billy woods: “My Music Is Radical, in Its Own Way”
Rapper billy woods is a leading figure in contemporary underground hip-hop. He spoke to Jacobin about the inspiration for his music and his left-wing politics.
20212 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.
Tim Scott Is Fighting for His Donors’ Junk Fees
Joe Biden’s CFPB passed rules limiting overdraft and credit card late fees. As the chair of the Senate committee that oversees the agency, Tim Scott wants to reinstate these junk fees — a key priority for his donors in finance.
Trump’s Gaza Plan May Mark the End of the Postwar Order
Although the West has long tolerated forced expulsions when convenient, its postwar framework at least nominally rejected them. Now the US is not just abandoning those norms — it appears to be actively legitimizing ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Federal Workers Are Mobilizing Against Musk’s Purge
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s assault on federal workers threatens government employees, working conditions throughout the economy, and the viability of crucial services. Federal workers are uniting across agency and union lines to fight back.
Ahead of Workers’ Union Vote, “Amazon Mobilized an Army”
Today 4,000 Amazon workers at a North Carolina warehouse will finish voting on a union. Employees say the company “mobilized an army” ahead of the election, siccing local police on organizers and trying to pit black and Hispanic workers against each other.
What Is Xi Jinping Thought?
China has changed under Xi Jinping, with implications for the entire world. But few outsiders understand much about Xi’s ideas or the policies that seem to flow from them.
Trump’s Tariffs Are a Gift to Capital, Not Workers
Donald Trump has championed tariffs as a way to revive American manufacturing. But without a real industrial strategy, Catalyst editor Vivek Chibber argues, they’re little more than a handout to capital.
Christian Democrats Hand Golden Ticket to German Far Right
Germany’s Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz has broken a long-established “firewall” isolating the far right. A vote on hardening the borders has given Alternative für Deutschland a leg up just ahead of the federal election.
Australia’s Labor Party Must Return to Working-Class Values
Once the left of the Australian Labor Party was committed to working-class politics. To avoid collapse, Labor must return to that legacy — but today’s Labor Left is more committed to neoliberalism and serving US foreign policy.
Michael Burawoy Never Wavered
After his tragic death earlier this month, Marxist sociologist Michael Burawoy left behind not only a formidable body of scholarship but also a model of how to pursue a form of sociology informed by and informing efforts for social change.
California Is a Warning for Progressive Ballot Initiatives
Progressive ballot measures in California have suffered crushing defeats, even as similar initiatives succeed in red states. These losses show that ballot initiatives can backfire on the Left — and sometimes leave movements worse off than before.
What the Democrats Refuse to Learn About Inflation
The best parts of the Biden administration’s response to the cost-of-living crisis are already being forgotten.
Dating App Giant Match Group Is Being Sued for Conning Users
Many of the major dating apps are owned by one company, Match Group. The corporation is now facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that it is unlawfully misleading app users, violating false advertising and deceptive trade practices laws.
Peter Mandelson Will Do Anything to Curry Favor With Trump
Peter Mandelson, the new British ambassador to Washington, has always been keen to suck up to the wealthy. He should have no problem groveling before the Trump administration on behalf of Keir Starmer’s government.
Socialism Is Love
Chocolate and flowers are cliché, and socialism is love. For Valentine’s Day, print subscriptions are just $14.
Musk and His Rich Friends Are Looting the Federal Government
DOGE’s slashing and burning has nothing to do with “efficiency” and everything to do with further enriching Elon Musk and his fellow plutocrats.
Trump’s New Consumer Finance Regulator Loves Pleasing Banks
Donald Trump has announced the new chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Jonathan McKernan, a former banking regulator who’s pushed to approve bank megamergers that harm consumers and that the CFPB has previously fought to prevent.
A Labor Movement Beyond the NLRA?
With the National Labor Relations Act now in the crosshairs of the Right, organized labor needs to confront an uncomfortable truth: even at its best, this framework has severe limitations. It’s time to explore alternatives.
Unionizing the “Cultural Apparatus”
Don’t mourn the professional-managerial class — organize it.
Donald Trump’s Reactionary Futurism
Like its 20th-century predecessors, today’s far right longs for the purported glories of the ancient world, all while fetishizing modern technology.