Letters + The Internet Speaks (Issue 34)

Because communication is at the heart of any good relationship.

Broken Barry

On HBO’s new tragicomedy, a veteran plumbs the depths of his combat record for the stage — but ends up painting a portrait of middle-American desolation.

Camera in One Hand, Gun in the Other

With its celebration of mercs rampaging through Africa, no healthy society could produce a magazine like Soldier of Fortune.

Selling Tony Blair’s War

Working people knew the war in Iraq was a mistake — but they didn’t have a media to speak for them.

Ike & Hayek

Eisenhower’s warning about the “military-industrial complex” marked an era when the American right feared militarism could bankrupt the country and plunge it into socialism.

Masters of War

Endless war … it’s good work, if you can get it.

The Killing Never Ends

Breaking the Chains of Command

For centuries, working-class people have been sent to die in wars for empire. The rich history of soldier revolt isn’t just about foreign policy — it’s about breaking the power of the mighty in society as a whole.

Defense Spending: the Endless Frontier

The military sets the agenda for scientific research, so it’s still much easier to get funding to develop new bombs than to get the resources to develop new, potentially life-saving antibiotics.

The Defector

How Rory Fanning went from Army Ranger to war resister.

The Seventh-Inning Stretch Under Socialism

It’s possible to elevate the working class without the jingoism.

A Strategy to Build Labor Power

If we’re going to revive the labor movement, we need a strategy that’s rooted in socialist principles but flexible enough to adjust to changing conditions in the US workforce.

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Aren’t Playing the Same Game

The Democratic Party establishment has shown itself time and again to be an enemy of left-wing policies. Despite her progressive plans, Elizabeth Warren is cozying up to those Democratic elites. Bernie Sanders welcomes their hatred.

How the Media Fools Us About Trade

On trade policy, the media has a simple rule: when trade hurts the working class, it’s good for the economy. When it hurts the ruling class, it’s bad for the economy.

Make UK Public Transport Free

It’s time for radical proposals to rebuild Britain’s social fabric and combat the climate crisis. Here’s one: make public transport free.

We Were Made for This Moment

Democratic socialism is on the rise — Jacobin is here to help it along.

The US Created MS-13

The depictions of MS-13 as animals are as simplistic as they are dehumanizing. And they obscure what spawned the violent gang in the first place: US imperialism.

Bernie Sanders Could Be the Best Arts President in US History

State support for the arts in the United States pales in comparison to arts funding overseas. Bernie Sanders could change that.

The Amazon Is Burning — and It’s Bolsonaro’s Fault

Rapacious capitalists are blazing a trail of staggering destruction across the Amazon rainforest — enabled by Brazil’s reactionary in chief, Jair Bolsonaro.

Was Sweden Headed Toward Socialism in the 1970s?

Sweden’s extraordinary wave of reforms in the 1970s, an era of explosive radicalism, reveal the achievements — and the limits — of social democracy.