Antebellum Is as Bad as Everyone Thinks
Get Out was a triumph. Antebellum tries to follow in its footsteps, but it completely fails at making a horror movie out of the experience of racism in America.
21023 Article(s) by: Julia Goodman
Telling the Tale of England’s North Country Blues
England’s North-South divide lies at the heart of Britain’s recent political disputes, from Brexit to the fate of the Labour Party. There’s a long and fascinating history behind that regional chasm, from the Norman conquest to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Margaret Thatcher.
Karl Kautsky Was Once a Revolutionary
Lenin’s famous denunciation of Karl Kautsky as a “renegade” has long discouraged Marxists from actually engaging with the German-Austrian socialist’s writings. But if the Bolshevik leader sharply criticized Kautsky’s retreats, this was also because of his great admiration for his earlier work — a revolutionary Marxism that lay decisive stress on the battle for democracy.
The San Francisco Ruling Class Is United in Their Hatred of the City’s Socialists
A San Francisco PAC has been given more than $3 million in donations to oppose left candidates and ballot measures in the upcoming election. Socialist candidates like Dean Preston are redrawing the lines of city politics around class — and the ruling class isn’t happy about it.
What South Korea’s Candlelight Revolution Tells Us About Defeating a Right-Wing Autocrat
South Korea’s 2016–17 Candlelight Revolution shows that to defend democratic rights, you have to be ready to step outside the bounds of liberal proceduralism. We should take the same lesson in the US: the best way to ensure that Donald Trump will respect the results of the November election is to mobilize in the streets and demand it.
Jeremy Corbyn: “Undercover Police Can’t Be Above the Law”
Britain’s Tory government is passing legislation to shield undercover agents from prosecution even for violent crimes. Jeremy Corbyn explains why Labour should be standing up against this attack on civil liberties — and not just abstaining.
The US Should Indict American War Criminals, Not Julian Assange
The US is attempting to imprison one of its critics, Julian Assange, by claiming a global right to prosecute any journalist in the world. If that prosecution succeeds, it would be a severe blow not just to press freedom, but to our very right to oppose imperialism and empire.
Mass Unemployment Is a Crisis — But We’re Not Treating It as One
The expiration of stimulus benefits has thrown millions into poverty, even as the unemployment crisis continues to hammer workers. There’s a deep sickness at the heart of the American economy.
Tough on Anti-Vaxx Nonsense, Tough on the Causes of Anti-Vaxx Nonsense
Perhaps months away from the first COVID-19 vaccines, their effectiveness may be threatened by growing anti-vaccination sentiment in the Global North. The Left should brook no vaccine skepticism in its ranks, but we should also work to prevent the conditions that give rise to such irrationality in the first place.
Amy Coney Barrett’s Climate Denialism Should Disqualify Her
Amy Coney Barrett told senators that she is impartial and that her views on climate science are irrelevant. But she showed a dangerous bias against environmental action that would make the climate crisis far worse.
“Stopping Things Getting Worse Isn’t Enough”
This Saturday, Mattea Meyer and Cédric Wermuth are set to become the new copresidents of Switzerland’s Social Democratic Party. They told Jacobin why they think they can pull their party to the left — and stand up for those who aren’t benefiting from their country’s great wealth.
Who Owns the Constitution?
In their early-twentieth-century heyday, American socialists advanced a distinctive vision of constitutional interpretation that centered popular mass politics — not judges and lawyers. As we face our own crisis of constitutionalism today, we should look back to that vision.
A General Strike to Stop Trump? Some Unions Are Saying It’s Time.
The Rochester, New York labor council recently resolved to “prepare for and enact a general strike of all working people” if Trump tries to steal the election. The rest of the labor movement needs to pay attention — labor can help stop an authoritarian power grab if unions start making plans right now.
The Struggle for Democracy in America Has Been One Unending Battle
Republican senator Mike Lee ignited a controversy last week when he insisted that it’s a good thing the US isn’t a democracy. His comments were appalling — but they remind us that what democracy we do have in the US is thanks to the countless bottom-up struggles against elites like him since the country’s founding.
A Prison Guard Union Is Trying to Unseat a California Criminal Justice Reformer
In an attempt to send a message to any legislators considering challenging the mass incarceration status quo, law enforcement unions in California have spent nearly $1 million to unseat Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a state assembly member and Bernie Sanders–backed criminal justice reformer.
The Real Hunter Biden Bombshell Is That the Tech Monopolies Now Officially Decide Which News Stories You Get to See
The most important part of the New York Post‘s dubious Ukrainegate story has nothing to do with Ukraine: It’s Facebook and Twitter’s partisan rush to censor the story, a reminder of the tech monopolies’ growing threat to a free press.
Propping Up Bondholders and Letting Down the Global Poor
International financial institutions and G20 countries have constructed a partnership to benefit private finance at the expense of the citizens in poor countries. We need a radically different development model.
Don’t Watch Hillbilly Elegy — Listen to Dolly Parton Instead
Netflix announced the forthcoming movie adaptation of JD Vance’s reactionary, victim-blaming book Hillbilly Elegy yesterday. But why would anyone seek answers about life in Appalachia from a right-wing former venture capitalist, when they could put on a Dolly Parton record instead?
Why Are Democrats Silent on Climate During the Amy Coney Barrett Hearings?
Amy Coney Barrett refuses to agree that humans contribute to climate change, while Democrats fail to ask her to recuse herself from a landmark climate case involving Shell, the oil company that employed her father. Democrats must bring up the climate in Barrett’s confirmation hearings — the future of our planet is at stake.
For the New South Wales Liberal Party, Love (for Property Developers) Is Blind
Liberal premier Gladys Berejiklian may be the latest casualty in a series of corruption scandals that have rocked the Australian state of New South Wales. The recurrent scandals stem from deeply entrenched corruption in Sydney that gives property developers free reign.