Issue 45: Letters
Another failed experiment in socialist democracy.
19462 Articles by: Frances Abele
Frances Abele CM is Distinguished Research Professor and Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy Emerita at Carleton University. She is a research fellow at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation and the Broadbent Institute. Much of her work focuses on indigenous-Canada relations.
Issue 45: The Internet Speaks
But why are we listening?
Montana’s Rivers and Streams Belong to Everyone. We Have to Protect Them From the Rich.
Montana’s beautiful, serene rivers were sites of life-changing experiences for me. The rights of all Montanans to those rivers were won through working-class struggle — a history we can draw on today as Montana’s rich aim to hoard those rivers for themselves.
The Supreme Court Has Dealt a Major Blow to the Right to Effective Legal Counsel
All people should have the right to effective legal representation when they’re facing criminal charges. But the Supreme Court has just issued a ruling that severely curtails that basic right.
LA Korean Restaurant Workers Just Won a Pathbreaking Union Contract
After a hard-fought, five-year organizing campaign, the largely immigrant workforce at Genwa, a Korean BBQ chain in Los Angeles, has won a first contract — a first-of-its-kind agreement in an almost entirely nonunion sector.
The Third-World Debt Crisis Reveals the Rot at the Heart of the Global Economy
Developing countries are undergoing an unprecedented combination of currency crises, debt, famine, and political unrest — and the US decision to raise interest rates risks adding fuel to the fire. A stable system of global economic governance is needed.
No, Post-Nazi Germany Isn’t a Model of Atoning for the Past
German public debate is often marked by self-congratulation at “coming to terms” with the country’s past. Yet comparisons between antisemitism and other racisms are increasingly being demonized — and it’s stifling discussion of Germany’s colonial crimes.
Kathy Hochul Could Help Amazon Workers Get the Contract They Deserve
New York governor Kathy Hochul has the power to crack down on Amazon and help Amazon Labor Union workers get the contract they deserve in Staten Island. But her ties to the union-busting retail giant might get in the way.
Capitalists Want Your Retirement to Be Miserable
Finance’s conquest of the supports necessary to deal with the universal human fate of growing old spells certain disaster for our golden years. The retirement-financial complex should be fought tooth and claw.
Australian Diplomacy in the Pacific Is Driven by Self-Interest
Australia’s Labor government is promising Pacific countries a new and friendlier era in diplomatic relations. But without challenging the vested interests and right-wing politics that dominate the region, these promises are altogether empty.
In Los Angeles, Tenants Just Secured a Historic Victory Over Landlords
The Hillside Villa Tenants Association has successfully forced a municipal government to approve the public purchase of a building to preserve affordability. The victory, a historic first in the US, creates a blueprint that can be followed across the nation.
Now Is the Time for Unions to Go on the Offensive
Despite years of employer attacks, unions still have vast resources at their disposal. This moment of worker upsurge is the time to use those assets to fund aggressive organizing.
How We Can Socialize Big Tech
Platform Socialism is a vital contribution to a left vision for tech, but it fails to fully account for the ways Big Tech is wedded to finance capital. Socializing giant platforms may only be possible in the context of broader political transformations.
France’s Left-Wing Coalition Can Stop Emmanuel Macron’s Attacks on Welfare
A new left-wing coalition is leading polls for June’s French parliamentary elections. Its popularity shows that working-class France wants a government that resists Emmanuel Macron’s destruction of the country’s social welfare provisions.
To Take Real Action on Climate Change, Australia Must Rebuild Its Public Sector
In 2014, Australian Labor PM Julia Gillard’s Clean Energy Act tried to use market mechanisms to take climate action. Its failure underscores the fact that only public investment in climate action will do.
When a New Left Activist Departed Campus for the Factory Floor
After participating in 1960s progressive movements, Jon Melrod took his activism to the factory floor, becoming a militant rank-and-file autoworker. Radicals like him made serious contributions to labor struggle at a time when unions were under attack.
Gustavo Petro Is the Only Democratic Choice in Colombia’s Presidential Election
Left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro faces a runoff against a far-right populist, Rodolfo Hernández, for Colombia’s presidency. Predictably, the traditional establishment is lining up to support his self-styled “antiestablishment” opponent.
Even More Pension Money Is Headed to Wall Street
New York’s Democrat-controlled legislature passed a bill this week to funnel an additional $54 billion in public pension funds to high-risk private equity investments. It’s most likely an unwise financial strategy — and only Wall Street will benefit.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Has Shown How to Build a Radical, Broad Coalition
Most of the last decade’s left-populist insurgents failed to create lasting alternatives to neoliberalized social democracy. But Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise bucked the trend — and did it through years of work building real, popular roots.
Decriminalizing Hard Drugs Isn’t Nearly Enough to End the War on Drugs
British Columbia’s decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of hard drugs is a good first step in our fight against the opioid crisis. But it does not go far enough — we need universal decriminalization, high possession thresholds, and safe supply.