When the Rich Say “We’re Leaving”
Every time we want to change society to benefit average people, we have to deal with ultrawealthy crybabies.
396 Article(s) by: Meagan Day
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Meagan Day is a senior editor at Jacobin.
How the Republican Party Slipped Its Leash
A strong labor movement demanded unified elites. Organized business in turn kept the GOP’s madness contained to ensure a favorable business climate. Today the Republican Party’s descent into chaos is a product of capitalist fragmentation.
Medicare for All Disappeared. Its Popularity Didn’t.
The demand for Medicare for All went from the center of the discourse to political exile in record time. But the policy’s popularity never faded. A new poll finds strong majority support for the neglected idea among Americans across the political spectrum.
The Zohran Mamdani Model of Exuberant Good Cheer
The relentless negativity and performative cruelty of American politics is exhausting. Following Zohran Mamdani’s lead, leftists can distinguish ourselves with a concrete political program paired with genuine enthusiasm for ordinary people.
Nancy Pelosi Helped Drive the Democrats’ Degeneration
Nancy Pelosi has announced her retirement after decades as a shrewd political operator. A genuine leader in a party that lacks them, Pelosi bears a large share of the blame for the Democrats’ embrace of bland corporate centrism.
The Forgotten History of Socialism and the Occult
Socialism has a well-earned reputation as a secular, rational movement. But not all socialists throughout history were quite so grounded.
Americans Are Abandoning the Communal Meal
Consuming food all by oneself is an anomaly in the history of human civilization, a deviation from millennia of tradition. And more and more Americans are doing it.
Patriotism Against Authoritarianism
Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies featured millions of Americans claiming patriotic imagery against authoritarianism and toward progressive ends. That’s a good thing.
Sylvan Esso on Why They Pulled Their Music From Spotify
The band Sylvan Esso has removed its music from Spotify in protest of the company’s exploitative practices. In an exclusive interview with Jacobin, they explain their reasoning — and why the move feels so good even though it’s financially risky.
America’s Split-Screen Economy
The top 10% are responsible for nearly half of the consumer spending that’s keeping the economy afloat. There’s something disturbing about a tiny number of people having so much money that it effectively masks how poor everyone else is.
The Right Is Using Charlie Kirk’s Murder to Attack Free Speech
Over the past week since the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk, we’ve watched conservatives unabashedly take ownership of “cancel culture” and crack down on free speech right before our eyes.
Charlie Kirk’s Murder Is a Tragedy and a Disaster
The assassination of Charlie Kirk threatens to embolden the far right and provide Donald Trump with a pretext for crushing dissent. Escalating political violence corrodes democratic norms and poses a unique threat to the Left.
Multilevel Marketing Scams Are Capitalism in Microcosm
Multilevel marketing companies promise that everyone can become a boss and get rich if they hustle hard enough. But they’re actually fraudulent pyramid schemes that, like capitalism writ large, require mass exploitation to enrich the few at the top.
When It Comes to Clean Water, Trump Is Betraying MAHA
The Make America Healthy Again movement is rightly concerned with the contamination of our drinking water. To clean it up, we need enhanced corporate regulation and massive public investment to overhaul our water systems. Donald Trump won’t do any of that.
The Trump-Era Gender Wars, Brought to You By Neoliberalism
We’re seeing an alarming revival of archaic gender role ideas, from the manosphere’s remasculinization crusade to trad wives’ rejection of public life. Veteran historian of gender roles Stephanie Coontz explains the moment’s deep economic undercurrents.
A Society Governed by Whiny Rich People Throwing Tantrums
Every time we want to change society to benefit average people, we have to deal with ultrawealthy crybabies. We’re held hostage by those who already have it all. It doesn’t have to be like this.
Halting Evictions Is Good Child Welfare Policy
Evictions are uniquely destructive to children, undermining the social and institutional connections that provide kids with stability. A new study quantifies their extensive damage, from increasing child homelessness to decreasing high-school graduation rates.
Get Ready for Citizens United 2.0
Is it possible for American democracy to be further degraded by the influence of billionaires? Thanks to champion of the working class J. D. Vance and his right-wing friends, including “dark money kingpin” Leonard Leo, we may soon find out.
A Left Response to the Birth Rate Crisis
The Right uses falling birth rates to pose as defenders of family and future against demographic suicide. The Left can’t keep declining to comment. Instead, we should reframe the conversation to emphasize security and freedom over scarcity and coercion.
Andrew Cuomo Thought He Could Bend a Passive Party to His Will
Zohran Mamdani’s stunning upset over Andrew Cuomo reveals how the Democratic Party’s hollowness and passivity cuts both ways — first enabling Cuomo’s absurd candidacy, then failing to insulate him from a left-wing challenger.