We Need to Win Our People Back
French workers’ top electoral choice isn’t Marine Le Pen, but abstention. To mobilize their support, the Left needs to look beyond the workplace alone — and answer a deeper mood of alienation.
19053 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.
Bernie Should Declare Housing a Human Right
The right to housing should be part of the Green New Deal. And Bernie should help push it forward.
Socialists Should Support Sex Workers’ Rights
The criminalization of sex work is an attack on the lives and livelihoods of working-class people. Socialists should support decriminalization.
The American Legion Is Not Your Friend
The American Legion was created not as a space for former soldiers to meet and swap stories, but to bring together shock troops of the counter-revolution — an authoritarian mass movement of combat veterans.
Democracy Is a Puzzle
Democracy is about the struggle for a more equitable world — but it’s also about grappling with the messy, contingent questions that will always confront humanity.
The Appeal and Limits of Andrea Dworkin
Reading Andrea Dworkin today is still bracing. But her pessimistic, dystopian vision of a world dominated by male violence only gained currency when the utopian power of the feminist movement receded.
MSNBC’s Ridiculous War on Bernie Sanders
When MSNBC legal analyst Mimi Rocah said that Bernie Sanders made her skin crawl, she was just sticking to the company line.
On the Clock and Off
As leftists debate what their labor strategy should look like, many are turning to the rank-and-file strategy. A longtime union activist reflects on a lifetime of struggle in the rank and file.
Let Them Eat Credit
The new normal of low interest rates is designed to sooth the palpitations of capitalists, not to improve the lives of working people.
What the Presidential Debate on Race Is Really About
When the Democratic establishment opposes the universal programs in Bernie Sanders’s platform, it’s not because they want to do more to address racism. It’s because they want to do less.
When Politics Becomes Professional
All successful movements need leaders, elected officials, and, yes, even bureaucrats. The key is to remember the radical roots of those bureaucracies and leaderships — so they can sustain instead of squelch socialist politics.
Cricket in the Service of Hindu Nationalism
Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government are using cricket to spread their influence in the United States.
The Right Has Power in Latin America, but No Plan
Across Latin America, the Right has swept to power. But its achievements pale in comparison to the Pink Tide — and it has no compelling vision for how to address the region’s challenges.
The Candidates’ Policies On Inequality: A No-Bullshit Guide
What are the 2020 candidates proposing to do about inequality, one of the defining issues of our time and a proxy for the class struggle? We’ve scoured their campaign websites and tallied up the pros and cons.
The Socialist Journey
Martin Hägglund’s This Life deftly weaves religion, philosophy, and political economy to produce a moving vision of a socialist ethos. But it fails to grapple with the problems that will attend the journey beyond capitalism.
“More Tribal, More Sectarian, More Crony Capitalist Than Ever”
Bashar al-Assad has started confiscating the homes of Syrians who fled during the Civil War. For decades, his clan has purged the state of all but the most fanatical loyalists: now, it’s doing the same to society itself.
Why the Right Hates Ilhan Omar
The Right hates Ilhan Omar — but not just out of racism. They know she’s a threat because she fights for workers of all races and creeds.
It’s About More Than Ricky
The toppling of Puerto Rico’s centrist governor is a beautiful display of people power. The next target: La Junta, the Washington-imposed board pushing austerity and privatization.
Puerto Rican Politics Will Never Be the Same
Disgraced Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rosselló is slated to leave office today. It’s a victory for the mass protest movement — but as elites struggle to name a successor, the colony’s future remains uncertain.
Ricky Is Gone
Puerto Rico’s corrupt governor is set to resign today at 5 PM. It’s a stunning win for the island’s leftists, who have struggled for years against oppression and austerity.