Why and How Class Still Matters
It’s fashionable to declare that Marxism doesn’t have much to say about complex, modern societies. But class and the material interests it generates are still the central features of capitalism.
70 Articles by: Nick French
Nick French is an associate editor at Jacobin.
The Red Scare Deformed the New Deal by Purging Its Radical Civil Servants
The New Deal brought a generation of leftists into the federal government. But Red Scare anti-communists purged these radical bureaucrats or forced their politics rightward — blocking more far-reaching reform and distorting our understanding of the New Deal.
US Life Expectancy Has Declined Again. Neoliberalism and Antidemocratic Rule Are to Blame.
US life expectancy has declined for the second year in a row — a historic drop that hasn’t been seen for a century. We can thank our country’s threadbare welfare state and antidemocratic political institutions.
The Right’s Unhinged Whining About Canceling Student Debt Shows Why It’s a Great Idea
Since Joe Biden announced the cancellation of $10,000 of student debt per borrower, right-wingers have been frothing at the mouth with outrage. The Right’s desperate response shows exactly why student debt cancellation makes for good politics.
New York’s Socialists Were Largely Victorious in Last Night’s Elections
In yesterday’s New York state primaries, the New York City Democratic Socialists of America didn’t win every race. But socialists notched two important victories, both defending and expanding their electoral wins in the state of New York.
Democrats’ Midterm Prospects Are Looking Up. They Still Don’t Have a Long Game.
Democrats are hoping to win the midterms by touting the pared-down Inflation Reduction Act and their (modest) commitment to abortion rights. That might work in November — but it’s a poor strategy for reversing hemorrhaging support among working-class voters.
Starbucks Barista: I Was Fired for Trying to Unionize
In what workers say is another example of its shameless union-busting campaign, Starbucks fired Joselyn Chuquillanqui last month after trying to organize her New York store. We spoke to her about her firing and why she’s not giving up the fight to unionize.
To Win a Political Revolution, We Need a New Mass Organization
Since Bernie Sanders’s defeat in 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US left has been largely disorganized. The time is ripe for Bernie and the Squad to create a new mass organization to confront today’s crises.
Corporations Are Putting Workers’ Lives in Danger in a Deadly Heat Wave
Climate change means workers have to labor in increasingly dangerous heat during the summer months. Corporations are happy to put workers’ lives on the line — and the federal government isn’t doing enough to stop it.
The GOP Is Dismantling Our Democracy. Democrats Are Letting Them Get Away With It.
Revelations from the January 6 hearings and the recent spate of Supreme Court decisions show that the Right is ready to dispense with democracy. Democratic Party leaders seem ready to let them.
Marco Rubio’s “Pro-Family” Proposals Are a Fraud
In the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal, Marco Rubio has announced a set of welfare proposals that are supposed to help mothers and families. The Right is yet again proposing a “pro-worker conservatism” with no pro-worker substance.
Democrats Say They Want to Defend Democracy — but They’re Boosting Far-Right Republicans
The Democrats are boosting Trumpian candidates in GOP primaries with the hope that they’ll be easier to beat in the general election. It’s an incredibly dangerous and stupid political gambit.
Tinder Wants Money. We Want Love. The Solution: Socialize Dating Apps.
More and more people are using apps like Tinder and Hinge to date and meet life partners. Dating apps are increasingly a key aspect of our lives — they shouldn’t be under the control of unaccountable, for-profit companies.
Class Struggle Built the Swedish Welfare State
Swedish social democracy produced one of the most humane societies in history. That wouldn’t have happened without a militant labor movement and a working-class political party.
To Win Significant, Long-Term Change in America, We Need Class Struggle
Joe Biden’s inadequate stimulus is the best workers can expect if they aren’t organized and fighting. But if we’re to see more policies that benefit and empower the working class, we’ll need more workplace organizing, more strikes, and more class struggle.
East Bay Health Care Workers Are Striking Against Austerity and for Public Control
Workers in Alameda County, California’s public health system say they have long struggled under austerity and mismanagement. They are currently on strike, demanding safe working and patient care conditions, and democratic accountability for a health system that should serve the needs of the public.
Solidarity Should Be the Basis of White Anti-Racism, Not “Allyship”
The great black freedom struggles of the past have been joined by many white people — not just out of a sense of moral obligation or sympathy for the oppressed, but out of a sense of shared interest and a desire for collective liberation. That spirit of solidarity should be central to anti-racist struggle today.
Mass Protests Have Forced Some Cities to Repeal Anti-Protester Curfews
After brutal police violence failed to stop huge protests against the murder of George Floyd, governments across the country imposed curfews in an attempt to curtail dissent. But protesters have defied the restrictions in mass numbers — and in some cities, forced elected leaders to repeal the curfews.
Socialists: Help Organize Your Workplaces
Socialists and other radicals played crucial roles in American labor’s greatest victories. To rebuild a fighting union movement, socialists must organize in the workplace.
Even in a Pandemic, Workers Can Fight Back
During the Great Depression, radicals played key roles in helping organize the worker upsurges that led to the New Deal’s pro-worker policies. We can do the same today in fighting back against the economic misery and unsafe working conditions of the coronavirus pandemic.