Nostalgia for Free Trade Is Not the Answer
Trump’s trade war has set off economic chaos around the world. But simply going back to the “good old days” of free trade is no solution.
19450 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Can the “Red Wave” Stop Austerity in Finland?
Last Sunday’s local and regional elections in Finland saw a big defeat for the hard-right Finns Party. Its leader called the gains for left-wing parties a “red wave” — but it’s less clear that this will halt the government’s austerity agenda.
Biden Paved the Way for Trump’s Leniency on Corporate Crime
The federal government under Joe Biden prosecuted fewer corporate crime cases than at any point in the last 30 years. Now the Trump administration is set to drop or pause more than 100 enforcement actions against corporate misconduct.
Balancing Union Support and Worker Control
To capture the surging pro-union spirit across the United States, unions must be prepared to support worker-led organizing without attempting to control it, writes former Starbucks rank-and-file organizer Jaz Brisack.
Wrong on Principle, Wrong Politically
Liberal pundits are urging Democrats not to talk about Trump’s illegal moves to disappear people to a Salvadoran dungeon. Not only is that wrong on principle, it doesn’t make political sense.
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Wasn’t Always Celebrated
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which began 82 years ago today, is now universally hailed as a bold act of Jewish resistance against the Nazis. But at the time, many Poles watched — or cheered — as the ghetto burned. The parallels with Gaza are hard to ignore.
The Pseudo-Populism of Canada’s New Right
Pierre Poilievre talks like a class warrior, but his policies serve the C-suite. A new book digs into the ideology and elite backing behind his faux-populist, anti-government movement.
How the Constitution’s Framers Got It Wrong
James Madison argued that politicians’ ambition would lead them to uphold the separation of powers. Today congressmembers’ ambition seems to lead them to do the exact opposite: submitting to Trump and completely bargaining away their own power.
Warfare Is Hell at the Movies
Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is another combat movie that promises to make war look like hell but instead makes it look like a thrilling trial by fire for young men to prove themselves.
“NatalCon” and the Contradictions of the Pronatalist Right
Last month’s gathering of pronatalists in Austin, Texas, revealed a right-wing milieu riven by internal contradictions — and without a plausible plan to significantly increase birth rates.
Oliver Stone Goes to Washington
Jacobin sat down with legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone to talk about his recent testimony before Congress on the JFK assassination, the CIA’s continued stonewalling, and why we’re closer than ever to finally piecing together the mystery of November 22, 1963.
Winning the Rank-and-File Vote
A look at recent bottom-up efforts to win endorsements for Bernie Sanders and mobilize trade unionists against Donald Trump offer insights into how the labor movement can better and more democratically engage its members in politics.
ICE Sets Its Sights on Massachusetts Immigrant Workers
This week, ICE snatched an immigrant seafood worker in Massachusetts at an employer whose workers have engaged in nationally celebrated collective action for years — the kind of collective action that, on a mass scale, would be a major threat to Trump.
From Civil Wars to Neoliberalism in Central America
The end of the bloody, US-backed civil wars across Central America led to a brutal neoliberal economic restructuring near the turn of the century — which then helped produce the 21st-century authoritarianism of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele.
Capitalist Progress Threatens Human Survival
Marxist scholar Michael Löwy, responding to Samuel Farber’s “In Defense of Progress” from the new issue of Jacobin, defends philosopher Walter Benjamin and argues that “progress,” as defined under capitalism, has come to threaten humanity’s very survival.
Elon Musk Decimated the Government and Saved Almost Nothing
Elon Musk’s cuts may have “saved” the public less than half a percent of the national debt, but they are already making Americans poorer and sicker and forcing them to spend hours waiting on phone help lines.
Will Trump’s Attorney General Override the NLRB?
An anti-union trade association is urging the US attorney general to invalidate 15 previously decided NLRB cases. The group argues the AG can and should declare that certain board precedent is no longer binding, an unprecedented and illegal move.
Cambodia Is Still Haunted by the Legacy of the Khmer Rouge
Fifty years ago today, the Khmer Rouge took power in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Instead of rebuilding the country after a destructive US bombing campaign, Pol Pot’s movement plunged it into one of the last century’s most horrifying catastrophes.
Australia’s Right Tried to Copy Trump. It’s Been a Disaster.
Australia’s right-wing Liberal Party is in freefall, while Labor — now the party of capital — is set to retain its parliamentary majority. It’s a historic transformation, rooted in the demise of Australian 20th-century social liberalism.
Donald Trump’s Corrupt Tariff Quid Pro Quo
Donald Trump is granting tariff exemption deals to wealthy donors and politically connected businesses, echoing the corrupt tactics of his first term. But this time, he’s fired the government watchdog that raised the alarm about them.