What Was the Golden Age of Social Democracy?
For 40 years, social democratic parties radically improved life for workers. The labor movement and worker militancy made it possible.
16 Article(s) by: Melissa Naschek
Melissa Naschek is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The Revolutionary Roots of Social Democracy
Why was the revolutionary road out of capitalism abandoned for an evolutionary one? Vivek Chibber explores how socialist parties moved from revolution to reform, but why real progress will always mean a conflict with capital.
Power, Not Economic Theory, Created Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism didn’t win an intellectual argument — it won power. Vivek Chibber unpacks how employers and political elites in the 1970s and ’80s turned economic turmoil into an opportunity to reshape society on their terms.
Colonial Plunder Didn’t Create Capitalism
Despite what you may have heard, colonial plunder didn’t give rise to capitalism. In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber discusses why the “colonialism-created-capitalism” argument fails, and why Marxism provides a better account of its emergence.
What Populism Can (and Can’t) Do for the Left
We live in an age of populism, on the Right and on the Left. In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber explains both populism’s potential and limitations for putting class and economics back into politics.
Why Class Matters as Much as Ever
Some argue that the continued existence of the middle class refutes Karl Marx’s analysis of capitalism. In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber explains why this is wrong.
The Politics of the PMC
Vivek Chibber on how we should understand capitalism’s middle strata — and why so many professionals are moving toward anti-capitalist politics.
The Iraq War Playbook, Now for Iran
The Trump administration’s recent bombing of Iran suggests that elites have failed to learn the lessons of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The US Started Both the Old and New Cold Wars
In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber discusses why the US desire for global dominance was responsible for the Cold War — and why the United States is inflaming new rivalries with Russia and China today.
Are We Still in Neoliberalism?
Vivek Chibber on why Trump II signals the end of an era — but not capital’s unchecked rule over our society.
Not the Fall of Saigon — Its Liberation
Fifty years since the triumph of national liberation forces, Catalyst editor Vivek Chibber explores the true story of the Vietnam War — not as a tragedy of American overreach but as a triumph of Vietnamese resistance.
Trump’s Tariffs Are a Gift to Capital, Not Workers
Donald Trump has championed tariffs as a way to revive American manufacturing. But without a real industrial strategy, Catalyst editor Vivek Chibber argues, they’re little more than a handout to capital.
Why Elites Love Identity Politics
The Democratic Party at every level spent years embracing identity politics that mostly served the interests of professionals, argues Catalyst editor Vivek Chibber. We need a return to class.
NGOism Serves the Status Quo
Tasked with carrying out what ought to be state functions, but dependent on private interests, NGOs will never challenge the basic structures of capitalism.
Promises and Programs
Electoral work is important. But the point isn’t just to win office — it’s to build movements and challenge capitalism.
The Identity Mistake
Mistaken Identity claims to overcome the limits of identity politics but leads us down the same dead end.