Why We Need Rent Control
Across the United States, we’re in the middle of a brutal housing crisis. We need rent control to get us out of it.
19513 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
After Israel’s Jenin Attack, It’s Time to Strengthen the BDS Movement
Israel’s rulers use culture as a propaganda tool while waging war on the cultural life of Palestinian society. The best way to challenge the normalization of Israeli apartheid on every front, including the cultural one, is through boycotts, divestment, and sanctions.
Yes, Israel Is an Apartheid State. That Means It’s a Racist One, Too.
In yet another reality-denying ritual of fealty to the pro-Israel lobby, members of Congress absurdly voted to say Israel was neither an apartheid state nor racist. Only a few progressives, including members of the Squad, stood firm in opposing the measure.
The Left Shouldn’t Get Too Excited About Joe Biden’s “Supply-Side Liberalism”
Pundits have lauded the Biden administration for replacing the free-market consensus with supply-side liberalism. But it is geopolitical tensions with China and labor’s weakness that have made elites feel comfortable with a milquetoast industrial policy.
Cultural Capital Is No Substitute for Cold, Hard Cash
The rich used to eat, dress, and even speak entirely differently from the masses. Today they wear T-shirts and sneakers just like the rest of us. But that doesn’t mean we’re all equal. It only lays bare the real source of inequality: actual money.
Richard Hofstadter’s “The Paranoid Style” Can’t Help Us Now
Sixty years after its publication, it’s time to lay Richard Hofstadter’s “The Paranoid Style in American Politics” to rest. Then as now, the classic essay has almost nothing to say about why conspiracies arise and prosper.
Republicans Are Trying to Block Joe Biden From Declaring a Climate Emergency
Amid extreme heat and wildfires, President Joe Biden could free up disaster relief funds and slash carbon emissions by declaring a climate emergency. But last month, a group of GOP lawmakers introduced a bill to prevent him from making such a declaration.
Keir Starmer Wants to Keep Children in Poverty
Just how far to the right is Keir Starmer willing to drag the Labour Party?
Ireland Should Resist the Pressure to Join the Western Military Bloc
Ireland’s neutrality policy has a complex history, but it has blocked Irish participation in disastrous wars and enabled some positive interventions in world affairs. We should resist pressure to scrap neutrality, whether or not it means formally joining NATO.
AI Is Being Used to Attack the Working Poor
In Australia, automated decision-making technologies have extorted half a million welfare recipients. Despite government recriminations, the use of artificial intelligence to harass workers is only gaining ground.
Michigan Amazon Workers Staged a Walkout on Prime Day
Joined by striking delivery drivers, last week Amazon workers in a Michigan warehouse staged the largest delivery station strike yet.
Americans Feel Negative About Biden’s Economy Because There’s a Lot to Feel Negative About
Pundits are insisting Americans only feel bad about the economy because they’re ignorant or delusional. But maybe it has something to do with the very real economic hardships Americans are still suffering three years after the worst of the pandemic economy.
André Gorz Was the Theorist Who Predicted the Revolt Against Meaningless Work
The COVID-19 pandemic led millions of people to question their meaningless jobs. French socialist thinker André Gorz anticipated this shift, sketching out a vision of a new civilization that would free us from the constraints of work.
Home Insurers Are Exploiting the Climate Crisis to Gut Consumer Protections
As the risk of wildfires and hurricanes continues to intensify in states like California and Florida, home insurers are shifting costs of climate-fueled disasters to homeowners by raising premiums and demanding that regulators relax consumer protections.
Why Germany Struggled to Reckon With the Nazi Past
For decades after 1945, the victims of Nazism’s crimes had less of a voice in West German society than the perpetrators. Germany’s much-credited reckoning with the Nazi past was a long time coming — but most of the criminals were never brought to justice.
No, Reactionary Gender Warriors Aren’t “Anti-Elitist”
Right-wing governments around Europe are funneling state funds to reactionary lobbies in the name of resisting “gender ideology.” Their supposed anti-elitism is a fraud.
Unionize the Postdocs
Postdoctoral research work is poorly paid and highly unstable. It’s also socially necessary, crucial to solving big problems like climate change and pandemics. For workers and the public, postdocs must unionize.
The US Military’s Defense of Affirmative Action Is Hypocritical and Self-Serving
In the recent SCOTUS case on affirmative action, the US government argued for the importance of race-conscious admissions at its military academies. This isn’t about “racial justice”: the military wants to use race in admissions to strengthen American empire.
Public-Private Partnerships Are a Deal With the Devil
Recent experiences with public-private partnerships in Canadian cities, like Ottawa’s light-rail disaster, reveal how the model prioritizes profit over quality, leaving citizens with higher costs and worse services.
Steven Soderbergh’s New Crime Series Full Circle Is Off to a Bumpy Start
The new neo-noir series Full Circle, directed by Steven Soderbergh, has big ideas to share about class, race, nationality, and crime. But so far it’s a slog to watch.