Democracy, Without the Majority Class
Workers are frozen out of politics in both the United States and Britain.
19182 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.
For the Few, Not the Many
How many votes does it take to capture the most powerful assembly in the United States? Turns out, not that many.
We Won the Battle, They Won the War
History shows that the capitalist class will do whatever it can to undermine our reforms and oust the Left from power.
In Defense of Democracy
The best defenders of even the narrow ideals of liberal democracy are not the elites who glorify them but the masses of people whom they so often distrust.
The Deep State Strikes Back
If socialists want to take power through the ballot box, we have to be ready for when capitalists stop playing by the rules.
Anti-Imperialism Doesn’t Mean Defending Authoritarianism
Socialists must stand resolutely against US imperialism. We also can’t turn a blind eye to purportedly leftist states’ suppression of political liberties that socialists around the world have fought and died for.
Don’t Let Anyone Tell You Bernie Sanders Isn’t Electable
The belief that Bernie Sanders is too left-wing to win a presidential election is an article of faith among journalists and pundits. It’s also completely unfounded.
“In 2016, Crazed Bernie Sanders Supporters Went on a Chair-Throwing Rampage in Nevada” and Other Blatant Lies Spread by the Mainstream Media
Remember when Bernie Sanders supporters went berserk and “threw chairs” at the 2016 Nevada Democratic convention? The widely reported incident never happened — but the originator of that myth will be co-moderating tonight’s debate.
Don’t Trust the Process
Impeachment has failed, but Democrats are still trying to defeat Trump by focusing on process over policy. They’re going to keep failing — the only way to get rid of Trump is to beat him at the polls.
The New Class War Isn’t a Culture War
Since Trump’s victory, authors like Michael Lind have portrayed the “white working class” as victims of metropolitan elites. But seeing the class war as a culture war overlooks working people’s greatest strength: our power to fight for our common interests, above cultural divides.
The Attacks on Bernie Sanders Supporters Are Going From the Ridiculous to the Deranged
Rival campaigns and hostile journalists are scraping the bottom of the barrel with their latest attacks on Bernie Sanders supporters. Now, apparently, getting owned on Twitter is “harassment,” and when a nurses’ union donates to Bernie, it’s “dark money.”
Here’s How We Can Stop the Next Coronavirus
The response to the coronavirus shows that neither the US nor the world is ready for a global pandemic. We desperately need a public health system that rejects philanthrocapitalism and prioritizes preparedness over corporate profits.
War Is an Enormous Threat to the Rising Movement Against Climate Change
US wars have historically been used to beat back and repress exactly the kind of Left movements that we need to tackle the climate crisis. We can’t just focus on fighting climate change or US imperialism — we have to stop both.
AOC Knows Exactly What the Problem Is With Billionaires Like Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos is donating billions of dollars through his new foundation. But as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argues, we need to redistribute his power, not just his wealth.
Why Syriza’s Defeat Still Haunts the Left
Five years after Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras capitulated to the Troika, the Left’s challenge to European neoliberalism is weaker than ever. The Greek case showed how the Left could exploit ruling-class crisis — but also the tragic consequences of a failure to prepare for power.
“We Need a Homeland”
Protesters in Iraq are rejecting the imprints of war and sectarianism that have destroyed the country — and attempting to build an egalitarian homeland that will put ordinary Iraqis first.
The Lebanese Uprising Continues
Among the mass protests that erupted across the globe in October last year, Lebanon’s were some of the largest, targeting both a failing neoliberal system and ingrained sectarianism. Now in their fourth month, the protests are showing no sign of diminishing.
The Cosmic Irony of Bernie Sanders’s Rise
What makes Bernie Sanders so threatening to the Democratic establishment is that he stands for what millions of Democrats thought their party stood for all along.
Australia’s New Digital Workhouses
Unemployment has become a billion-dollar industry where private firms are turning massive profits for placing precarious workers in bullshit jobs.
Sinn Féin’s Day Is Coming
Last Saturday’s Irish election was a historic breakthrough for Sinn Féin, the most-voted party for the first time. An organizer for the party writes how austerity drove a working-class backlash — and how Sinn Féin plans to turn voter revolt into real change.