Britney Spears Is Being Exploited for Profit
The exploitation and abuse of Britney Spears, justified by her legal conservatorship, is an extreme example of practices that are common in the entertainment factory.
19068 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.
The Canadian Mining Company Dominicans Call “Worse Than Columbus”
We traveled to the Dominican Republic to talk to rural farmers and workers battling a Canadian mining company. “We had no concept of what the devil was until Barrick Gold came to our lands,” one person told us.
Everyone Wants Health Care Reform. Industry Lobbying Won’t Let Them Have It.
It’s often said that politicians pander to polls. Not so for health care: despite repeated lopsided majorities in polls favoring a public system, leaders in both parties don’t seem to care.
When Detroit Was Revolutionary
In the 1960s and 1970s, when Detroit was home to a vibrant radical Left, photographer Leni Sinclair, cofounder of the White Panther Party and the Detroit Artists Workshop, stood at the center of a local scene where political and cultural ferment merged. We spoke to her about those years of upsurge.
A United Ireland Needs Economic Justice, Not Identity Politics
The Six Counties look closer than ever to reuniting with the rest of Ireland, and neoliberals are arguing for the new state to institutionalize Protestant-Unionist representation. But working-class people don’t need backward-looking identity politics — we need Ireland to stop being a low-wage tax haven.
Wall Street Takes Workers’ Retirement Money and Uses It Against Them
Workers’ retirement savings aren’t usually thought of as a stimulating topic. But we should pay closer attention, because public pensions are a key way for Wall Street to steal wealth from workers and hoard it for themselves.
How Sweden’s Left Party Stopped the Social Democrats’ Undermining the Welfare State
Sweden’s Social-Democratic prime minister Stefan Löfven has just been voted back into office — now having dropped proposals to abandon collective bargaining over rents. The change was thanks to pressure from the Left Party.
The Decline of UK Mining Unions Undermined Labour’s “Red Wall”
Since the 2019 election, commentators have noted the demise of Labour’s “red wall” in the heartlands. But few have focused on the central role once played by miners unions in sustaining a strong sense of working-class community.
Australia Is Making a Bid for Power in the Pacific
As the US continues its slide toward cold war with China, pressure on Australia to maintain its dominance in the South Pacific has only grown. Ever the dutiful ally of the US, Australia is now earning accusations of imperialism from its Pacific neighbors.
How DSA Won — and Lost — in New York City Elections
In this year’s New York City Council elections, the Democratic Socialists of America chapter elected two of its six candidates after the Democratic establishment entered the elections fully prepared to fight the Left. It’s a stark reminder of how hard it will be to take on elite interests and win.
Fake Accounts Does What Literature Is Supposed to Do
Most novels today allow little room for moral ambiguity and take great pains to avoid even considering the inner lives and motivations of people whose politics we find abhorrent. Thankfully, Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts doesn’t.
How Germany’s Far Right Is Building Up Anti-Immigrant Parties in the Balkans
When the far-right Alternative für Deutschland is reelected to the German parliament this fall, its party foundation will receive up to €80 million a year in state funding. The party already has nationalist and fascist allies across ex-Yugoslavia — and now, it will use federal funds to support their reactionary organizations.
Hillary Clinton Wants Nina Turner to Lose
The special election in Ohio’s 11th congressional district, where Hillary Clinton and the Democratic establishment are struggling to defeat former Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner, is the latest illustration of how Democratic elites prioritize defeating the Left over strengthening their own party.
How Business Weakened COVID Workplace Protections
The Biden administration intended to release far-reaching safety rules designed to protect workers from COVID — until big business came calling and demanded the rules be drastically scaled back.
Abolish Landlords
A century ago, socialists demanded that housing serve public need rather than private profit. That aspiration is still relevant today, but it can only be realized under one condition: abolishing landlords.
Work and Death in Sri Lanka’s Garment Industry
Sri Lanka is home to some of the biggest garment manufacturers in the world, and while clothing exports have risen, so have COVID-19 infections among workers. We talk to people who face the daily choice of disease or impoverishment.
Maida Springer Insisted Unions Were Essential for Improving Black People’s Lives
Maida Springer isn’t a household name even among trade unionists and labor historians. But she was a lifelong union member and organizer who was committed to using unions to improve black people’s lives in the United States and Africa.
Climate Change Disaster Isn’t a Future Threat — It’s Already Here
From the historic heat wave tearing through the Pacific Northwest to temperatures “too hot for humanity” in Pakistan, the consequences of climate change are no longer a far-off threat — they’re here right now.
Why Sectoral Bargaining Matters for the Labor Movement
Sectoral bargaining allows unions in countries around the world to improve the lives of enormous numbers of workers, including many who aren’t union members themselves. The sectoral model could be a huge boon to labor power in the United States.
Six Takeaways From India Walton’s Historic Victory in Buffalo
Here is a data-driven look at how democratic socialist India Walton won Buffalo’s mayoral primary, and what her coalition really looks like.