Striking for the Future
Striking taxi drivers in Spain are demanding state action against Uber. They show that even in the digital economy, strikes are our most potent weapon.
19178 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Sorry, Bernie Is Right
Mainstream fact-checkers are still trying to discredit Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-All plan. But there’s no way around it: single-payer is entirely realistic.
“Right to Try” Is a Cruel Farce
Drug companies want you to think they’re providing glimmers of hope to terminally ill patients. Don’t believe them.
Arsène Tchakarian (1916–2018)
Arsène Tchakarian was the last surviving member of a Communist military unit in the French Resistance. Mainly Jews and immigrants, they risked everything to fight the Nazi occupation.
Getting the Common Goods
The North Carolina teachers strike was the result of years of grassroots organizing. And they’re not done yet.
The Kuleana of Socialism in Hawai‘i
It’s election day for Kaniela Ing in Hawai’i today. His campaign shows that socialism has both deep history and future potential on the islands.
Reflections on the Rank and File Strategy
Socialists have a key role to play in building the labor movement — if they can avoid the pitfalls of sectarianism and union bureaucracy.
Spain’s Right-Wing Populist
Last month Pablo Casado was elected leader of Spain’s People’s Party. His project: to use Reaganomics, flag-waving nationalism, and a war on feminism to reinvigorate the Right.
What’s the Matter With Chicago?
Chicago’s horrifying gun violence last weekend isn’t the result of a “spiritual deficit,” as Mayor Rahm Emanuel argues. It’s the result of decades of poverty and austerity.
The Rank and File Strategy
The labor movement is the critical institution for the Left. Socialists should root themselves in it — not as supporters from afar or paid staff, but as rank-and-file workers.
A Crime of Anticommunism
A new book proves that the Indonesian army was responsible for the systematic slaughter of leftists in the 1965–66 genocide — and that orders came directly from the top.
Joe Biden, Mass Incarceration Zealot
For years, Joe Biden was determined to make Democrats the tough-on-crime party. The 1994 Crime Bill and its expansion of mass incarceration was his crowning achievement.
The SPD Should Return to Its Anticolonial Roots
Germany’s Social Democrats now have a chance to make amends for the German empire’s genocidal policies in Africa. In doing so, they’d be returning to the party’s anti-imperialist roots.
Democrats and Their Promises
Of course Democratic candidates will claim to support progressive policies. Don’t assume they’re telling the truth.
The Continuity of Khan
Corruption and military might have long dominated Pakistani politics. And Imran Khan’s reform-minded rhetoric is unlikely to change that.
Down With the Philosophy Factory
Marx said the point of philosophy is to change the world. The neoliberal university thinks the point is to sell books.
The Phony Martyrdom of Tommy Robinson
Tommy Robinson wants you to believe he’s a plucky underdog who’s been unfairly repressed. But the British far-right leader is no martyr — just a clever fascist with blood on his hands.
The Employment Doctrine That Screws Over Workers
It’s called “at-will employment.” But for workers, it simply means employers hold all the cards.
Democratic Socialism Isn’t Social Democracy
Social democracies like Norway show that more humane, equitable, democratic societies are possible. But democratic socialists want to go beyond them.
Which Side Are They On?
A titanic struggle is brewing in California between Silicon Valley capitalists and workers. Democratic Party elites will have to pick a side.