Between Washington and Beijing
The conventional wisdom about the Hong Kong protests is wrong. The threat to Hong Kong’s already-weak democracy comes not only from China’s authoritarian state capitalism but the West’s neoliberalism.
19576 Articles by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Why America’s Teachers’ Unions Must Endorse Bernie Sanders
No other presidential candidate has anywhere near as strong a platform on public education as Bernie Sanders. That’s why America’s teachers’ unions should endorse him for president.
Bernie Sanders Is Right: 50 Million Lose Their Insurance Each Year
Mainstream fact-checkers keep accusing Bernie Sanders of false claims that are certifiably true. A recent example: his statement during the Democratic debate that 50 million people lose their health insurance every year.
Why Greta is Good
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager and climate activist, has grabbed the world’s attention and kept it focused on the threat of climate change. She’s an unlikely leader of a world movement — and yet uniquely suited for that role.
Trump’s New SNAP Rules Will Cause a National Public Health Crisis
The Trump administration is about to remove 3.5 million people from food stamps entirely. The consequence will be a massive health crisis for working-class people.
Lawfare: The Technocrats’ War on Democracy
The jailing of former Brazilian president Lula shows the power of “lawfare,” the use of spurious legal action for political ends. Former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and France Insoumise’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon discuss how legal harassment has become a key weapon against the Left around the world.
“Polarization” Is a Fact — Get Used to It
Pete Buttigieg is just the latest Democrat to denounce “polarization.” But American society is already divided — and anyone claiming we don’t need to pick a side is already siding with the status quo.
“If You Have Border Installations, People Will Shoot at Them”
Fifty years since British troops were deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland, the peace process is again in danger. The turmoil surrounding Brexit has raised hopes of Irish unity — but also risks a fresh descent into violence.
Only the Poor Die Young
In capitalist America, the rich are outliving the poor at an alarming rate. It’s a grim reality and there’s only one way to end it definitively — moving toward socialism.
How Decades of Neoliberalism Led to the Era of Right-Wing Populism
Right-wing neoliberalism’s assault on the very idea of society laid the groundwork for today’s right-wing nationalist backlash. But the Left’s hands aren’t entirely clean either.
Joker and the Long History of Movie Moral Panics
Moral panics about provocative films like ‘Joker’ are as old as cinema itself. But more often than not, they’re just proof of a film’s merit — and of a deeply anxious middle class.
GM Strikers Are Waging a Battle on Two Fronts
Almost 50,000 UAW workers are on strike against GM and a two-tier labor system that undermines worker solidarity. But members may need to wage a battle on two fronts — against the company, but also against their own union leadership.
The New Benchmark for Progressives on Housing
You want to call yourself a progressive? Demand national rent control, just-cause eviction, and billions of dollars of funding for new affordable and social housing, as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have recently endorsed. Anything less is an unacceptable concession.
James Connolly, a Socialist for the Present
In his recent James Connolly lecture, Labour’s John McDonnell praised the Irish revolutionary as a formative influence on his politics. Connolly’s republicanism isn’t just of historical interest — it tells socialists how to think about democratizing society today.
Israel Elects Apartheid
Benjamin Netanyahu might have taken a hit in the Israeli elections. But whether or not he forms the next government, Israel’s occupation will continue — and Palestinians will have their democratic rights snuffed out.
Striking GM Workers Aren’t Backing Down
Nearly 50,000 UAW members are on strike for the third day. For years, they’ve been hit with plant closings, pay cuts, and two-tier contracts — and they aren’t ready to make concessions.
A Shit Job for One Is a Shit Job for All
Last week’s passage of a bill in the California state legislature ending the rampant misclassification of workers as independent contractors was a huge win. The bill was animated by the spirit of unions fighting for the entire working class — the exact principle that should animate all unions.
Ban Private Jets
We know who’s responsible for the climate crisis: rich people. Nowhere is this clearer than in aviation, with billionaires’ private jets ravaging the planet. We need to ban them now.
Andrew Yang and the Failson Mystique
America has already witnessed the largest UBI experiment known to history — the postwar middle-class housewife. And she was utterly miserable.
Bernie Sanders Probably Won the WFP Membership Vote
The Working Families Party won’t release its membership’s vote on who to endorse for president, so here’s our math: Bernie probably won.