The Biden Administration Sat Out the Warrior Met Coal Miners’ Strike
Joe Biden promised to run the most pro-union administration in US history. But it offered no support to Alabama coal miners who were on strike for nearly two years.
19613 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Under Capitalism, We’re All Dominated by the Invisible Threads of the Market
At times, capitalism resorts to exceptional violence to subordinate workers. Much more commonly, however, it exercises an impersonal, economic form of power that shapes our environment and compels our compliance on a daily basis.
If Biden Really Wants to End Homelessness, He Needs to Support Public Housing
The Biden administration promised a humane and proactive approach to the nation’s housing and homelessness crises. Instead, we’ve gotten technocratic tinkering and homeless encampment sweeps. We need investment in public housing.
Brandon Johnson in 2014: “It’s Not Enough to Patch Poverty”
Former rank-and-file Chicago Teachers Union member and organizer Brandon Johnson advanced to a runoff election in the city’s mayoral race this week. In 2014, Jacobin interviewed Johnson about the CTU’s political strategy. We publish the conversation here.
The Blues Brothers Is a Wild Ride Through 1970s Chicago
The Blues Brothers is still a rollicking good time more than 40 years later, offering an exuberant look at 1970s Chicago in all its rough, working-class charm.
Elly Schlein Will Tilt Italy’s Democrats to the Left, but Don’t Expect Revolutionary Change
Italy’s Democratic primary handed victory to Elly Schlein, the most left-wing leader in the party’s history. Her success relied on mobilizing nonmembers — but she faces an uphill struggle overhauling a party long in thrall to corporate liberalism.
New Zealand Is Escalating Tensions Between China and the West
In recent years, New Zealand has massively increased its defense budget and strengthened military ties to the US to ward off what hawks see as Chinese aggression. These moves have only worsened relations between the West and China.
To Renew Working-Class Resistance, the Labor Movement Must Be Democratized
Charting a course toward labor’s revival requires a socialist political project suited to the current historical and social moment. To build this renewed working-class politics, the labor movement must be democratized.
Amazon Increasingly Sets the Conditions of Global Commerce That Everyone Else Operates In
A new report on Amazon’s third-party buyers argues that, rather than merely helping or hurting small businesses, the company has reshaped them in its own image, enlisting them as agents in its global expansion.
The Latest Bout of Inflation Doom-Mongering Doesn’t Add Up
Last week’s inflation data prompted an outpouring of alarmism and calls for the Fed to squeeze the economy even harder. Here’s why the doomsaying is wrong.
Even Right-Wing Think Tanks Are Finding High Support for Socialism
Poll after poll after poll keeps showing high levels of support for socialism in the United States and Canada — even when it’s conservatives doing the polling.
Iowa Republicans Want to Push Children Into the Workforce
The US’s miserly welfare state is known for forcing people to work rather than shielding them from the most exploitative jobs. And in Iowa, GOP lawmakers are taking the Dickensian cruelty further: they’re considering loosening restrictions on child labor.
Karl Kautsky Wrote Some Classic Works of Marxist History
The German Marxist thinker Karl Kautsky uncovered the radical history of Christianity, from the early years of the Church to the Reformation and the German Peasant War. His pioneering work in Marxist historiography deserves to be remembered today.
Kathy Hochul Says She’s for Safer Railroads — Right After Vetoing a Rail-Safety Law
In the wake of the East Palestine derailment, New York governor Kathy Hochul is calling for stricter federal regulations on hazmat trains. But last December, Hochul vetoed a proposed state law to improve rail safety by requiring minimum two-person train crews.
Turkey’s Earthquake Disaster Is a Story of Corporate Greed
The earthquake that struck Turkey last month was a natural disaster, but the staggering death toll is the result of construction firms dodging building safety regulations in pursuit of profit.
Brandon Johnson Is Heading to Chicago’s Mayoral Runoff as a Champion of the Working Class
The results of last night’s Chicago mayor election were stunning: former Chicago Teachers Union organizer Brandon Johnson advanced to an April runoff against neoliberal architect Paul Vallas — pitting working-class power against austerity.
Saint Omer Has Secured Alice Diop’s Place as One of France’s Best Filmmakers
Alice Diop made her name making subversive documentaries about multicultural working-class France. Her latest film, Saint Omer, fictionalizes a trial that led to a national scandal: a Senegalese-born woman who claimed witchcraft led her to murder her child.
Railroad Industry Lobbyists Are Paying Politico to Tout Train Safety
The rail industry’s top lobbying group is paying Politico to convince the public that railroad companies are committed to public safety — at the same time the railroad industry is actually fighting new safety rules.
Americans Are Struggling With Inflation. Corporations Are Not.
Whether eggs, flour, or baby formula, the household goods that have seen some of the steepest price increases and majorly squeezed average Americans have also made their manufacturers incredible amounts of profit.
No One Should Have to Spend Most of Their Income on Rent
Renting a one-bedroom apartment in Lisbon costs a massive 63% of the average resident’s wage. Faced with one of Europe’s worst housing markets, Portugal’s government has proposed to subsidize rents — but critics say it’s another handout to landlords.