Booze and Socialism
German socialists knew the craze for schnapps was a plague on working-class life. They fought it by building their organizations around beer.
106 Article(s) by: Loren Balhorn
Loren Balhorn is editor in chief of Jacobin’s German-language edition.
Germany’s European Empire
In today’s Germany, Wolfgang Streeck argues, politicians laud “Europe” — while quietly using EU structures to advance German national interests.
Joschka Fischer’s Long March
How the Green Party wunderkind transformed German capitalism, and with it, himself.
Germany’s 28-Hour Workweek
Last month German metal workers won the right to a 28-hour workweek — after going on strike to demand a better work-life balance.
No Corbyn in Sight
A membership surge in the German Social Democratic Party has sparked talks of a Corbyn-like transformation. But don’t get too excited just yet.
The Soviet Hippies
A look at counterculture behind the Iron Curtain.
Germany Is Not an Island
Germany's elections show that the country is not insulated from a crisis-prone Europe, but part and parcel of it.
The Merkel Effect
As German elections loom this Sunday, cracks may be starting to show in Merkel's radical centrist reign.
In the Belly of the Beast
German workers fighting for a fair contract with Amazon could transform the service sector on a global scale.
Die Linke’s Identity Crisis
With parliamentary elections looming this fall, the German left party is struggling to present itself as an exciting alternative to the status quo.
The Lost History of Antifa
72 years after the triumph over Nazism, we look back to postwar Germany, when socialists gave birth to Antifa.
Winning Power, Not Just Government
For twenty-five years, European left parties have joined broad coalition governments and come out with nothing to show for it.
After Tragedy and Farce: Martin Schulz
SPD leader Martin Schulz offers German voters more of the Third Way politics they hate in a shiny new package.
Remembering Red Vienna
Though tragically snuffed out by the rise of fascism, Red Vienna was an island of socialist organizing and workers' power worth commemorating.
In Defense of Die Linke
Die Linke’s Sahra Wagenknecht is wrong about refugees, borders, and police. But don’t give up on the party just yet.
Merkeling to the Right
Angela Merkel has disappointed liberals by yielding to anti-refugee backlash. We shouldn’t be surprised.
The Elections in Berlin
Sunday’s elections in Berlin weren’t a disaster for the Left, but they confirmed just how unstable German politics are becoming.
Three Hours to Midnight
Alternative for Germany's string of successes shows the party is here to stay. How can the Left respond?
A Son of His Class
Executed by the Nazis on this day in 1944, the life of German Communist Ernst Thälmann was as contradictory and tragic as the movement he led.
Die Linke: Ten Years On
A decade after its formation, can Germany's Die Linke manage its contradictions and live up to its promise?