The Biden Era’s Defining Characteristic: Anti-Politics
Whether because of Trump fatigue or COVID or both, the Biden years have been defined by a kind of anti-politics. Many fewer Americans are now paying politics much attention at all.
20410 Article(s) by: Julia Goodman
Striking Workers Should Be Eligible for Unemployment Insurance
Most workers in the US are barred from claiming unemployment benefits if they go on strike, penalizing them for exercising one of their most fundamental rights. New legislation in California and elsewhere is trying to rectify that injustice.
Stop Cop City Activists Just Got Slapped With RICO Charges. That’s Heinous.
Scores of Stop Cop City activists were hit this week with RICO charges and are now facing serious prison time. Prosecutors allege a sprawling, violent conspiracy — but what they’re really doing is trampling on democratic rights as basic as handing out flyers.
OPEC Was First Formed as a Challenge to Western Energy Dominance
As oil became a key energy source in the 20th century, Western companies backed by the US and UK monopolized production in the Global South. But in the age of decolonization, newly independent nations fought for a different global energy order.
The Eviction Crisis Is About to Hit Los Angeles
Tenant rights groups have been sounding the alarm about an impending post-pandemic eviction crisis. In Los Angeles, that day has come — putting hundreds of thousands of tenants at risk of losing their housing and compelling some to fight back.
Germany’s Political Class Is Still Giving Unconditional Support to Israeli Apartheid
Israel’s far-right government has made its oppression of the Palestinians more blatant than ever. German politicians still won’t budge in their uncritical support for Israel, but public opinion in Germany is shifting in the opposite direction.
Fossil Fuel Lobbyists in California Are Playing Both Sides of the Climate Crisis
According to data reviewed by a new climate group in California, the same fossil fuel lobbyists trying to sink climate legislation are also representing the state’s cities and counties being pummeled hardest by the climate crisis.
The Left Should Reclaim John Rawls’s Theory of Justice
Despite his towering academic reputation, John Rawls’s ideas have had little impact outside the university. That’s a shame: as the failures of neoliberalism have become increasingly stark, Rawls’s egalitarian theory of justice has much to recommend it.
Inflation Is Slowing Down. But Working-Class Life in the US Is Still Hard to Afford.
The inflation rate is cooling, providing a respite for workers. Yet there’s a reason why many are still unhappy with the economy: from health care to housing to childcare, life in the US is more unaffordable than ever.
The Disco Elysium Saga Shows Why Creative Workers Need to Band Together
A strange and beautiful game with a socialist foundation, Disco Elysium’s success seemed like a miracle. When company shareholders eventually fired its creators and stole their work, that was more familiar — and proved why creative workers need unions too.
The Face of Voter Disaffection in Argentina Is an Anarcho-Capitalist With Sideburns
In Argentina, the meteoric rise of hard-right libertarian Javier Milei has set off alarm bells. To avoid disaster in the October elections, the center-left candidate must convince voters that the welfare state is still worth fighting for.
Amazon Workers’ Sci-Fi Writing Is Imagining a World After Amazon
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos often talks about humanity starting again on other planets. But a new project funding Amazon workers’ sci-fi writing is imagining how life could be different right here on Earth, in a world without corporate overlords like Bezos.
French Left-Wing MP Danièle Obono: “Yes, There Is Structural Racism in France”
This summer’s French riots were a rebellion against police violence and the targeting of working-class men of color. For France Insoumise MP Danièle Obono, it’s high time the country attacked its problem of entrenched racism.
On Student Debt Forgiveness, the Biden Administration Is Setting Itself Up to Fail Again
The Biden administration could automatically cancel student debt for all borrowers right now. But its announced “Plan B” for debt forgiveness shows it’s setting itself up to be stymied by the Supreme Court all over again.
The National Labor Relations Board Just Made It Easier for Workers to Win Unions
An NLRB decision delivered late last month substantially lowers the legal hurdles to union recognition. But using that opening will require unions to build strong cultures of shop-floor solidarity in the face of employer intimidation.
Telemarketers Is a Fantastically Wild, Scam-Filled Gem
The new HBO docuseries Telemarketers is a wonderfully weird trip through a scammer call center that swindled money for police and lined the pockets of a clutch of entrepreneurial creeps. You should watch it right away.
Howard Buffet’s Oligarchic Playground in Small-Town America
Howard Buffett, son of multibillionaire Warren Buffett, has long dominated the social and political life of the central Illinois town of Decatur. It’s a case study in how extreme wealth hollows out democracy.
England’s Rugeley Amazon Warehouse Tells the Story of Postindustrial Decline
The town of Rugeley, England, once boasted a thriving, unionized coal industry that underpinned the community. Today it is the site of a hyperexploitative Amazon warehouse — typifying the effects of deindustrialization and union decline across the UK.
For Slovakia’s Left, Welfare Spending and Nationalism Make an Awkward Match
As Slovakia heads toward a snap election, former prime minister Robert Fico is surging in polls. His Smer party has a record of defending welfare spending — but its scandals and nationalist rhetoric make it hard for many left-wingers to support.
While Canadians Struggle, Energy Corporations Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank
Interest rate hikes have brought Canada’s cost-of-living crisis to a fever pitch. And while workers are feeling the squeeze, energy corporations are reaping superprofits.