Lucrecia Martel on Cancel Culture, Colonialism, and Chocobar
Director Lucrecia Martel is famous for her subtle portrayals of class and race relations in Latin America. In Chocobar, she’s turning her lens on how 500 years of colonial history is connected to the contemporary murder of indigenous activist Javier Chocobar.
No, Japan Should Not Remilitarize
Washington’s push to rebuild Japan’s military, disbanded after World War II, is incredibly dangerous. Not only would remilitarization stoke conflict in the region, it would also embolden the growing Japanese far right.
The EU’s Border With Belarus Has Become a Deadly Rampart of Fortress Europe
This spring, Belarus announced that it would retaliate against European sanctions by loosening its border controls. Neighboring EU countries have responded with a brutal crackdown on asylum seekers — with deadly consequences.
15 Minutes of Shame Has Nothing New to Say About Cancel Culture
To its credit, the new Monica Lewinsky–produced documentary about cancel culture takes the issue seriously without turning it into a cultural war bludgeon. But it can’t imagine a solution that isn’t dangerous, like tech censorship.
Jeremy Corbyn: Socialists Are Rebuilding Bolivia
In 2019, a right-wing coup deposed Bolivia’s elected government. But the people fought back — and now the socialist government they elected in its place is more popular than ever.
In the 1930s, Canadian Socialists Championed Beautiful Public Housing
Almost a century ago, Canadian socialists advanced a vision for cities built in the interest of people, not profit, that included gorgeous public housing. We should look to their ideas to learn how we can revitalize public life.
Over Half of Households Are Having Trouble Paying Their Bills
Things may not be trending in the right direction for workers in the United States.
Multilevel Marketing Scams Expose Capitalism’s Foundational Lie
Pyramid schemes aren’t a corruption of capitalism — they’re a microcosm of how the class system arbitrarily creates winners and losers while falsely promising opportunity for all.
Management by Metrics Is Upending Newsrooms and Killing Journalism
Designed to discipline workers into producing clickable and profitable content, newsroom analytics are radically changing the nature of media work — and hastening journalism’s ugly decline.
The Anti-Politics and Anti-Comedy of Norm Macdonald
From his early days honing his craft at comedy clubs in Canada to his later Saturday Night Live fame, Norm Macdonald was one of the most brilliant stand-up comedians of his generation.
Íñigo Errejón: Podemos Missed Its Chance to Transform Spanish Politics
A decade since the 15-M protests rocked Spain, the country has its first left-wing coalition government since the 1930s. But as Íñigo Errejón tells Jacobin, today it’s the nationalist right, not the heirs to 15-M, who are dominating the political agenda.
Refugees in Melbourne Are Stuck in a Nightmare of Indefinite Detention and COVID-19 Infections
Since late 2020, the Australian government has indefinitely held 43 refugees in the Park Hotel in Carlton, Melbourne. This week, 19 tested positive for COVID-19. According to the detainees, the source could be any of the 20 security guards who refused vaccination.