Erik Olin Wright (1947–2019)
Erik Olin Wright was radicalized in the 1960s and remained a Marxist because his moral compass simply wouldn’t allow him to drift away. With his death, the Left has lost one of its most brilliant intellectuals.
21007 Article(s) by: Julia Goodman
A Strike by Flight Attendants, Pilots, or Air Traffic Controllers Could Stop the Shutdown
We don’t need a full-on general strike to stop the federal shutdown. A strike by small groups of workers — pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight attendants — would force the government to reopen.
Fight at the Museum
The white-collar art world isn’t a hotbed of labor radicalism. But at the New Museum in Manhattan, workers are unionizing. We spoke to a museum worker about it.
How to Make the TVA a Clean Energy Juggernaut
A Green New Deal is now on the agenda. Activists should embrace the public ownership option: mass decarbonization, using the Tennessee Valley Authority.
After LA’s Strike, “Nothing Will Be the Same”
The Los Angeles teachers’ strike was big, it was united, and now it’s victorious. We interview UTLA chief negotiator Arlene Inouye about how the strike turned the tables on the billionaire privatizers.
Sinn Féin Is Having a Good Brexit
Thanks to the dogmatism of Northern Ireland’s Unionists, Sinn Féin gets to have it both ways: shielding its voters from a hard Irish border while boosting the chances of reunification.
Aaron Sorkin’s Road to Nowhere
Aaron Sorkin wants to give Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advice. Yet The West Wing creator’s worldview remains a vision of liberalism at its hollowest and most ineffective.
It’s Still Bernie
Don’t listen to the media and think tank clowns — it’s still Bernie.
The Future of the Supreme Court in the Liberal Imagination
With the Right firmly in control of the Supreme Court, elite liberals’ veneration of the undemocratic body might finally be coming to an end.
Divided We Fall
5 years ago, Podemos made a thunderous first entrance into Spanish politics. Now, clashes between leaders Pablo Iglesias and Íñigo Errejón threaten a lasting split and acute demoralization.
Cancerous Growth
The US cancer mortality rate is finally falling. But the gap in outcomes between the rich and the poor is actually widening — another reason why we need Medicare for All.
When King Was Dangerous
Martin Luther King Jr is remembered as a person of conscience who only carefully broke unjust laws. But his militant challenges to state authority place him in a much different tradition: radical labor activism.
Honoring Dr Du Bois
Shortly before his death, Martin Luther King delivered a speech at Carnegie Hall in honor of another legendary black radical: W. E. B. Du Bois. We reprint it here in full.
Without Workers, We Wouldn’t Have Democracy
All around the world, it wasn’t capitalist elites who gave us democracy. It was organized workers.
Toward Sudan’s Next Revolution
A popular revolt is spreading across Sudan. At stake is not just the fate of authoritarian President Omar al-Bashir, but the country’s whole power structure.
Assessing Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was one of the most important Communist leaders of the twentieth century. Celebrated by the West for his pro-market reforms, leftists should be more skeptical of his accomplishments.
The Conversion of Georg Lukács
Born-again communist, Hungarian revolutionary, Marxist heretic — Georg Lukács was condemned from all sides during his time. Perhaps that’s why he’s perfect for ours.
What LA Teachers Have Already Won
The Los Angeles teachers strike is part of a growing movement of teachers that have made gains by striking. It’s an example for the entire labor movement to follow.
There’s Nothing Feminist About Imperialism
Women now shape the American war machine at its highest levels. That’s nothing to celebrate.
Why They Hate the Women’s March
Both the Right and the center have every reason to fear the Women’s March — it’s advancing a radical vision of feminism for the 99 percent.