Socialism in the American Heartland
Since the 1800s, from Eugene Debs to the Milwaukee “sewer socialists,” the US socialist movement has been especially vibrant in the Midwest — and continues to shape American heartland politics today.
20387 Article(s) by: Julia Goodman
The New Labor Organizing Model of EWOC
Interest in unions and workplace organizing is high, but proactive workers have few opportunities to launch their own organizing drives. The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee is trying to change that.
How Fredric Jameson Remade Literary Criticism
Throughout his career, the critic Fredric Jameson has pitted himself against reductive Marxist approaches to culture and a close reading tradition blind to politics. His latest book shows him at the height of his powers, carving out his novel alternative.
Germany’s Far Right Is Exploiting a Broken Economic Model
In Thuringia, former East Germany, the far-right AfD has won a state election for the first time. Its success is the product of a low-wage economic model that has itself fed anti-migrant backlash.
How the “AFL-CIA” Undermined Labor Movements Abroad
For much of its history, the AFL-CIO has enthusiastically backed US foreign policy. During the Cold War, that included actively participating in efforts to suppress left-wing labor movements abroad.
Los Angeles Teachers’ Road to Durable Power, 2014–2016
United Teachers Los Angeles’s transformation into a strike-ready, progressive union offers lessons for how today’s labor upsurge can produce durable, transformative union power, writes former UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl.
US Labor Unions Still Need to Get Serious About Organizing
With union popularity at historic highs and organized labor’s war chests overflowing, now is the time to spend big on strikes and new organizing. So far, unions mostly aren’t doing that.
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Eugene Debs: “The Scab Is the Natural Born Foe of Labor”
This Labor Day weekend, we share Eugene Debs’s 1888 broadside against that most hateful of characters: the strikebreaker. The scab “sinks to the level of a loathsome reptile,” Debs writes. “He becomes a walking, breathing stench.”
How Indiana Kroger Workers Won a Groundbreaking Contract
Organizing in a right-to-work state and a highly multilingual warehouse, Indiana Kroger workers faced long odds heading into contract negotiations. Holding open bargaining sessions and work-to-rule actions helped them win big.
Learning From Italian Antifascism
You cannot understand antifascism if you don’t understand fascism, both in its contemporary guises and historically in countries like Italy.
Easington Under Occupation
This week 40 years ago, police from across the UK descended on the mining town of Easington to quash the historic miners’ strike. The police left, but deprivation from deindustrialization and neglect remain.
The Rich Want You to Fear Tax Fairness
Canada raised its capital gains tax inclusion rate, sparking outrage from the investing class, who warned of economic disaster. The data shows that their histrionics were groundless.
Why Socialists Shouldn’t Reject Liberalism
The historical shortcomings of liberalism don’t mean that socialists should throw liberalism out wholesale. On the contrary: socialism needs liberalism.
A Climate Disinformation Focus Takes Us the Wrong Way
The concept of “climate disinformation” does not lead us to genuine solutions for the problem of climate change — it leads us toward new risks.
Another Chance for AOC to Step Up on Palestine
AOC let down the Palestine movement at the Democratic National Convention. But it’s not too late to make up for it.
Kamala Harris’s CNN Interview Didn’t Inspire Confidence
Kamala Harris cleared the low bar of avoiding a disastrous interview moment last night. But her answers suggested plenty of opportunities for disasters to come.
An Ode to the Art of Economic Survival
The Exit Is the Entrance chronicles a working life spanning some 30 jobs across eight states. Author Lydia Paar went AWOL from the military at age 20 and never stopped moving, an escape artist evading everything but her student debt.
How Dark Money Groups Bought a Tax Cut in Colorado
Dark money groups extracted huge tax cuts from Colorado lawmakers by threatening to push ballot initiatives that would slash taxes even further. Referenda should promote democracy — yet billionaires are using them to blackmail the state.
In Former East Germany, the Left Is Paying for Its Failures
Three states in former East Germany face elections in September, with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland leading polls. The party is exploiting voter discontent with the fallout of reunification — and the Left’s lack of a convincing alternative.