Right-Wing Billionaire Ken Griffin Is Florida’s Problem Now
The Citadel CEO spent $179 million trying to make Illinois a conservative hellscape. Now he’s taking his talents to South Beach.
20412 Article(s) by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
How CEPAL’s Latin American Theorists Changed Our Understanding of the “Third World”
In the mid-20th century, theorists affiliated with the Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean argued for an international division between the world’s “center” and the “periphery” — terms taken up by Latin Americans to explain and fight exploitation.
The World of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Lapvona Is One of Meaningless Cruelty
In Lapvona, Ottessa Moshfegh’s latest novel set in a faux-medieval village, random acts of violence and cruelty are the law of the land. Her refusal to explain the social causes of this misery makes her depiction of the world shallow and superficial.
Amazon Is No Friend of Its Workers Who Served as Soldiers
Amazon is posing as a friend to veterans who need jobs when they return home from military service — while mistreating those veterans just as brutally as any other Amazon worker.
Canadian Workers Are in Revolt. Now Is the Time for Unions to Punch the Gas.
Just like American workers, Canadian workers have carried out a recent labor upsurge of their own. As the economy slows, unions might be tempted to make concessions. They shouldn’t.
Chileans Revolted Against Their Constitution. Americans Should Too.
In recent years, Chileans have struggled to overturn their undemocratic political system and write a new constitution. Americans should take Chile’s lead and fight for a new constitution too.
The Democrats Are Enabling the Right’s Supreme Court Takeover
Chief Justice John Roberts is spearheading the Right’s judicial coup — and Democrats’ worship of norms and institutions is allowing it to continue.
Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Independence Plan Is Testing the Limits of British Democracy
The Scottish government says it wants a new independence referendum in 2023. But there’s every chance that politicians in London will refuse, leaving the Scottish National Party with a choice between helpless submission and risky defiance.
Emmanuel Macron and the Far Right Are Sealing an Alliance
Emmanuel Macron has lost his majority in parliament and looks increasingly set to make deals with conservative and far-right parties. The demonization of the Left and indulgence of Le Pen show the hollowness of his establishment liberalism.
Australia’s New Union for Retail and Fast-Food Workers Is Rebuilding Militancy
In its short existence, the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union has already achieved big wins. As conditions continue to decline for Australian workers, RAFFWU is a model of how to stand up to the bosses.
Rising Interest Rates Will Make Canada’s Housing Crisis Even Worse
Canada’s highly precarious housing market has long been perched on the edge of disaster. As the country’s central bank pushes up interest rates to fight inflation, that perch is looking more dangerous than ever.
The Democrats Are Telling Voters That Roe v. Wade Is Still Intact
The Democratic National Committee is running ads in several states suggesting that the GOP is trying to overturn Roe v. Wade and pass a national abortion ban — bafflingly ignoring that Roe has already been reversed and many states already have abortion bans.
How the Democrats Traded the New Deal for Neoliberalism
In 1992, Bill Clinton ran for president promising to “end welfare as we know it.” This rightward turn was part of a broader attempt by the Democrats to craft a “progressive neoliberalism” — whose “progressivism” included abandoning its working-class base.
I Got Fired for Unionizing at Starbucks. And I’d Do It Again.
Emma Chambers tried to unionize her Los Angeles Starbucks store. As a result, she was fired and lost stable housing and health care. But she says that if she knew all that going in, she’d still have stood up for herself, her coworkers, and the working class.
France’s Revived Left Can Stop Emmanuel Macron in His Tracks
Neoliberal president Emmanuel Macron has lost his majority in the French parliament. The mass of newly elected left-wing MPs can disrupt his attacks on France’s welfare model — but it also needs to help rebuild resistance in wider society.
Corporations Are Exploiting Inflation to Increase Profits
Prices are rising — but a large portion of those markups is pure profit for corporations. One thing the Biden administration could do is investigate whether corporations are using inflation as a cover to illegally drive up prices.
Facebook’s Antiabortion Censorship Is a Reminder of the Perils of “Content Moderation”
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Facebook has started censoring posts about mailing abortion pills. It’s a reminder that even if you support the idea of tech censorship now, sooner or later your views will be targeted.
San Antonio’s Mass Migrant Deaths Are a Logical Outcome of Joe Biden’s Anti-Immigrant Policies
The news of at least 53 deaths of migrants in San Antonio is heartbreaking — particularly because it is the inevitable result of the monstrous immigration policies that Joe Biden has done little to change.
New York DSA Stood Strong Against an Establishment Counterattack on Tuesday
The Democratic Party establishment, backed by the rich, hit back hard against democratic socialists in New York on Tuesday. But the Democratic Socialists of America beat back the attacks on incumbents and successfully expanded its bench in Albany.
Baz Luhrmann Is Giving Us a Good, Clean Elvis for the 21st Century
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis tries to sell audiences on a sanitized version of the King, missing the much weirder, wilder, and messier truth of his life and career.