The Great Divergence
It used to be better to be a low-wage worker in the United States than in France. That hasn’t been the case for a long while.
21041 Article(s) by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Don’t Blame Polarization
A discussion on American partisanship, political dysfunction, and why it’s not our passions that are the problem — it’s the Constitution itself.
It’s Going to Take More Than Antitrust Law to Rein in Big Tech
The federal government’s landmark lawsuit against Google has been hailed as a bold step to rein in Big Tech. But we’ll need much more than US antitrust law to match the economic power of a global juggernaut like Google.
Punk Versus Reagan
A new book on American punk paints the movement as the last gasp of left-wing cultural resistance in the 1980s.
When the Red Flag Flew Over Iran
In 1920, a Soviet Socialist Republic was established in Iran’s Gilan province. A century later, the short-lived state stands as a powerful reminder of the long-running struggles in the Middle East to defeat both foreign imperialism and domestic oppressors.
How Foodsters United Is Organizing Canada’s Gig Economy
After unionizing gig economy workers, Ontario’s courier union Foodsters United found themselves without an employer when Foodora filed for bankruptcy. Now they’re exploring how worker cooperatives could use the efficiency of platform structures to bypass corporate exploitation.
Trump’s Parting Gift to Screw Over Workers
Donald Trump’s Labor Department just issued a rule freezing farmworkers’ wages, even as his administration predicts a big increase in agribusiness profits. It’s a parting reminder that, for all its populist bluster, the Trump administration has been an enemy of working people.
Jack Henry, a Communist Leader in Australia’s “Deep North”
Queensland is often viewed as a hopelessly conservative state. But the story of Jack Henry, the Australian communist who organized the Far North, suggests that this stereotype is far from the truth.
Before the Dust Has Settled, Corporate Democrats Are Already Attacking AOC and the Left
We’re all exhausted, but the rich aren’t. In the 24 hours since the election was called, corporate interests and their allies in the Democratic Party have already started their war on the Left.
We Were Right To Celebrate Trump’s Defeat. Now We’ll Have To Stay in the Streets for the Next 4 Years.
The mass celebrations of Trump’s defeat yesterday were a beautiful outpouring of collective political joy. We can harness that energy to build a mass working-class politics against Joe Biden’s neoliberalism.
Donald Trump Was a Monster Forged by the American Free Market
Donald Trump is the grotesque embodiment of market principles. In climbing back from his disastrous four years, one of our aims must be to wrest back democracy from the market.
How To Avoid Another Trump
Donald Trump’s presidency was a catastrophe, and its imminent demise is well worth celebrating. Our task now is to build a politics that ensures Trumpism is dead and buried.
The Soundtrack To Our Age of Decay
Both hip-hop and punk bloomed out of the social collapse created by the economic crisis of the 1970s. But where is the music of our twenty-first-century disaster?
The Trump Era Is Over. Our Leaders Want To Take Us Back To 2015
With the Trump presidency thankfully in its death throes, Joe Biden and the Democratic leadership are in thrall to a dangerous illusion that they can take the country back to the political world of 2015 as if nothing happened. They’re about to learn that they’ve won a Pyrrhic victory.
Joe Biden’s Narrow Win Won’t Hold for Long Once He’s in Office
Joe Biden’s empty campaign may well have won over some suburban Republican voters. But the fragile majority he has likely eked out this time should have been many times larger, and without a more serious reorientation, it won’t hold for long.
No Honeymoon for Joe Biden
It’s good that Donald Trump lost. But the Left now needs to pivot immediately to opposition to the Joe Biden administration.
The Dark Money That’s Corrupting Politics Is a Twist on an Old Story
The corruption of British politics by corporate “dark money” is part of a global phenomenon. But we can’t make sense of that trend without recognizing that capitalist oligarchies have always sought to undermine genuine democracy.
How Privatization Hobbled Sweden’s Response To Coronavirus
Sweden’s longtime refusal to impose a general lockdown has seen it portrayed as an alternative “model” for coping with the pandemic. Yet death rates in its care homes have been appalling — and as a scandal that broke last month highlighted, much of the blame lies with the breakup and privatization of the country’s once-mighty public services.
Illinois Progressives Wanted To Tax the Rich. A Right-Wing Billionaire Helped Defeat Them.
A ballot measure to tax the rich failed on election night in Illinois. The person behind the “no” campaign: right-wing billionaire Ken Griffin, who funneled $50 million of his own money to kill the referendum.
There Was Actually a Lot of Good News for the Left on Election Day
Don’t let the gloom of Tuesday’s national elections obscure the remarkable results in lower-level races across the country. Dozens of socialists were elected to legislatures, while minimum-wage hikes, rent controls, and taxes on the rich to fund schools all won voter backing, even in very red places.