COVID-19 Accelerated the Corporate Takeover of the Economy
Unless working people organize to resist it, the legacy of the pandemic, like the legacy of the financial crisis, will be a permanent shift in power in favor of capital.
19609 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.
Karl Marx Loved Freedom
Karl Marx gave us an extraordinarily rigorous study of capitalism — not out of idle academic interest but because he wanted to understand what structures would have to be overcome in order to win a world free of domination.
The Post-Corbyn Labour Party Is Imitating the Democratic Party’s Centrist Rhetoric
As Labour leader Keir Starmer continues to distance himself from Jeremy Corbyn, he’s pulling a Tony Blair: embracing the lukewarm rhetoric of American social liberalism and abandoning the confident language of socialism.
Give Us a Three-Day Weekend at the Beach, Every Week
A century ago, the Barcelona general strike made Spain one of the first countries in the world to introduce the eight-hour working day. Now, under pressure from the Left, the Spanish government is trialing a four-day week, with no loss of pay for workers.
The Sydney “Green Bans” Show How We Can Transform Our Cities
In the 1970s, trade unions in Sydney began imposing “green bans” on property developments that were going to cause social and ecological harm. The movement should be an inspiration for challenges to the power of big business everywhere.
In Mexico, AMLO Has a Renewed Mandate for Radical Change
Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s governing MORENA Party won the midterm elections last month. Now in its second term, it must deliver on the transformative agenda its voters expect.
Justin Trudeau’s Government Actively Aids Israeli Occupation
The Trudeau government likes to pose as a neutral player in its dealings with Israelis and Palestinians, concerned only with fostering peace. In reality, Canada gives unstinting support to Israel’s occupation and the brutal methods needed to uphold it.
The Julian Assange Media Blackout Must End
Stunning revelations have emerged overseas about the reckless and duplicitous methods used by US law enforcement against Julian Assange. But in the US, the story has been subject to an almost total media blackout.
Emmanuel Macron Is Cracking Down on Environmental Activists
France’s neoliberal president, Emmanuel Macron, promised to get tough on climate change. But this week’s move to criminalize protests at airports shows his government would rather get tough on climate activists — the latest in Macron’s attack on civil liberties.
The Workers’ Wimbledon
Tennis has often been considered an exclusive sport — but in the 1930s, trade unionists came together to challenge the private clubs with their own tournament: the “Workers’ Wimbledon.”
The Disingenuous Defense of For-Profit Health Care Hasn’t Changed in Decades
From Ronald Reagan’s notorious 1961 rant against the horrors of socialized medicine to present-day propaganda of the insurance industry, right-wing and corporate efforts to halt the expansion of public health care seem to strike the exact same notes again and again — and draw on the same bogus arguments.
Why Brazilian Workers Love Lula
Lula rose from humble origins to become a leftist icon, exuding working-class authenticity and successfully bringing working people into the country’s political life. And his story isn’t over: he could soon return to power.
Choosing Your Own Health Care Plan Has Nothing to Do With Freedom
Picking a health care plan isn’t an exercise in freedom — it’s an impossibly complicated, mind-numbing task seemingly designed to drive you insane. Can’t we just have Medicare for All already?
Peru’s Pedro Castillo Can Break With Neoliberalism for Good
Pedro Castillo is the next president of Peru. His election was a repudiation of neoliberalism and right-wing authoritarianism — and it could signal a permanent sea change in Peruvian politics.
Were Haiti’s Capitalists Behind the Assassination of President Moïse?
Haitian president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated this week by alleged mercenaries. In an interview with Jacobin, the English language editor of Haiti Liberté says he suspects that some of Haiti’s richest families hired the attackers to preempt a potential revolution — and possibly even trigger US military intervention.
All of Us Should Be Working Four-Day Weeks
A mass experiment in Iceland found that workers with four-day weeks became happier and healthier and got just as much done. It’ll take worker organizing to win a demand like that.
Miners in Ontario Are Mobilizing Against Another Corporate Rip-Off
Mining multinational Vale is trying to strip its workers in Sudbury of vital benefits using the pandemic as cover. They’ve responded with strike action, building on a long tradition of militant trade unionism in the region.
Socialists Actually Did Very Well Among Black Brooklyn Voters
Democratic Party hacks love to accuse socialists of lacking support from black and brown New Yorkers. But a look at the numbers in Brooklyn reveals the opposite: socialism won among black working-class voters. Support from white liberals, on the other hand, was missing.
The Fight to Transform Peru Has Only Just Begun
A month since teacher and labor activist Pedro Castillo was elected Peruvian president, his far-right opponents are still trying to stop him from taking office. The attempt to overturn the election shows the elites’ refusal to accept defeat — and the dangers the Left faces as it seeks a break from the country’s neoliberal model.
Jessica Hopper Rescues Music From the Forces Sucking the Life Out of It
Music gives tangible shape to the best and basest in all of us. Yet under capitalism, it’s just another commodity. That artists and critics continue making and writing about music despite the industry’s vampiric drive for profit shows our stubborn unwillingness to give up a key piece of our humanity.