Marxists Changed How We Understand History
Marxist historians in Britain — like E. P. Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm — sparked a revolution in understanding the role of working people in making history. Their work is still fresh and vibrant today.
19687 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Why Foxconn Workers in China Walked Off the Job
Last last month, dramatic images of Chinese workers jumping over fences at the electronics giant Foxconn’s factories and walking home grabbed headlines. Despite China’s lack of independent trade unions, the workers took collective action and refused to work.
How Oil Workers in Trinidad and Tobago Fought to Revolutionize Fossil Fuels
Faced with job losses, oil workers in Trinidad and Tobago put forward a plan for worker ownership. Their fight shows how workers in fossil fuel industries can play a central role in reorienting production to social need.
Far-Right “Landlordism” Wants to Dispossess Entire Populations
From Israel to Brazil, violent far-right forces have taken up the language of “landlords” defending their threatened property. Their war on the dispossessed is built on a simple claim: we own this country, you only live here.
Canada’s Liberals Expect the Working Class to Bear the Brunt of the Economic Downturn
Other than suspending student loan interest, Canada’s fall economic statement promises next to nothing for workers. Bloodless technocratic tinkering is never enough, but during times of crisis, leaving structural change off the table is indefensible.
Greg Abbott Is Texas’s Most Powerful Governor Ever. That’s Bad for Working People.
Texas governor Greg Abbott has forever changed the state’s politics. To undo the damage he has caused, we can’t rely on top-down initiatives. We need a working-class alternative.
Jeremy Corbyn: We Need a National Care Service
Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, and the country’s care sector is in crisis after years of austerity and privatization. That’s why former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says that the UK needs a National Care Service.
To Make Sense of Modern China, Look to Mao Zedong’s Long March to Power
In the 1920s, China’s Communist Party retreated from the cities to the countryside to wage a protracted guerrilla war. This long separation from the Chinese working class fostered an autocratic culture that went on to shape the party’s rule over China.
Crypto Champion Sam Bankman-Fried’s Road to Ruin Leads Straight to Capitol Hill
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX cryptocurrency exchange, rose swiftly as a Democratic mega-donor, rubbing shoulders with elites as he lobbied for crypto-friendly regulation. With FTX collapsing now, it’s clear his politicking demanded scrutiny long ago.
We’re in an Evictions Crisis. Here Are 4 Steps to End It.
When housing is a profit-making venture rather than a human right, we’re perpetually stuck in an evictions crisis. Right now, that crisis is particularly dire. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
The Killing Floor Is a Crucial Work of Art About American Labor
Few films capture the difficulties of interracial working-class organizing as well as the 1984 movie The Killing Floor, a drama about black slaughterhouse workers attempting to build a union with white ethnic coworkers in Chicago’s World War I–era stockyards.
In Massachusetts, Unions Beat Billionaires to Pass a Tax on the Rich
Voters in Massachusetts just ratified the Fair Share Amendment, which taxes income above $1 million to fund public services. A broad coalition of labor and community groups took on billionaire money and won.
Sweden’s New Government Shows How Liberals Sold Out to the Far Right
Four years ago, Ulf Kristersson promised a Holocaust survivor he’d never cooperate with the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats. Now he’s prime minister of a government dependent on their support — an unholy alliance of liberals and the far right.
Centrists Were Wrong: Left-Wing Candidates Won
It’s hard to look at Tuesday’s election results and still take seriously the centrist attack line claiming that left-wing candidates aren’t electable. We won plenty of big races to be proud of.
Bad New York Democrats Might’ve Lost the Election
The New York Democratic Party’s leaders made horrible decisions that gave away seats to Republicans. We might have them to blame for right-wingers taking over the House of Representatives.
Voters Went Left on Health Care in Tuesday’s Midterms
In this week’s midterms, Medicaid expansion and abortion rights proved popular, even in red states. It shows how popular left-wing views on health care can be and why socialists should keep talking about them.
Krystal Ball: Why Politicians Like John Fetterman Won
It turns out when you promise to do even the bare minimum for people, they tend to vote for you. The more Democrats act like John Fetterman and the less they act like Larry Summers, the more they’ll win in the Rust Belt.
This Armistice Day, Let’s Salute Britain’s Attempt to Build a Country “Fit for Heroes”
The phrase “a country fit for heroes” expressed the spirit of social reform that was seen as WWI veterans’ just reward for service. It was a promise of health and well-being for everyone — a tonic against the forces of austerity that we should revive.
Democrats May Have Won More Suburban Votes in the Midterms. That Doesn’t Bode Well.
If Democrats survived this week’s midterms because they increased their share of wealthier voters, it’s a bad omen for building a working-class coalition around left-wing politics. Something needs to change.
After Imran Khan’s Ouster, Pakistan Is Going Through an Unprecedented Political Crisis
Pakistan’s ousted leader, Imran Khan, is continuing his bid to regain power after surviving an assassination attempt last week. With the traditional parties discredited and divisions opening up in the military, the country is entering uncharted waters.