The Solution to Labor Exploitation Is Workplace Democracy
At the very heart of our capitalist economic system is something grotesque: labor exploitation. That’s immoral — and we need some form of workplace democracy to undo it.
19407 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Empire’s Workshop Under a Flailing Empire
Latin America is not the United States’ “backyard.” It’s the training ground, historian Greg Grandin argues, for periods of imperial retrenchment and regroupment. But it’s also a region where radical movements have consistently refused to be crushed by US imperial power.
Oscar Wilde Wasn’t Just a Satirist. He Was a Socialist.
Much more than just the wit and satirist of his posthumous reputation, Oscar Wilde was a radical thinker who posed a fundamental challenge to the conservative mores of late Victorian England. His thinking on liberation led him to imagine a socialist future in which creativity can flourish across all of society.
Greece’s Right-Wing Government Is Massively Expanding Police Powers
Since the end of the dictatorship, Greece’s police have remained a deeply authoritarian institution with a strong fascist presence. Yet the breakup of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn hasn’t changed much — and the right-wing government’s creation of new special units is encouraging police to crack down on their political enemies.
Denmark’s Socialist Left Needs to Reverse the Decline in Working-Class Mobilization
Recent decades have seen a historic shift in Danish politics, with mass-membership parties replaced by a professionalized media-political sphere. To drive real social change, the socialist left needs to go beyond creating a progressive niche — and rebuild the mass organizations that once made the working class a mighty political force.
Ignore Corporations Whining About the Infrastructure Bill’s Costs. They Can Afford It.
Whatever the size and shape of Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure bill, you can be sure to hear corporate weeping and gnashing of teeth about how they can’t afford a tax hike. The truth: they’ve got the money — they just don’t want to share.
American Inequality Was Massive Before the Pandemic. It’s Gotten Far, Far Worse During It.
The pandemic has been taking the existing injustices of capitalism and exaggerating them to the point of cartoonishness. A case in point is a recent study that finds Wall Street bonuses have grown by more than 1,200% since the 1980s — while the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised in over a decade.
Amazon Workers Shouldn’t Have to Work This Hard to Win a Union
All eyes are on Alabama as we await the results of the Amazon union election. The election is a historic one, but it shouldn’t be: workers shouldn’t have to work this hard to exercise their basic rights to unionize, and bosses at companies like Amazon should have zero say about whether they unionize or not.
There’s Absolutely No Good Argument for Keeping the Death Penalty
Virginia recently became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. That’s a good step — we should end the barbaric punishment everywhere else too.
Rahm Emanuel Wants Big Carve-Outs to a $15 Minimum Wage
Rahm Emanuel recently argued that states should be able to opt out of a $15 minimum wage. He’s being rewarded for it with a keynote speaking slot at an event organized by the National Restaurant Association, one of the key opponents of a minimum wage hike. Why won’t Rahm go away?
Justice League’s Snyder Cut Is Here. And It’s Still Bad.
After a long internet campaign demanding its release, HBO Max has unleashed Zack Snyder’s Justice League on the world. But it’s four hours of tedious superhero melodrama you’ll never get back.
Solitary Confinement Is Torture, And It Should Be Banned Everywhere
New York’s HALT Solitary Act ends long-term solitary confinement. It’s not enough, but it’s a step against a torturous and inhumane practice. No one should be subjected to solitary confinement, anywhere, for any length of time.
Bolivia’s Coup Plotters Will Finally Face Court for Their Campaign of Terror
When Jeanine Áñez claimed the presidency following the 2019 coup in Bolivia, she unleashed a campaign of terror in a bid to maintain power and stifle dissent. With the Movement Toward Socialism now back in office after last year’s democratic elections, the government is finally taking the “interim” president and her closest associates to court.
Socialist Elected Officials Are Changing the Way New York State Politics Are Done
Emily Gallagher is New York’s state assembly member for the fiftieth district and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In an interview with Jacobin, Gallagher discusses how socialists led the way on calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s removal from office, the current state budget fights, and how DSA electeds are crafting a new, leftist approach to governance.
The Indonesian Left Is Stuck in an Anti-Communist Hangover
Little noticed in the West, the past two years have witnessed the largest protest wave in decades against Indonesia’s increasingly authoritarian crony-capitalist government. But activists are still mentally stuck in the 1990s, deploying depoliticized concepts like “civil society” and “moral force,” and resorting to ill-conceived methods of resistance that have left the movement in a rut and unable to realize its radical potential.
The Self-Determination Act Could Finally End US Colonization of Puerto Rico
For more than 120 years, the US has colonized Puerto Rico. But a new bill cosponsored by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would finally give Puerto Ricans the chance to decide their political relationship with the United States — and recognize their right to self-determination.
The Subminimum Tipped Wage for Restaurant Workers Guarantees On-the-Job Harassment
A recent survey of restaurant workers confirms what insiders know: that the industry has the highest rate of sexual harassment, and a reliance on tips exacerbates the problem. Eliminating the tipped wage would go a long way to fixing the problem.
Canada Needs Dental Care for All
Canada desperately needs to expand its public health coverage to include dental care for all — and the NDP can lead the fight for it.
Scottish Independence Is About Ordinary Scots, Not Alex Salmond’s Ego
Ahead of May’s Scottish elections, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon finds herself embroiled in an intense row with her predecessor Alex Salmond, who last week formed his own separate party. The clash between the two is sure to dominate the election campaign — but it’s also a distraction from the democratic issues at the heart of the independence movement.
The British Monarchy Will Not Survive Late Capitalism — And Harry and Meghan Are Proof
The spectacle of Harry and Meghan’s reinvention as a standard-issue, new money California couple shows that the British monarchy’s ability to resist the cultural demands of late capitalism is reaching a breaking point.