It’s Not Just the Drug War
The prison reforms on the table are unlikely to make even a dent in the forces that keep millions behind bars.
19577 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.
Planned Paranoia
There’s a reason why urban housing developments and suburban subdivisions can seem threatening and unwelcoming to outsiders: they’re planned that way, in order to “design out crime.”
Did the LAPD Kill the Notorious B.I.G.?
Criminal police officers ran law enforcement in 1990s Los Angeles — and they may have a story to tell.
Everywhere Grime in America, Terrible Time in America
Forget the parodies — West Side Story was an epic musical about gang violence that was as hard-hitting as it was stunning.
Breaking up the Party
Britain is rightly known for its multicultural popular music — but these musical styles have frequently emerged in the face of legal attempts to suppress them.
The Devil Goes to Preschool
In 1983, journalists helped conjure a nationwide sex panic.
Communists Against the Mafia
The battle against the Sicilian Mafia wasn’t waged by cops and judges — it was waged by communists and labor militants.
The Real Burglars Aren’t Wearing Masks
Across the country and across industries, employers steal billions from workers each year. Minimum wage violation — the act of paying workers below the legal limit — is just one form of wage theft, but it results in at least $15 billion in lost wages annually. In 2015, minimum wage violations cost workers more than all robberies, burglaries, larcenies, and motor vehicle thefts combined.
A Death Sentence for Disorderly Conduct
The story of Shali Tilson, a 22-year-old who died from dehydration at a jail in Georgia.
Jacobin Does Crime
We’re running short on funds. Jacobin troll Donald Hughes wants to help.
Lies, Damn Lies, and CBO Statistics
The Republican-led Congressional Budget Office is using gimmicks and fuzzy math to “prove” that the richest country on Earth can’t afford a decent welfare state.
Brazil’s Far-Right Government Is Using COP26 to Greenwash Its Image
Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro is trying to tone down his well-deserved reputation as a climate change denier. But the new proposals from his government serve the same purpose of blocking the radical measures we need to address the climate crisis.
RIP Dean Stockwell, a 70-Year Hollywood Renegade
Forced to support his family as a child star of the 1940s, Dean Stockwell embraced the counterculture of the 1960s while cutting his own path through eight decades in Hollywood.
The Left Needs More Than Low-Hanging Fruit to Win Power
To win universal social programs and pro-working-class politics in America, the Left needs to win outside of traditional Democratic strongholds. And that means having the message and organizing that can capture the attention of millions.
Edward Said Showed Intellectuals How to Bring Politics to Their Work
The Palestinian writer Edward Said wasn’t merely an intellectual who took brave political stands. Said’s whole approach to his work should be a model for politically engaged scholarship that doesn’t get bogged down in the thickets of academic culture.
Issue 43: Letters + Internet Speaks
Working through your issues in the comments section.
Lower the Crime Rate
Crime is born out of poverty and the miseries of capitalism. An index of oppression can’t be ignored by socialists.
Did Liberals Give Us Mass Incarceration?
The United States managed its violence on the cheap — through police and prisons instead of social welfare.
For Albania, Capitalism’s Promise of Freedom Soon Turned Sour
Lea Ypi’s memoir of life in Albania as its Communist system disintegrated is essential reading. Ypi gives us a frank picture of authoritarian rule, but she’s also scathing about the destructive shock therapy imposed on her country in the name of freedom.
Julian Assange’s Extradition to the United States Would Result in Serious Human Rights Violations
The US government is begging the British High Court to allow Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States. Doing so would be a human rights disaster, given that American prisons violate the most basic human rights of political prisoners like Assange.