Letters + #JacobinPitches
Email us letters — we’ll print the fawning ones.
19106 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
From New Labour to Nouveau Riche
Meet Tony Blair, a “democratic socialist.”
Political Elites Aren’t Worried About Inflation
With the passage of a $2 trillion stimulus bill, deficit-phobia appears to be waning in Washington. But it’s not because lawmakers have been won over to redistributive policies — it’s because they think the working class is too weak to set off inflation.
The Ruling Class Doesn’t Rule — But It’s Got Veto Power
Capitalists don’t need to directly govern the state, or even be particularly organized, in order to get what they want.
Know Your Enemy
G. William Domhoff’s work is a vital reminder that the task of changing society begins with understanding who holds power in it, and how.
They Have the Money, We Have the People
No one wants a world where Billionaire magazine exists but Jacobin doesn’t.
Bill Gates Chooses Corporate Patent Rights Over Human Lives
The global battle over drug company patents for COVID-19 vaccines is the latest skirmish in the irrepressible conflict between property rights and human rights. It’s no surprise that Bill Gates, the monopolist billionaire, has taken the side of patents.
Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Isn’t About Democracy or Human Rights — It’s About Maintaining US Dominance
Joe Biden hits his 100-day mark in office this week. His foreign policy has been as bad as expected, animated by the grotesque idea that now and forever, the US should call the shots around the world.
The Working Class Isn’t Just White Male Factory Workers (And Never Was)
A leading exponent of global labor history, Marcel van der Linden’s work looks beyond the Fordist industrial workforce to examine the ever-changing forms of exploitation on which capitalism relies.
Save the Redwoods
Corporate logging has destroyed much of California’s once vast and majestic redwood forests. As environmental crises collide, the imperative to save the remaining trees is stronger than ever. That means challenging those who profit from the trees’ destruction.
The Left Must Offer a Transformative Post-Pandemic Agenda — Or Risk an Emboldened Right
Around the world, the global pandemic has spurred widespread public hunger for radical economic and political change. It’s a historic opportunity the global left must seize — or risk watching as it’s seized by the Right.
Joe Biden’s New Climate Pledge Isn’t Fair or Ambitious
President Joe Biden has announced a new emissions reduction plan. It doesn’t do nearly enough to address the US’s climate impacts on the rest of the world.
How Kowtowing to Trump Guided British Support for Juan Guaidó
Recognizing self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó in 2019, Britain’s Tory government claimed to be standing up for democracy. Recently published ministerial diaries reveal the cynicism of the real discussions behind the move — showing how ministers explicitly saw the crisis as an opportunity to curry favor with Donald Trump.
Progressive Populism Has Transformed Australia Before — It Could Do It Again
In Australian politics today, the neoliberal consensus seems unshakable. But the experience of the Curtin and Whitlam Labor governments shows the potential of progressive populism to deliver social change — a potential we can also glimpse in the recent growth of the Greens.
A Life on the Court’s Left
Leftist lawyer Michael Tigar has spent his life in courtrooms defending a wide range of names big and small on the Left, from Vietnam War draft resisters to Bobby Seale and Angela Davis. He captures them all in a new memoir.
John Desmond Bernal, Marxism, and the Scientific Revolution
J. D. Bernal was one of the twentieth century’s great scientific minds, whose work nurtured the imagination of science-fiction writers. In a world where capitalist priorities distort scientific research, Bernal’s Marxist perspective on science is more relevant than ever.
Stop Pretending Italian Fascists Were Innocent Victims
Today, Italians commemorate the partisans’ victory over Fascism. But in recent years, a right-wing campaign has tried to equate the actions of the Fascists who started the war with the resistance fighters who helped end it.
Social Workers Can’t Help People in Crisis by Partnering With Police
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot recently announced a “co-responder” model for addressing mental health crises, pairing social workers with cops on the scene. That model is wrong. Social workers can’t aid people in need by partnering with a police department that has a long history of unchecked brutality.
In Albania, a New Left Is Challenging the Oligarchs’ Parties
Today’s Albanian election sees Edi Rama’s Partia Socialiste running for a third term, two years after a powerful student movement forced the sacking of half his cabinet. In one of Europe’s poorest countries, green shoots of protest are finally challenging the parties that led Albania to neoliberal capitalism.
Marshall Sahlins (1930–2021)
The radical anthropologist Marshall Sahlins died earlier this month. Throughout his long career, he refused to divorce his academic work from his political commitments. He was an exemplar of a radical intellectual working within the university to change the world.