Arts for the Many
Successive UK governments have been slashing arts funding for decades. Labour is promising to reinvest.
19622 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
This UK General Election Is a Choice Between Imperialism and Internationalism
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is running on a platform of peace and human rights. The Tories are running on a record of weapons sales to oppressive regimes and covert wars. The choice is clear.
The Tories Are Literally Dying Off
They may win next week’s general election, but in Great Britain the Tories are struggling to win over anyone under the age of 45. And younger generations don’t seem to be going Conservative as they get older. The Conservative Party has a serious problem.
Why the Early German Socialists Opposed the World’s First Modern Welfare State
Otto von Bismarck built the world’s first welfare state, but his intent was to kill the rising workers’ movement. It’s a reminder that socialists don’t just want to use the welfare state to keep starvation at bay — we want to build the foundation for working-class emancipation.
Liberals Should Stop Wringing Their Hands Over Voting Labour
There are only two real choices in the UK election — Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour and Boris Johnson’s Tories. Comfortable liberals who claim to be “politically homeless” are exposing their cluelessness about the misery and havoc another Tory government will impose on ordinary Britons.
Against Self-Driving Cars
Instead of spending billions developing driverless cars we should be building sustainable people-centered transportation.
Why Leftists Should Support Hong Kong’s Fight for Democratic Rights
In Hong Kong, leftists of all kinds support ongoing protests for democracy and civil liberties. Leftists everywhere else should, too.
France Is Striking to Stop Emmanuel Macron
December 5 is strike day in France, as trade unions mobilize against Emmanuel Macron’s assault on pensions. But as the gilets jaunes protests have shown, only a movement rallying wider layers of working people will be able to push back Macron’s neoliberal agenda.
Riding the Fence on Medicare for All Isn’t Smart Politics
With Kamala Harris out of the race and Elizabeth Warren’s numbers dropping, recent weeks haven’t been kind to candidates who have equivocated on Medicare for All. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate whose support for M4A is solid and unchanging — a stance that’s not only morally correct but politically smart.
Why the Pundit Class Loves Amy Klobuchar
Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar has been crowned by mainstream pundits as a Highly Electable Candidate. There’s only one problem — people hate her platform and no one wants to vote for her.
The Power of the Black Working Class
Over the last four hundred years, black workers have played a vital role in shaping the US’s political economy. In order to understand America, we have to understand the struggles of the black working class.
When Colombia Caught Fire
Colombian politics have long been dominated by strongmen insisting on the need for “tough security measures.” But right now, with strikes and demonstrations gripping the country, it’s Colombia’s hard-right government overseeing atrocities — not the guerrilla insurgents.
Chileans Are Hungry for an Alternative to Neoliberalism
After continuous mass protests in Chile, left forces in the country may be able to build a governing majority. But whether they can or not, it’s clear that huge swaths of the country are desperate for an alternative to the neoliberal order that has reigned in the country for decades.
Who’s Winning the Vampire Squid Primary?
From Bill Clinton to Barack Obama, top Democrats have long been beholden to the predatory and socially useless private equity industry. This time, the finance bros are donating in droves to Biden, Buttigieg . . . and Deval Patrick (?). They just really want to stop Bernie Sanders.
The Astroturfed Campaign to Undermine Medicare For All
Every time you hear a Democratic politician bashing Medicare for All, just remember: health insurance hacks are directly supplying politicians with anti-single-payer talking points so they can protect their enormous profits.
Chile Finally Has an Opportunity to Bury Pinochet’s Legacy
After weeks of unrest in Chile, Sebastián Piñera’s government has finally agreed to a process of constitutional reform. It’s a historic opportunity, won by millions of Chileans taking to the streets, to step out from the long shadow of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
The SPD Needs More Than Just New Leaders
After more than 20 years of dogmatic neoliberalism, Germany’s Social Democrats have elected their first left-leaning leadership in a generation. But it may be too late to win back workers.
The NHS Is Already Disappearing, and There’s Only One Way to Stop It
For 40 years, the Tories — along with New Labour — have sworn up and down that they support the NHS while surreptitiously hollowing it out. Last week, Jeremy Corbyn caught them red-handed, showing once again that the program will only be safe under a Labour government.
The Transatlantic Health-Care Struggle
American advocates of Medicare for All should show our solidarity with Britain’s working class as it fights to save its National Health Service from privatization at the hands of Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, and the predatory American health-care industry — the same industry that’s fighting tooth and nail against Medicare for All here at home.
Bolivia’s Coup Government Is a Far-Right Horror Show
The coup-makers that violently deposed Evo Morales last month haven’t even tried to hide their far-right politics. Racist revanchism, backed by Christian fundamentalism, is now the order of the day in Bolivia.