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20401 Article(s) 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.
Getting Gene Sharp Wrong
The legendary nonviolence theorist Gene Sharp wasn’t just a lonely scholar studying how political change happens. He was a Cold War defense intellectual whose ideas left a profound imprint on the way America wields power in the world.
The Pro-Israel Consensus on Capitol Hill Is Breaking Up
The last Democratic debate was the most useless yet. But amid the garbage, Bernie Sanders dropped a gem: for the first time, a major presidential contender brought up Palestinian rights unprompted. That’s because the pro-Israel consensus on Capitol Hill is finally breaking up.
The Fantasy World of US Empire
Apologists for US empire like Max Boot insist that American victory was possible in the Vietnam War. It wasn’t. But as long as the war machine needs justification for new interventions — today, in countries like Venezuela and Iran — writers like Boot will have an audience for their imperialist fantasies.
The Legacies of the Ethiopian Student Movement
Fifty years ago, a student movement transformed Ethiopia with radical calls for self-determination and land reform. But while the movement helped bring down the monarchy, the Ethiopia they fought for has never come to pass.
In This Election, Labour Has a Chance to End Thatcherism Once and for All
Not long after Margaret Thatcher rose to power forty years ago, she decimated huge swaths of Britain with deindustrialization, privatization, and cuts. Those same areas now have the opportunity in this election to bury her legacy once and for all.
Executive Orders and Smart Lawyers Won’t Save Us
We can’t cede social change to well-meaning experts. Especially in an era of hostile courts, politics, not law, is the only way forward.
Sorry Mayor Pete, Means-Testing Is Not Progressive
Universal programs build solidarity and are far more politically durable than means-tested programs. By going after free college, Pete Buttigieg is doing the bidding of the Right.
A Hot Lunch Is a Human Right
Denying students a hot lunch because they’re too poor to pay is shameful. Food employee unions should lead the way in overturning this grotesque practice — by committing civil disobedience and serving all students, regardless of their family’s income.
It’s Time to Throw Off Our Digital Chains
As data-mining companies and government decision-making edge ever closer, it is not just our digital privacy that’s at risk, but our very capacity to organize in solidarity.
Democratize the Internet
We spoke to Ramesh Srinivasan, Bernie Sanders campaign surrogate and author of a new book on big tech companies, community-driven alternatives, and the battle for the future of the internet.
Why Basic Income Failed in Finland
Political maneuvers and bureaucratic resistance helped sink Finland’s widely watched basic income experiment. But the most important factor behind the policy’s demise was its uneasy relationship with widespread social norms about work and fairness.
The New York Times Is Spreading Charter School Lies
The New York Times is still fawning over them, but the charter school experiment has been an abject failure. People are clamoring for well-funded public schools, not millionaire pet projects.
Maoism and Its Complicated Legacy
Despite its massive length, Julia Lovell’s Maoism: A Global History doesn’t offer us a clear way to understand Maoism and its legacy.
A Socialist Plan to Fix the Internet
What should we do about Google, Facebook, and Amazon? Here’s a democratic-socialist blueprint to decommodify and democratize the internet.
The German Model Is Dead — And What Comes Next Could Be Worse
After recent electoral defeats for the Christian Democrats, Angela Merkel’s heir faces ever louder resignation calls. Europe’s economic powerhouse no longer looks like a model of stability — and it’s the far right that’s benefiting.
What Unions Everywhere Can Learn From the Chicago Teachers’ Strike’s Win
The Chicago Teachers Union used strike action to lift up working-class demands that go far beyond traditional collective bargaining. From teachers elsewhere to auto workers, other unions can, too.
Twenty Years After We Shut Down the WTO, the Left Is Finally Resurgent
On November 30, 1999, activists shut down the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle. The protests were a thrilling moment during bleak times for the socialist left. Now, years of resistance are finally paying off.
Today’s Socialist Revival Began on the Streets of Seattle 20 Years Ago
The global justice movement exploded onto the scene in protests against the Seattle WTO meetings twenty years ago today. The movement was far from perfect, but its anarchist, direct action-oriented politics were crucial learning experiences for a left that has today finally found its footing.
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