Why the Starbucks Union Drive Matters for All Workers
Starbucks workers are channeling the frustration shared by millions of food service workers into a unionization drive. It’s the most exciting new organizing campaign in the United States.
19506 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Keep Capitalists Off the Moon
Libertarian think tanks are already gearing up to make the dystopian case for extending private property rights to the moon. It’s a blueprint for expanding the power of the world’s plutocrats on a scale never seen before.
Democrats Are Ditching Class, and It’s Costing Them Working-Class Voters
Neither mainstream American political party has a compelling message for working-class voters. As a result, voters are starting to vote in line with their cultural opinions, not their class interests. Unfortunately, that’s good news for the Right.
Elites Want to “Save” American Democracy by Signing Its Death Warrant
Once again, pundits have begun beating the drums for a presidential ticket split between a Democrat and a Republican in 2024. It’s a return to the elitist thinking that was still dominant in 2016 — and a recipe for disaster in the fight against the Right.
Did the Pandemic Give Modern Monetary Theory a Tryout?
The New York Times suggests that Modern Monetary Theory had a real moment in the sun after the pandemic-induced economic contraction. But monetary and fiscal stimulus is just the normal way of responding to recessions.
English Life After Empire
As British political life exhibits ever more morbid symptoms, the reissue of Elizabeth Taylor’s 1971 novel Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is well-timed. Its sharply observed and amusing portrait of England’s post-imperial decline speaks to us across the decades.
Joe Biden Is Quietly Pursuing the Creeping Privatization of Medicare
The Biden administration has quietly decided to continue a Trump administration scheme whose ultimate goal is the privatization of Medicare. Americans would be outraged — if anyone knew about it.
Give Hazard Pay to Public Transit Workers
Throughout the country, transit workers have kept cities and towns moving despite unsafe working conditions, angry passengers refusing to wear masks, and over 200 dying. They deserve hazard pay — and much more.
The US Devastated the Marshall Islands — And Is Now Refusing to Aid the Marshallese People
The Marshall Islands was the site of a massive 1954 US nuclear bomb test and dozens more nearby. The tests absolutely devastated the small island nation, but the US — including President Joe Biden today — has steadfastly refused to make real amends for it.
Pharmaceutical Monopolies Are Still Preventing Full Access to COVID Vaccines Around the World
South African scientists are nearly finished reverse engineering Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. They are forced to waste precious time and resources recreating a vaccine that already exists, because for-profit science protects industry profits over human life.
Suharto’s US-Backed Coup in Indonesia Supplied a Template for Worldwide Mass Murder
Under the leadership of Sukarno, postcolonial Indonesia was an optimistic country finding its place on the world stage. Suharto’s 1965 coup drowned that experiment in blood, with US politicians and media cheering on his campaign of mass killings.
Snowpiercer Asks Us to Imagine the End of the World — And the End of Capitalism
The Snowpiercer franchise turns 40 this year. The struggles and defeats of the climate change era have emboldened and disheartened its creators by turns, but the sleeper hit’s key dilemma — whether to smash the system or seize control — still rings true.
Keir Starmer Wants to Fight Yesterday’s Wars
Keir Starmer’s attacks on the Left show he’s desperate to reassert Labour’s role as America’s closest ally. But with events from Afghanistan to Ukraine showing the limits of US interventionism, British centrists are longing for a now-past age of neocon power.
The Cryptocurrency Industry Is Cozying Up to Lawmakers in Washington
The blockchain industry is coming under increasing scrutiny — but that isn’t stopping crypto interests from enlisting allies in Washington’s halls of power.
The Supreme Court Is More Unpopular Than It’s Been in Decades
Centrist liberals want to bolster the Supreme Court’s political legitimacy. Conservatives want to use it to advance minority rule. But as a new appointment looms, there’s a better alternative: loosening the court’s undemocratic stranglehold on US government.
Jeff Bezos Wants All of Us to Satisfy His Every Whim
A billionaire literally dismantling public infrastructure to serve his most superficial whim — Jeff Bezos’s recent attempt to get the city of Rotterdam to dismantle its historic bridge to fit his gigantic yacht feels like a metaphor for our current stage of capitalism.
The Left in Purgatory
Socialists in the United States are stuck. How do we become masters of our own fate?
We Can Decommodify Housing Through Eminent Domain
Eminent domain has long been used to displace working-class people of color in Los Angeles, as in many cities. In a twist, a group of LA tenants is campaigning to use eminent domain to save themselves from eviction.
Japanese Militarism Has Put the People of Okinawa on the Firing Line
Okinawans have long campaigned against the massive US military bases that dominate their island. But the Japanese state is pressing ahead with a new base against their will, placing the island on the front line in a region made more dangerous by US saber-rattling against China.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves About Marriage Are Wrong
Our society is deeply invested in a rosy version of romance while offering little support for families to survive the challenges of marriage and child-rearing. We can’t survive those challenges without honest narratives about the maddening realities of love.