Amazon Just Saw Its First Strike in Britain
Yesterday, staff at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse did something no British workers at the company had previously done: they walked off the job.
19701 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Russell Banks Was a Working-Class Writer for Our Global Age
Novelist Russell Banks, who died this month at the age of 82, brought to life the brutality of contemporary capitalism and the hardships of workers across the world. He was a writer of and for the working class.
South Korea’s Conservative Government Is Cracking Down on the Country’s Militant Labor Unions
Last week, South Korea’s intelligence agency raided the country’s largest group of independent unions. It’s a blatant attack on workers’ rights that has raised fears the conservative government is resurrecting dictatorship-era methods of bludgeoning labor.
Joe Biden’s Rooseveltian Ambitions Are Officially Dead
Austerity-minded Jeff Zients’s appointment as White House chief of staff signals Joe Biden’s return to the fiscal hawkishness that has always been his sweet spot.
Why George Santos Won’t Resign
In a world where norms and codes of conduct mattered, George Santos’s would be an open and shut case. But as long as he remains useful to the narrow Republican House majority, the chronically dishonest congressman likely isn’t going anywhere.
How British Workers Toppled the Anti-Union Industrial Relations Act
Britain saw a massive wave of collective action in the 1970s as trade unionists opposed a law that limited the right to strike. Revisiting this history provides a blueprint for fighting back against the Tories’ anti-union legislation today.
Molly Nilsson Wants a World With No Billionaires
Synthpop icon Molly Nilsson speaks about the future of creative pursuits in a neoliberal world, her hatred of pessimism, and her admiration for revolutionaries like Rosa Luxemburg.
Joe Biden’s New Immigration Policy Is a Boon to Right-Wing Xenophobia
With its new immigration policy, the Biden administration isn’t even breaking from Trump-era anti-immigrant policies, much less charting a new, humane course for immigrants and refugees.
Right-Wingers Like Steven Crowder Need Billionaire Funders Because Their Ideas Are So Bad
Right-wing demagogue Steven Crowder recently turned down a $50 million offer from Ben Shapiro’s billionaire-funded media organization, calling it a “slave contract.” If only these guys showed as much concern for the conditions of ordinary workers.
How Analytic Philosophers Have Made Sense of Capitalism
Analytic philosophy, a branch of the discipline that emphasizes rigorous argumentation, is often dismissed as a set of abstract puzzle games. But analytic philosophers have reinterpreted Marxism to provide a radical critique of capitalist society.
Poland and Hungary Are Testing the Limits of the EU’s Liberalism
Before their illiberal turn, Poland and Hungary were lauded as postcommunist poster children. Both nations have combined moderately redistributive welfare states with attacks on civil liberties — but inflation is putting their growth model to the test.
Spain’s Left Badly Needs to Join Its Forces
Labor minister Yolanda Díaz is Spain’s most popular politician — and her new Sumar electoral vehicle promises to greatly expand the Left’s support. But the project remains marred by infighting, with strained relations between Díaz and her Podemos allies.
Abortion Is a Matter of Economic Justice, Not Just Personal Choice
The mainstream pro-choice movement has mounted a highly individualized defense of abortion rights, one centered on privacy and choice. But abortion rights can also also be rooted in achieving economic justice for everyone.
This Potential SCOTUS Case Could Change the Course of US Charter Schools
A North Carolina charter school that receives 95% of its funding from public sources is forcing girls to wear skirts. If the Supreme Court hears the case, it could determine if constitutional protections governing public education apply to charter schools.
Biden Could Act to End a Social Security Tax Break for the Rich
Joe Biden has repeatedly pushed to cut Social Security in the past. But a proposal to end the payroll tax exemption for the rich would bolster the crucial government service and even has Joe Manchin’s support. The president has no excuse not to support it.
Nicos Poulantzas Was a Vital Theorist of Democratic Socialism
Left political strategies have traditionally divided between social democratic parliamentarism and the Leninist idea of “smashing the state.” Nicos Poulantzas argued that neither strategy was adequate and developed his own vision of “revolutionary reformism.”
The Memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died Offers a Case Study in How Capitalism Rewards Psychopathy
Former iCarly child actor Jennette McCurdy’s new memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, exposes how a profit-hungry entertainment industry encouraged the abusive behavior of her mother, who used her daughter’s stardom as an escape from financial precarity.
Restaurants Are Forcing Workers to Pay for the Lobbying That Keeps Their Wages Low
A New York Times investigation has uncovered a scam by which food service workers are made to pay out of pocket for state-mandated “safety” courses run by the restaurant lobby — which then turns around and spends millions of dollars pushing lawmakers to keep food service workers’ wages low.
Rishi Sunak Isn’t the Leader Britain’s Tories Need — but He’s the One They Deserve
Britain’s current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, exemplifies a political class whose members are hermetically sealed off from the realities of everyday life. Sunak is the latest much-hyped figure to make the journey from hero to zero — but he won’t be the last.
Passing Universal Pregnancy Coverage Is a No-Brainer
The US health care system forces new parents to pay thousands of dollars simply to have their child delivered into the world. That’s absurd. We could easily make childbirth free for all.