Christmas Is a Reminder to Keep the Faith in the Face of Overwhelming Odds
The Christmas story reminds us that the hope of the world may come from the least likely places. Being a socialist means holding fast to this possibility.
92 Article(s) by: Nick French
Nick French is an associate editor at Jacobin.
A Pro-Palestine Socialist Is Hoping to Unseat an AIPAC-Backed Congresswoman in Houston
In retaliation for their criticism of Israel, the right-wing group AIPAC plans to spend big to unseat the Squad in 2024. But in Houston, a pro-Palestine and democratic socialist candidate for Congress is taking the fight to an AIPAC-endorsed incumbent.
Real Freedom in America Can Only Be Won Through Class Struggle
A long tradition in US thought has emphasized the importance of economic security for ensuring individual liberty. But to truly realize equal freedom for all, we need a socialist politics fighting for democratic control over the economy.
The Militancy of the UAW Strike Forced Joe Biden to Take a Side and Walk the Picket Line
Today Joe Biden became the first sitting US president to walk a picket line when he joined striking autoworkers. It says less about him than it does the electrifying effects of the strike — forcing politicians, and everyone else, to side with either workers or CEOs.
With the UAW Strike, Bernie Sanders’s Political Revolution Is Continuing on the Shop Floor
Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaigns galvanized a new generation to fight against inequality and corporate power. The spirit of that fight is now finding expression in the workplace — as seen with the massive strike the United Auto Workers just started today.
Bring Back the COVID Welfare State
By many metrics, the US economy is doing well — but most voters still disapprove of Biden’s handling of it. If they want to win elections, Democrats should run on reviving the temporary COVID welfare state they let expire.
The Left Can’t Abandon Political Independence
Socialists have demonstrated the tactical utility of running on the Democratic Party ballot line. But making our peace with the party would be a mistake — to accomplish our goals, independent political organization and identity is indispensable.
In Michigan, Progressives Are Finally Rolling Back Right-Wing Anti-Labor Laws
This year, Democrats used their control of the Michigan legislature to pass a suite of pro-worker reforms, including repealing right-to-work laws. We spoke with Michigan House member Joey Andrews about these wins and the current moment in labor.
John Rawls Was Wrong to Think We Could Have a Just Capitalism
The ideas of John Rawls, perhaps the greatest political philosopher of the 20th century, have much to teach the Left. But Rawls’s theory of justice failed to grapple adequately with the fundamental obstacles capitalism imposes to realizing a just society.
Today’s Hollywood Strikes Are Fights for Workplace Democracy
Early 20th-century unions rejected the idea that bosses should be the dictators of the workplace. Today, the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, and other major unions have rediscovered the strike’s power to secure workers’ control over their own lives.
The Left Shouldn’t Get Too Excited About Joe Biden’s “Supply-Side Liberalism”
Pundits have lauded the Biden administration for replacing the free-market consensus with supply-side liberalism. But it is geopolitical tensions with China and labor’s weakness that have made elites feel comfortable with a milquetoast industrial policy.
Socialists Love Public Parks Because They Belong to Everyone
Socialists have a noble history fighting for more and better public parks — not just because everyone loves the park, but because public goods like parks are a challenge to the logic of capitalism.
What Mayor Brandon Johnson Can Learn From Mayor Bernie Sanders
When he became Burlington’s mayor in 1981, Bernie Sanders was a socialist outsider who had to face down a hostile political establishment. His successful mayoralty may contain lessons for Chicago’s new progressive mayor, Brandon Johnson.
Marxism Doesn’t Equal “Wokeness.” But If You Oppose Oppression, You Should Be a Marxist.
The Right uses “Marxism” to describe everything from LGBTQ rights to corporate diversity measures. It’s a deeply confused definition. But it’s not wrong about one thing: Marxists do indeed want to dismantle all forms of oppression.
No, Socialism Isn’t About Envying the Rich
Socialists aren’t driven by envy of the “more successful.” We are socialists because we want workers to have what’s rightfully theirs — and we know a world with less greed and envy, and where everyone has what they need, is possible.
Don’t Fall for the Myth of the “Job Creator”
Billionaires like Howard Schultz like to claim that that we should be grateful for all the jobs they create. But the ultrarich don’t create jobs in any meaningful sense — they just reap the rewards of asset ownership and the labor of their workers.
Socialists Are the Real Champions of Personal Responsibility
The Right likes to say it believes in “personal responsibility” while the Left promotes a culture of blaming others for our problems. In reality, socialism is about allowing people to take charge of their own lives — and ending the parasitism of the ultrarich.
Rank-and-File Railworkers Are Calling for Public Ownership of the Railroads
Fed up with rail companies putting profits before workers and surrounding communities, the rank-and-file group Railroad Workers United is launching a campaign for railroad nationalization. We spoke with one of their leaders about the proposal.
Try Not to Laugh, But Republicans Are Calling Themselves Pro-Worker
It sounds farcical, but GOP politicians like Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney are casting themselves as pro-worker. And corporate Democrats are making the fraud more believable by advancing their own weak-tea program.
Only Socialism Can Put an End to Exploitation
The exploitation of workers is central to the functioning of capitalism. The socialist argument is simple: we can live in a world without such exploitation.