What LGBTQ Workers Need
The Supreme Court should rule in favor of LGBTQ workers. But whether it does or doesn’t, those workers need unions and stronger labor laws to fight discrimination.
20417 Article(s) by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
Never Forget What the Fascists Did
In Bulgaria, campaigns that equate Communism with Nazism aren’t about defending democracy against “Russian meddling,” they’re about rehabilitating Bulgarian fascism and its complicity in the Holocaust.
Why Is the American Federation of Teachers Giving Away Educators’ Rights in Puerto Rico?
Unions should fight for both their members and the entire working class. Yet in Puerto Rico, the American Federation of Teachers affiliate is doing neither, partnering with the island’s unaccountable Fiscal Control Board to impose massive cuts to teachers’ retirement funds.
Trump’s Assault on Labor
Donald Trump’s bait and switch with American workers is his greatest fraud of all. While uttering meaningless platitudes about fighting for workers, he is setting back the labor movement in ways that previous administrations could never do.
The Woke NBA Only Cares About Profit
Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey might get fired for tweeting in solidarity with Hong Kong protesters. For all the NBA’s liberal pretenses, it’s a reminder that the league — and woke capital as a whole — really cares about profits, not principles.
The US Economy Is a System of Plunder
Runaway inequality, regressive taxes, rampant labor exploitation. It’s often said the US economy “isn’t working,” but the truth is that capitalism is a class system that’s working exactly as intended.
On Foreign Policy, Bernie Stands Alone
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who has absorbed the sobering lessons of US empire and embraced the internationalist traditions of democratic socialism. When it comes to foreign policy, there is only one candidate of the Left.
Make GM Government Motors Again
Let’s nationalize General Motors. Why not? We could completely overhaul the company to benefit its workers, the planet, and the entire society.
The Annihilation of Rojava
A US withdrawal from Syria that cleared the way for the destruction of the Kurds’ radical democratic experiment would not serve the cause of peace — and it would not be a blow to US imperialism.
Putting Green Paint on the Austrian Right
Austria’s general election brought welcome setbacks for the far-right Freedom Party. But the surging Green Party looks ready to betray its founding mission and form a government with establishment conservatives.
Fake It Before, During, and After You Make It
Netflix’s The Politician brilliantly portrays how genuine feelings have become a valuable commodity traded for money, power, and fame. The series speaks to a basic fact about capitalism: there’s nothing that can’t be commodified — even authenticity.
Bernie Sanders Is Spoiling for a Fight With the DNC
With his new campaign finance reform plan, Sanders takes aim at Democratic Party kingmakers and their lobbyist friends. In a crowded field, this audacity sets him apart.
“A Communist Doesn’t Whine — He Shows His Teeth”
Theodor Bergmann, the last surviving member of the pre–World War II German Communist movement, spoke to Jacobin.
Why Voter Turnout Is So Low in the United States
From the very founding of the United States, elites have worked to disenfranchise and suppress voters — because they know a mobilized electorate of workers and poor people would transform the country.
One Side Fought for Freedom at Stalingrad
This June brought the first English translation of Vasily Grossman’s Stalingrad. Movingly illustrating the tragedies of wartime Soviet society, Grossman’s epic novel is a nonetheless powerful rebuke to those who equate Nazism and those who fought against it.
Ask Labor Jane: How Can We Organize Worried Immigrant Workers?
Jane McAlevey argues that bosses will always try to divide native-born and immigrant workers — that’s what they do. Our response, in union drives and politics as a whole, has to be unconditional solidarity.
What the Left Should Do in Portugal
Riding a narrative of stability and economic growth, the center-left won elections in Portugal yesterday. But the country’s recovery is precarious. We need to push for a total break with austerity.
The Anatomy of MSNBC
More than any other media outlet, MSNBC embodies the politics and sensibility of Trump-era liberalism. But the network that many call the “liberal Fox News” wasn’t always liberal.
Buying the Tory Party
The recent Tory Party conference featured a perp walk of corporate ghouls — from public service privatizers to gig economy scammers and arms industry lobbyists — rubbing shoulders with government ministers.
The Left Can Win in Portugal
Today, Portugal votes on whether to reelect a government influenced by the radical left — or else turn back toward the failed austerity policies of the neoliberal center.