When Greta Garbo Played a Soviet Agent
Today marks the anniversary of Greta Garbo’s death. The 1939 movie Ninotchka gave her a breakout comedy role — but also reflected the grim mood in Hollywood as Europe headed to war.
19545 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Joe Biden Can’t Seek Peace in Ukraine Without a Robust Antiwar Movement
A Chinese proposal for peace in Ukraine has been gaining traction, including from the two warring sides. The question is whether the Biden administration will lend its support — a prospect that will likely require antiwar organizing in the United States.
Rashida Tlaib Is Right: The Attempt to Extradite Julian Assange Is a Huge Threat to Press Freedom
Rashida Tlaib is leading a group in Congress calling on Joe Biden to halt extradition proceedings against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. The prosecution of Assange should worry anyone who believes in freedom of the press.
Canada’s Public Servants Are Ready to Strike
Canada’s public servants have experienced effective pay cuts as higher prices erode their purchasing power. To fight for higher wages to cope with the affordability crisis, they are now readying to strike.
Karl Marx Knew That the Struggle for Reforms Was Part of the Struggle for Socialism
The tendency of some modern-day Marxists to pit reform against revolution is diametrically opposed to the vision of Karl Marx himself.
Seattle Has Banned Caste Discrimination, a First Outside South Asia
In Seattle, a bill advanced by socialist city council member Kshama Sawant has outlawed caste discrimination. She and Cornel West argue in Jacobin that the law is a victory against oppression.
Abortion Rights Are Workers’ Rights
Amid escalating attacks on abortion rights, health care workers at Planned Parenthood are forming unions — and their employers are retaliating. In a post-Roe world, the fight for reproductive justice and the struggle for labor rights are intimately linked.
No, Socialism Isn’t About Envying the Rich
Socialists aren’t driven by envy of the “more successful.” We are socialists because we want workers to have what’s rightfully theirs — and we know a world with less greed and envy, and where everyone has what they need, is possible.
Police Exist to Manage and Contain the Surplus Population
The 2020 George Floyd protests made millions of Americans aware of the horrors of police violence. But to build a mass movement to end that violence, we must recognize that police control people of all races who are unable to legally make ends meet.
Elon Musk Is Waging War on Freedom of Speech on Twitter
It was supposed to be a new day for free speech on Elon Musk’s Twitter. Instead, the petulant billionaire has actually clamped down on speech.
Ben Affleck’s Air Is a Deranged Corporate Folktale About a Sneaker
Air’s origin story about the Michael Jordan–endorsed sneaker is far too high on its own supply.
Rutgers Is Shortchanging Faculty While Pumping Millions Into Hedge Funds
Faculty at Rutgers University are on strike for the first time ever because the school refuses to pay instructors living wages. Meanwhile, the university keeps plowing more of its endowment into poorly performing hedge fund investments.
Rashida Tlaib and the Squad Are Demanding Julian Assange’s Freedom
Lawmakers around the world are again calling on the US to halt its unprecedented prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. For the first time, they are being joined by US congressmembers, led by Rashida Tlaib.
Britain’s Junior Doctors’ Strike Is About Putting an End to Austerity
More than a decade of cuts under the Conservatives has left Britain’s National Health Service dangerously understaffed and underfunded. After years of pay cuts, junior doctors are fighting back to protect patients and the NHS.
The 1873 Colfax Massacre Was a Racist Attack on Black People’s Democratic Rights
The worst episode of Reconstruction Era violence occurred 150 years ago today in northern Louisiana. The 1873 Colfax Massacre saw white supremacists slaughter 150 African Americans, brutally thwarting their hopes for autonomy and self-governance.
Graduate Workers at Stanford University Are Organizing a Union
The higher ed unionization wave may soon reach Stanford University, where graduate student workers are trying to form a union. Jacobin spoke with two worker-organizers about their organizing effort.
Kamala Harris Poured Some Old Wine Into New Bottles on Her Tour of Africa
Media reports presented Kamala Harris’s recent trip to Africa as a historic departure for US policy toward the continent. Beneath the hype, however, the Biden administration is carrying on with the same militarized, self-serving approach as its predecessors.
Jenny Odell’s New Book, Saving Time, Is a Self-Help Manual for the Anxious Middle Class
Dressed in radical language, Jenny Odell’s new book, Saving Time, offers up positive thinking as a solution to exploitation. But the real reason people don’t have enough spare time is that low wages and high rents force them to work constantly.
Brandon Johnson Won in Chicago. Now His Movement Will Have to Beat Capital Strikes.
Brandon Johnson’s mayoral victory is a first step toward transforming the deeply unequal city. If he’s going to undertake radical reform efforts in Chicago, Johnson needs protests and strikes to fend off the inevitable capitalist attacks.
How Saudi Arabia’s Rulers Became Best Friends With Israel
Both junior US allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia have nurtured ever warmer relations in recent years. But Saudi Arabia’s closeness to Israel is also a source of criticism at home, setting it at odds with broad public support for Palestine.