What Made Malcolm X Dangerous
Malcolm X challenged the violence of US power, abroad and at home. Donté Stallworth writes in Jacobin about how Malcolm’s radical internationalism, from Congo to Palestine, speaks to our moment.
19540 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Capitalism Is Changing, but Not Into “Neofeudalism”
Some left writers have argued that contemporary capitalism is mutating into a form of “neofeudalism” as tech barons run amok. But what we’re actually witnessing is an important shift within rather than a transition from capitalism.
Trump’s IRS Pick Promised Tax Benefits to Finance CEO
Trump’s pick to head the IRS, Billy Long, was invited to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as the guest of an executive who said Long promised him benefits for his financial services company.
Pavement Made Music About Selling Out Without Selling Out
Pavement, one of the most celebrated indie rock bands of the 1990s, grappled with the challenge of making a living from music without slotting into the corporate machine. A new documentary recreates the group’s spirit for a very different cultural age.
How Social Reactionaries Exploit Economic Nostalgia
Conservatives think we need to resurrect traditional hierarchies to reverse social decline. But what Americans miss about mid-century America isn’t the chauvinistic cultural values — it’s the economic equality created by strong unions and worker power.
When South African Unionists Struck for US Workers
In 1986, black workers in apartheid South Africa walked off the job in support of unionists in New Jersey. Their strike marked a rare moment of international labor solidarity at the height of deindustrialization and apartheid.
Republicanism Was Central to Karl Marx’s Thought
The republican tradition is an oft-overlooked strain of 19th-century politics, at odds with liberalism and many currents of socialism. It was key to Karl Marx’s thinking — and he himself drove it forward.
Israel Acts With Impunity, Europe Does Nothing
If a designated enemy country attacked shipping just outside the coastal waters of a European Union member state, Western leaders would be outraged. When Israel did it off Malta this month, they said nothing.
Materialism Is Essential for Socialist Politics
The socialist tradition was long associated with materialism, a view that has come under fire in recent decades. But materialism is both a legitimate and necessary foundation for left-wing politics.
The Right Has Embraced the Cancel Culture It Claimed to Hate
NYU’s decision to withhold Logan Rozos’s degree for denouncing genocide in Gaza in his graduation speech is the latest example of right-wing cancel culture. After criticizing it on the Left, conservatives have learned to rally “woke” mobs of their own.
The Portuguese Election Marks a Shift to the Right
In the decades after Portugal’s Carnation Revolution, many considered the country immunized from the far right. This has been challenged by the rise of Chega, the anti-immigrant party that won almost a quarter of the vote in Sunday’s election.
Corporations Are Working to Kneecap State Regulators
As Elon Musk and DOGE take a sledgehammer to federal agencies, corporate interests are mounting a coordinated effort to dismantle state-level rules and regulations, from environmental and consumer protections to worker safeguards.
Making Expensive Cities Into Union Towns
California boasts some of the most expensive cities in the country. Union organizing can help workers afford to live in those cities.
Trump’s Social Security Head Is Getting a Massive Tax Break
As Donald Trump works to undermine the Social Security Administration, his ultrarich Social Security commissioner, Frank Bisignano, was just approved for a giant tax break on a $484 million capital gains sale.
The AI and Copyright Issues Dividing Trump’s Court
The Trump coalition unites anti-corporate populists and libertarian futurists — two factions with irreconcilable views. The struggle over AI copyright underscores just how unstable that alliance has become.
Samsung’s Union Battle and the Crisis Facing Korean Labor
While the South Korean media has been focused on a snap presidential election, an important scandal has emerged involving the union that represents Samsung workers. It’s a cautionary tale about the difficulties facing organized labor in South Korea.
The Building Trades Want to Save the IRA
The Inflation Reduction Act has helped create good union jobs in the clean energy sector. Republicans want to derail this progress to pay for tax cuts for the rich. The building trades are starting to fight back, and environmentalists should join them.
The NJ Transit Strike Was a Long Time Coming
The New Jersey Transit engineers’ strike caught many commuters by surprise. But since 2019, the engineers have been working without a new contract while making less than their counterparts at Metro-North, Amtrak, and the Long Island Rail Road.
Karl Marx’s Legacy in the United States
For nearly two centuries, Karl Marx’s ideas have had a significant impact on US politics and intellectual life. In turn, Marx’s close study of the US informed the development of his ideas about capitalism and human freedom.
In Berlin, Nakba Day Took Place Under the Threat of Violence
Germany has clamped down on pro-Palestine protest more harshly than most other European states. Despite the threat of violent repression, protesters, many of whom were Jewish and Palestinian, gathered in Berlin to commemorate the Nakba.