Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, Wants to Privatize Canadian Health Care
The Right broke Ontario’s health care system. Now they can’t wait to replace it with a parallel, two-tiered system that benefits the rich.
19080 Articles by: Jonathan Sas
Jonathan Sas has worked in senior policy and political roles in government, think tanks, and the labor movement. He is an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. His writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, National Post, the Tyee, and Maisonneuve.
How Oakland Tenants Forced Their Landlord to Turn Over the Keys
The city of Oakland’s longest rent strike has ended in victory for tenants. They didn’t just win necessary repairs or rent control; they decommodified their housing, getting profit-motivated landlords out of the picture altogether.
The New A League of Their Own Takes on Jim Crow–Era Racism in Women’s Baseball
The new TV show A League of Their Own, about the true story of the WWII-era women’s baseball league, captures its racial segregation — with a central character based on trailblazing black women players who were forced to play in the male Negro Leagues instead.
Student Debt Relief Is Undermining the Military’s Predatory Recruiting Practices
The US military has a long history of recruiting poor people by offering benefits like free college. With Joe Biden’s partial student debt forgiveness, GOP war hawks are fretting that the military won’t be able to prey on desperate young Americans anymore.
The Right Is Trying to Stop Chile’s New Constitution
Over 80 percent of the Chilean electorate voted to replace the country’s dictatorship-era constitution. As Chileans head to the polls on Sunday to finally vote on the new constitution, the Right is stoking fears to prevent its passage.
Airbrushing Italy’s Fascist Past Is Helping Today’s Far Right
For three decades, revisionists have systematically turned Italy’s discussion of World War II away from Fascist crimes and toward the Italians killed by anti-fascist partisans. The effect has been to trivialize the Fascist past — and legitimize a new far right.
In San Antonio, a Socialist City Council Member Stands Against Austerity
Teri Castillo, a housing organizer and Democratic Socialists of America member, is fighting on the San Antonio City Council for public investment in housing, health care, education, utilities, and more. Castillo says the era of municipal austerity must end.
In Emily the Criminal, Crime Pays When Nothing Else Will
Aubrey Plaza’s title character in Emily the Criminal is trapped by crushing student loan debt, a punitive criminal justice system, and low wages. She, like so many other Americans, feels like she’s out of legitimate options — because she is.
Starbucks’s Relentless Union-Busting Campaign Won’t Stop Without Consumer Pressure
Starbucks is “fighting dirtier and dirtier all the time” in its attempt to smash the nationwide union drive, Starbucks Workers United field director Daisy Pitkin writes. Workers are organizing and striking — they need consumers to step up their support.
Yes, Canceling Student Loan Debt Is Justified. Canceling Medical Debt Would Be, Too.
Student loan debt shouldn’t exist. Neither should medical debt. The Biden administration’s cancellation of some student loan debt is justified — and canceling medical debt would be, too.
Eric Adams Has Declared War on Socialism. So Far, the Socialists Are Winning.
Socialists are becoming a problem for New York’s Democratic establishment. Mayor Eric Adams declared war on the socialist movement and endorsed candidates to challenge the Democratic Socialists of America. For the most part, he failed.
If Bernie Runs in 2024, His Campaign Should Build a Left Political Organization
The next Bernie Sanders campaign, if it happens at all, could be used to build an organization that helps transcend the Left’s current impasse. Bernie 2024 — but make it a new beginning instead of a last hurrah.
The Making of the Welsh Working Class
In 1910, Winston Churchill sent troops to the coalfields of South Wales to put an end to a strike. Though the miners were defeated, this episode radicalized the Welsh working class and helped sever ties between conservative Liberals and trade unions.
Chile Is Rewriting Its Constitution. Australia Should Too.
Australia’s constitution is outdated, antidemocratic, and has consistently blocked social democratic reforms. That’s why we need to rip it up and write a new one.
C. L. R. James Never Gave Up on His Dream of Revolution
C. L. R. James loved seeing workers take ownership of culture that was thought to belong to their betters. He believed in the creative talents of workers, just as he believed in their power to secure their own liberation without direction from above.
Will They Coup Lula?
Lula da Silva is leading the polls for Brazil’s upcoming presidential election. But far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro is threatening a coup to hold on to power if he loses the vote.
A. Philip Randolph’s Radical, Stirring Speech at the 1963 March on Washington
The official head of the August 28, 1963, March on Washington was socialist A. Philip Randolph. In his speech, reprinted here, he called for restructuring society so the “sanctity of private property takes second place to the sanctity of the human personality.”
The Civil Rights Movement Was Radical to Its Core
Today is the 59th anniversary of the March on Washington, so get ready for plenty of whitewashed history. Here’s the truth: the Civil Rights Movement was a radical struggle against Jim Crow tyranny whose early foot soldiers were Communists and labor militants.
You’ve Been Lied to About the 1963 March on Washington
The March on Washington was 59 years ago today. It’s popularly remembered as a moderate demonstration where MLK “had a dream” — but in fact, it was the decades-long culmination of a mass, working-class movement against racial and economic injustice.
Jamie Foxx’s Day Shift Is Another Big-Budget Netflix Mediocrity
With a solid premise about working-class vampire hunters, Day Shift had real potential — but there’s no escaping the Netflix curse.