No, We Don’t Need These Forever Wars
China doesn’t have an empire. The United States doesn’t need to saber-rattle. And we really don’t need to fight these forever wars.
20407 Article(s) by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
To Defend Public Health, We Need More Than Lockdowns
Across Europe, lockdown measures have slowed the transmission of COVID-19, but the consequences for precarious workers and those in poor housing conditions have often been bleak. A socialist response has to go beyond telling us to stay at home — it has to challenge the deeper inequalities the pandemic has exposed.
Fentanyl Is the Genie That Won’t Go Back in the Bottle
Two bandmates saw their sons both overdose on fentanyl in the space of a few years. The synthetic opioid crisis is more out of control than many realize, and the coronavirus pandemic has only made it worse.
Sen. Chris Coons’s Defense of Vaccine Apartheid Is Obscene
Many political and business leaders are defending unethical vaccine patent hoarding. But Sen. Chris Coons recently achieved new levels of repulsiveness, invoking Red Scare rhetoric, the Capitol riot, and the Constitution to justify protecting Big Pharma’s profits.
15 Salvadoran Military Officers Could Soon Go on Trial for the El Mozote Massacre
The 1981 El Mozote massacre was one of the most horrific crimes in the US-backed dirty war in El Salvador. Fifteen retired military officers could soon go on trial for the crime — spotlighting again the blood-drenched horrors of US imperialism in Central America.
Eric Hobsbawm’s Success Was Because of His Marxism, Not in Spite of It
A new documentary on Eric Hobsbawm presents a sensitive portrait of a historian who achieved international acclaim despite his Communist politics. Yet Hobsbawm’s Marxism is fundamental to understanding his work, and why he undertook it in the first place.
Europe’s Border Guards Are Illegally Expelling Refugees
Border guards expelling Syrian refugees after they’ve already been granted asylum has shown the hollowness of European Union humanitarianism. An expansion of the EU-wide Frontex force will make things even worse.
Is the French Military a Threat to Democracy?
An open letter by retired generals warns French president Emmanuel Macron that unless he clamps down on anti-racist movements, the armed forces will step in to “restore order.” In a country with a long history of military coups, the spread of far-right talking points is undermining democracy.
The Long Struggle to Save City College of San Francisco
The fight to save City College of San Francisco from closure is a story about how educators around the country can defeat the onslaught of austerity against public schools serving working-class students.
Saudi Arabia Is Trying to Sell Its Ultra-Authoritarian Monarchy to Middle America
In recent months, the Saudi lobby has increasingly moved from K Street to Main Street — traveling widely outside the Beltway in a bid to shore up support for the country’s brutal monarchy.
Class Struggle Built the Welfare State
The welfare state wasn’t created by enlightened dialogue or “sensible” moderate politics. It was a concession won by workers against bosses through decades of struggle.
The Manhattan DA Race Could Be a Disaster for the Left
Next month, a little-discussed election will decide who will occupy one of the country’s most powerful offices: the Manhattan district attorney. But a divided left could throw the race to a Wall Street–funded opponent of criminal justice reform.
New York State Could Finally Get Single-Payer Health Care
For the first time since it was introduced 30 years ago, New York state’s single-payer health care bill, the New York Health Act, has the votes to pass — at least on paper. But getting it signed into law will take a major grassroots mobilization.
Rich People Are Fueling Climate Catastrophe — But Not Mostly Because of Their Consumption
Rich people have enormous carbon footprints. But the fundamental problem with their climate impact isn’t what they consume — it’s that they own the means of production, and it’s extremely profitable for them to pollute.
Australian Women Don’t Need Scott Morrison’s Empty Rhetoric — They Need Economic Justice
Scott Morrison has responded to scandals over misogyny and sexual assault with token gestures and hollow words that won’t get near the root of the problem. In order to challenge sexism, we have to empower working-class women through economic justice and redistributive policies.
Extremism Is on the Rise in Israel
Extremist Israelis marched in Jerusalem last week chanting “Death to Arabs.” It’s part of a deeply worrying trend of rising far-right Zionism in a country that was already saturated in it.
The Long History of Mexican-American Radicalism
Mexican-American workers have a long tradition of radical organizing, stretching back to the days of the Industrial Workers of the World and the mid-century Communist Party. And in 1968, with a longtime Communist Chicano family at the center, Mexican-American students in LA launched the largest student walkout in US history.
Mare of Easttown Is a Welcome Addition to the Small-Town Murder Mystery Genre
HBO’s Mare of Easttown is constructed around a familiar, virtually surefire plot: a shocking crime in a small town leads to an investigation that ultimately reveals every major local scandal in an astoundingly errant community. And it works.
May Day 1971 Was a Day Against War
Fifty years ago today, on May Day 1971, thousands of antiwar protesters descended on Washington, DC, to protest the Vietnam War. The ensuing three days of disruptive actions directly confronted the Nixon administration — and resulted in the largest civil disobedience–related detentions in US history.
The Nazis Stole May Day, But Socialists Took It Back
To win over German workers and replace their socialist loyalties with fascism, the Third Reich made a Nazi version of May Day a national holiday. But the real International Workers’ Day is the one that lives on today.