Why and How Class Still Matters
It’s fashionable to declare that Marxism doesn’t have much to say about complex, modern societies. But class and the material interests it generates are still the central features of capitalism.
19108 Articles by: James Bloodworth
James Bloodworth is a writer and journalist from London.
If America Had Fair Laws, 60 Million Workers Would Join a Union Tomorrow
According to the latest data, the ranks of unionized workers grew by 200,000 between 2021 and 2022. If the United States’ unionization rules in place weren’t so biased toward bosses, tens of millions more workers indicate they would have joined a union, too.
If the European Union Doesn’t Democratize, It Will Crumble
After a decade that produced a series of shocks, the European Union seems to have weathered its worst moment of crisis. Yet the EU still suffers a fundamental lack of democracy — and the Left should be in the forefront of demanding its reform.
Northwestern University Graduate Student Workers Won a Union Last Week
Last week, graduate student workers at Northwestern University voted to unionize by a landslide margin. We spoke to some of the worker-organizers about why they wanted to unionize and how they won.
Taiwan’s History Shows Why We Need a Global Democratic Order
Taiwan has been subject to the machinations of great powers for much of its history. A better international order would ensure that all nations, big and small, have an equal voice in the global arena.
New York Leftists and Liberals Just Defeated Hector LaSalle. What Else Can They Win?
By defeating Gov. Kathy Hochul’s conservative judicial nominee, Hector LaSalle, New York liberals and leftists just learned an important lesson: with a confrontational approach, they can beat a centrist governor and wield significant power at the state level.
A Texas Billionaire Is Suing to Stop Free Speech Against Billionaires
Texas gas billionaire Kelcy Warren is taking Beto O’Rourke to court over an old campaign talking point. It could keep future candidates from bringing up the influence of corporate money in politics.
François Ruffin: It’s Time to Put an End to the Neoliberal Era
Filmmaker François Ruffin has become a leading critic of the destruction of France’s welfare model. Today an MP, Ruffin told Jacobin how the Left can rediscover its purpose — and again rally the discontent of rural and peripheral France.
Fredric Jameson on Why Socialists Need Utopias
Marxist critic Fredric Jameson has spent his life’s work exploring the political significance of utopia. For Jacobin, Jameson argues that socialists today can revive utopian ideals by showing that change is in fact possible.
Faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago Are on Strike
After months without a contract, faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago went on strike this week. We spoke to workers about the strike and their demands, including mental health resources for students and greater job security for contingent faculty.
Tax Write-Offs and Cheap Finance Built Australia’s Housing Crisis — Public Housing Can Solve It
Inflated housing prices and rapidly rising rents are disproportionately affecting younger and poorer Australians. The Greens are the only party in Parliament with a serious plan to build public housing.
Pfizer Is Raising Drug Prices and Paying for Good PR
Corporate news outlets like Semafor are running sponsored posts from Pfizer bragging about how the pharma manufacturer is altruistically working to expand access to its products overseas — the same month Pfizer raised prices on 99 of its drugs in the US.
The Saudi Royal Family Is Using K-Pop to Distract From Its Domestic Problems
K-pop sensation Blackpink is set to play to a sold-out stadium in Riyadh tomorrow. The concert marks 60 years of Saudi–South Korean diplomatic ties — and a long history of brutal collaboration.
The US Military Compares Itself to the Rebel Alliance. In Reality, It’s the Evil Empire.
The military and its private sector offshoots desperately want to portray themselves as good guys fighting against dark forces. To accomplish that, they’re increasingly leaning into nerd fantasy like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.
Elite Universities Gave Us Effective Altruism, the Dumbest Idea of the Century
A cocktail of elite arrogance and naivete across the Anglophone world, combined with the support of billionaires like Sam Bankman-Fried, produced effective altruism. The result has been reactionary, often racist intellectual defenses of inequality.
Emmanuel Macron’s Pension Reform Will Make Workers Toil Till They Drop
Today brought mass strikes against Emmanuel Macron’s “retirement reform” in France. Increasing both the pension age and the number of years workers have to work, the planned measure will see more French people die before they get any retirement at all.
The Story of Palm Oil Is a Story About Capitalism
Palm oil is in everything: what we eat, wear, read, drive. And like so much else that we consume and can’t disentangle ourselves from, palm oil is enmeshed in global supply chains that rely on brutal working conditions and the destruction of the planet.
Ben Shapiro’s “Formula” for Political Legitimacy Is a Head-Scratching Mess
Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro thinks he’s distilled political legitimacy into a mathematical equation. He’s only succeeded in proving that he’s very confused.
The Rich in Canada Are Still Getting Richer
Inflation is hurting workers, but bosses are doing just fine. In Canada, average CEO pay in 2021 was 243 times the average workers’ wage, up from the pre-COVID record set in 2017.
When It Comes to Mishandling Classified Documents, the Powerful Are Treated With Kid Gloves
Mishandling classified documents, as both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are now accused of doing, is just one type of crime for which America increasingly has one justice system for the rich and powerful and another, far harsher system for everyone else.