Lula: “Join Us in a Great Collective Effort Against Inequality”
In a landmark inauguration speech, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva lays out his agenda for a more just Brazil and a new internationalism.
19145 Articles by: James Bloodworth
James Bloodworth is a writer and journalist from London.
The F-35 Is Everything Wrong With the Military-Industrial Complex
The F-35 fighter jet has been plagued by malfunctions and cost overruns for years, yet Congress continues to order up more. The bipartisan consensus to fund tools of war rather than pro-worker programs like affordable housing or childcare is still strong.
Mick Lynch: The UK’s Proposed Anti-Union Laws Are “a Suppression of Our Human Rights”
In the wake of strike activity in Britain not seen since the 1980s, the government is proposing draconian laws further restricting workers’ right to strike. RMT leader Mick Lynch says the laws are a threat not just to unions but to democracy in general.
Lula Has to Start Repairing the Damage Jair Bolsonaro Inflicted on Brazil
Lula began his third term as Brazil’s president this week while his predecessor scurried off to Florida. The new administration rests on a broad alliance of left-wing and centrist forces that faces a powerful hard-right opposition inspired by Jair Bolsonaro.
The Work of Nicos Poulantzas Is Vital for Understanding the Authoritarian Right
Nicos Poulantzas developed a highly original interpretation of fascism, seeing it as a potential that lurked within all capitalist states under conditions of crisis. His work can help us understand the danger posed by right-wing authoritarianism today.
FTX Convinced Poor People Their Money Was Safe in Crypto. It Wasn’t.
Many low-income people invested in the now-disgraced crypto exchange FTX. That’s because the exchange allegedly targeted poor and underbanked people and convinced them that FTX was just as safe as a regular bank.
Lula Was Just Inaugurated as Brazil’s President. His Return Is a Win for the Global Left.
Leftist leader Lula da Silva was inaugurated on Sunday as Brazil’s president. It’s a huge win for the global left — I only wish the late Michael Brooks, who tirelessly agitated for Lula’s release from prison, would have lived to see his return to power.
Kevin Johnson Was Murdered by a Racist Justice System
The St Louis County prosecutor pursued a death sentence for Kevin Johnson before calling for a retrial due to the “unconstitutional racial bias” in the case. But Missouri executed him anyway — killing a black man without even a semblance of due process.
Tech Giants Are Building a Dystopia of Desperate Workers and Social Isolation
Tech companies like Amazon and Uber are creating a society divided between the served and their servants, where the “friction” of in-person interaction is eliminated. That friction is the stuff of social connection — a world without it is nightmarish.
How Student Workers in STEM Took on Columbia University and Won Big
STEM departments are some of the most abusive, inequitable, and inaccessible workplaces in academia. Student workers’ victorious 2021–22 strike at Columbia University shows how militant, bottom-up unionism can change that.
Good Riddance, Juan Guaidó
Juan Guaidó was supposed to be the appealing, human face of US-backed regime change in Venezuela. His ouster as “interim president” this week is another signal that those efforts have failed.
Pelé Tried to Be an Apolitical Icon
Pelé rose to fame during the height of Brazil’s military dictatorship. He matched his brilliant play on the field with a careful avoidance of crossing the powerful.
Australia’s Rulers Know They Need American Imperialism to Dominate the Pacific
When it comes to foreign policy, Australia has long been in thrall to US interests. This isn’t because Australia is an American client state but because the Australian establishment knows that its own interests are best served by US empire.
During the Pandemic, Workers Were Told They Were Heroes — and Given Little to Show for It
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the American working class faced a paradox: workers were told they were “essential” and touted as “heroes,” yet they were often treated as sacrificial lambs.
AMLO’s Four Years in Power Have Been a Success
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador rose to power on the promise of massive redistribution. In the last year, he has nationalized lithium stores and lifted the minimum wage by 20%. But to secure these reforms he’ll need to transform the power structures of the Mexican state and media.
Liberal Corporate Media Ignores Government Wrongdoing When Liberals Are to Blame
After Southwest’s mass flight cancellations, liberal media refused to report on transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg’s failure to regulate the airlines — because media outlets now avoid journalism that could offend their audiences’ partisan loyalties.
Babylon Is So Bad It Will Hurt Your Brain
It’s not really clear what Damien Chazelle is trying to accomplish in his latest, Babylon. The movie is so awful that he should probably be banished from Hollywood.
The Right Tried to Cancel the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Right has successfully framed “canceling” as something leftists do. But it’s the snowflakes on the Right who have typically led the charge to censor culture. Case in point: when Britain lost its mind over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Emancipation Is an Action Melodrama That Is Highly Missable
There aren’t enough films depicting runaway slaves fighting off Southern racists on the way to freedom. So when that premise is wasted on a terrible movie, as it is in Will Smith’s Emancipation, it’s a great tragedy.
Howard Brown Health Wants to Lay Off 60 New Union Members
Howard Brown Health Center is well known as an LGBTQ-focused health provider and a stalwart Chicago progressive institution. Workers say that on the heels of their recent unionization, management is laying off 60 workers.