The Spin Doctors
For decades, the American Medical Association has fought single-payer tooth and nail. But the US’s corporatized health system hurts doctors too — and cracks are forming in the AMA’s opposition to Medicare for All.
19633 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Podemos: A “Party-Movement” in Government
Upon its creation in 2014, Podemos insisted it was nothing like the political parties that had long dominated Spain. Today, Pablo Iglesias’s party looks like an ever-more institutionalized force — yet one whose activists continue to see themselves as belonging to a “social movement” from below.
Bernie’s Revolution Needs to Transform America’s Political Institutions
If we want to make Bernie Sanders’s political revolution a reality, we can’t just propose bold policies to make people’s lives better — we have to rebuild popular confidence in the possibilities of politics itself. And we can’t rebuild that confidence without democratizing the United States’s decidedly undemocratic political institutions.
Falling Without a Net
Recent data from the Center for Disease Control show an alarming spike in suicides across the United States. We can’t prevent every suicide by rebuilding our social safety net. But the uptick is a collective failure — one that requires political solutions.
There’s No Such Thing as Good Philanthropy
In the world of philanthropy, George Soros is about as good as it gets. But allowing plutocrats, even progressive ones, to decide what’s best for the rest of us is fundamentally unjust and undemocratic.
The Media Is Waking Up to a Possible Bernie Victory. Get Ready for the Backlash.
Mainstream pundits have recently realized what the rest of us have known all along: Bernie Sanders could actually win this thing. Don’t be surprised that every institution invested in the status quo will soon do everything possible to prevent both a Bernie Sanders nomination and a general election victory.
France’s Strikes Show the Unions Are Alive
On the eve of the financial crisis, Nicolas Sarkozy boasted that “when there is a strike, nobody even notices anymore.” But as France mounts its longest strike in decades, organized labor is once again showing its power — and its limits.
Rebecca Long-Bailey: Why I’m Running for Labour Party Leader
Labour needs a socialist leader who can work with our movement, rebuild our communities, and fight for the policies we believe in. MP Rebecca Long-Bailey explains why she’s running for her party’s leadership and why democratic socialism is humanity’s best hope.
The US Cannot Retaliate Against Iran’s Strikes in Iraq
There is only one morally justifiable response to tonight’s attack on US military bases, no matter what: the United States cannot escalate the conflict with Iran.
Now’s the Chance for Australia to Get Over Coal and Gas
Fires are ravaging Australia, but its government is only doubling down on coal and gas. A transition away from fossil fuels is needed more than ever, in Australia and everywhere else.
To Defeat Antisemitism, We Must Defeat Capitalism
Antisemitism endures because capitalist oppression needs a scapegoat. Only by democratizing the economy can the ancient hate finally be extinguished.
Trump Wants to Drag Us Into War With Iran. Bernie Is the Candidate to Stop Him.
Donald Trump will try to whip the US populace into a pro-war frenzy during his reelection campaign. To stop him, we need a candidate with a credible and consistent antiwar record. That’s not Biden, Buttigieg, or Warren — it’s Bernie Sanders.
Why the Labour Party Needs a Socialist as Its Leader
It’s not enough for Labour leadership candidates to just say they’ll support radical policies. They need to prove they’ll fight for them — against big business, the political establishment, and the billionaire-owned press.
Podemos Can Change How Spain Is Governed
The new government coalition between the PSOE and Podemos is a historic opportunity for the Spanish left. After years of rising nationalist tensions, Podemos can turn the agenda back to the fight against austerity.
AOC Is Right: She and Joe Biden Should Not Be in the Same Party
In a story released yesterday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she and Joe Biden “would not be in the same party” in a different country. Centrists freaked out. But she’s right — fighters for the working class like AOC and Bernie Sanders aren’t on the same team as defenders of Wall Street and war like Biden.
Rep. Ro Khanna on a Public Takeover of PG&E: “Why Can’t We Provide Power to Our Own Citizens?”
Ro Khanna is a progressive member of Congress from California. In an interview with Jacobin, he talks about the desperate need for public ownership of California’s electrical utility PG&E, the fight for a Green New Deal, and why he’s a co-chair of Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign.
Why Unions Are Good — But Not Good Enough
For socialists, unions are paradoxical organizations. On the one hand, unions are essential for creating a workers’ organization that can oppose capital and challenge it for power. But they are also an insufficient vehicle for mobilizing those workers to transform the world.
When Eastern Europe Left the World Behind
Far-right leaders like Viktor Orbán claim to be reversing decades of Westernization. Yet Eastern Europe’s nationalist turn began even before 1989 — as socialist regimes abandoned their pretense of international solidarity.
The Franc Zone, a Tool of French Neocolonialism in Africa
François Mitterrand warned that France would be irrelevant to twenty-first-century history unless it maintained its control of Africa. Its instrument for so doing is the CFA Franc — a colonial currency entrenching French rule more than fifty years after independence.
I Read Airbnb Magazine So You Don’t Have To
At a moment when capitalism is facing increasing scrutiny, and its apologists are under greater pressure to defend it, Airbnb Magazine reminds us of something that bears repeating about the ideologists of capital today: not only are they as stupid as ever, they seem to be getting desperate.