Why Equality Is Better for Everyone
More unequal societies are less trusting, more violent, less healthy, and more stressed.
19429 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Unions and the Political Machines
Are modern American unions doomed merely to succumb to dealmaking with business Republicans and centrist Democrats?
From Bowling Alone to Posting Alone
Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone chronicled the growing loneliness and isolation of wealthy societies. Twenty years later, the problem is far worse than he could have imagined.
Debt-Trap Democracy
We talk to activist and filmmaker Astra Taylor.
The Selling of “the Journalist”
The lionization of mainstream media is just sentimental marketing.
Are Hispanic Voters Really Switching to the GOP?
Democrats aren’t losing Hispanic voters — they’re losing the entire working class.
Trust Us, We’re Experts
For all the warnings of populism’s threat to the liberal democratic order, it might be the experts that do us in.
The US-Saudi Split and the Yemen War
Will Saudis’ battles with Joe Biden help end Washington’s support for their brutal war in Yemen?
The Right-Wing Bid to Turn Kenya Into a “Hustler Nation”
A new president has a right-populist vision of transformation in East Africa’s largest economy.
Chile’s Vote Was a Rebuke of the 21st-Century Left. Will We Listen?
The rejected Chilean constitution was not “too far left.” Rather, it exalted a set of identitarian outlooks that has for too long masqueraded as radical politics.
Effective Altruism Is No Substitute for a Better Society
The philosophy of effective altruism is catnip to well-meaning and intellectually inclined donors. But as a strategy for tackling what’s wrong with the world, it misses the mark.
Taking Back Left Parties From the Brahmins
Across Western countries, the decline in class-based voting isn’t inevitable: it results from political choices.
Five Essential Texts on Democracy
We asked a leading political theorist for help understanding the meaning of democracy and the elite reaction to it.
Jacobin’s Promise: a Vote for Jacobin Is a Vote for You.
Act now, before it’s too late to save America.
The Foreman
Mark E. Smith of the Fall was one of the late 20th century’s great working-class musicians, but his music suffered from his overwhelming resentment of his middle-class audience.
Ballot Blocks
Every year, it gets harder to vote. We have our elected officials to thank for that.
Before They Ran the Reds Out of the Studios
The screwball comedy The Devil and Miss Jones exemplifies how pro-worker Hollywood was just on the eve of McCarthyism.