Expert Wisdom
Too often just a term of abuse, some academics have attempted coherent definitions of populism.
21102 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.
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Abolish Iowa
The Iowa State Fair is a depraved showcase of how vacuous and pointless US politics is today.
Fear of a Populist Planet
“Populism” is today employed as a bogeyman by liberals and centrists alike. Is there anything worth salvaging in the concept?
The Geography of Resentment
Deindustrialized areas that were once bastions of working-class politics are now playgrounds of the revanchist right.
We Bet the House on Left Populism — and Lost
Four years ago, we celebrated Europe’s left-populist push. Now we have to look seriously at how little was accomplished and what might have been lost.
I Want My BBC
British television has increasingly become an arm of the Conservative Party — yet many on the Left nostalgically remember an earlier, more open media landscape. Was the BBC ever ours?
The Preppy Populist
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has transformed himself from bow-tied libertarian to economic populist. But his hostility to the politics of solidarity remains intact.
At Age 83, Ken Loach Is Still Dangerous
After years in the wilderness, first with Thatcherism, then with New Labour, both the Left and British director Ken Loach are just hitting their prime.
The Left Is Back (Sort Of)
But we’re nothing without our universal subject — the international working class.
“Populism” and the Significance of Left and Right
In the United States, the Populist tradition has always defined left-wing and egalitarian politics, unfairly maligned by bosses and intellectuals alike.
A Letter From Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia
Kevin Rudd was once prime minister of Australia. Now he’s writing Jacobin angry letters. Here he defends his record on climate change.
The Struggle for Democracy in Sri Lanka
In the push and pull between authoritarianism and democracy in Sri Lanka, the former has won out more often than not. But the fact that the country is not a full-blown dictatorship today is a testament to a spirit of resistance that can’t be snuffed out.
The Far Right Is Growing in Uruguay
Uruguay goes to the polls today for its second-round general election. The outcome is unclear, but a new coalition between mainstream and far-right parties sets a worrying new precedent in Latin American politics.
How Chicago Teachers Won a Nurse in Every School
The recent Chicago Teachers Union strike put adequate school staffing at its center, including putting a nurse in every school. A school nurse explains how the union won that demand.
The American Federation of Teachers Isn’t Standing Against Austerity in Puerto Rico
In the midst of brutal austerity measures carried out by an undemocratic junta in Puerto Rico, unions should play a central role in fighting back. Yet only one teachers’ union, the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico, is leading that fight — while another, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, is partnering with it.
Neoliberal Feminism Has a New Private Club
The Wing, London’s new private members’ club founded by a former Hillary Clinton aide, is just more of capitalism covering itself in the veneer of women’s empowerment.
India’s Supreme Court Ruling Is Another Victory for Hindu Nationalism
The latest decision from the Supreme Court in India has legitimized the destruction of the Babri Mosque. Meanwhile, mainstream parties and commentators refuse to call it what it is: the latest stage in an accelerating process of Hindu ethno-nationalism.
Why International Law Can’t Save Palestine
International law has utterly failed to halt or even slow Israel’s brutal colonial project. The institutions of law can be tools in our political movement, but they cannot liberate Palestine on their own.
Chile Can Be a Laboratory of Popular Democracy
The social upheaval in Chile has made it clear that the country’s Pinochet-era, neoliberal constitution must go. But the process of replacing it cannot be a top-down affair. Like the popular assemblies that have carried the rebellion forward, it must be based on democratic mass participation.