Show Us the Money
Facing pressure from the Left, Democratic presidential candidates are foregoing corporate PAC money. But in private, they’re still cozying up to capitalist supervillains.
20423 Article(s) by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
A Socialist Wave in Chicago
Chicago socialists cleaned house in last night’s municipal elections, winning as many as six socialist city council members. The city’s left has a historic opportunity to push back years of gentrification, police brutality, and austerity.
Daylight in Turkey?
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s party lost significant ground in Sunday’s Turkish elections. That doesn’t mean the slide toward fascism is over — but there’s a bigger opening for democratic and socialist forces than there’s been in years.
Liberalism’s Hollow Partisans
In 2016 we learned that for some liberals, the best time to push for fundamental change is never. In 2020, we can expect more of the same.
Bernie Isn’t McGovern. Biden Might Be Humphrey.
The pundits want you to see Bernie Sanders as a modern-day George McGovern. They’re wrong — but Joe Biden might well be the next Hubert Humphrey.
Why Kautsky Was Right (and Why You Should Care)
Karl Kautsky’s vision for winning democratic socialism is more radical, and more relevant, than most leftists care to admit.
Pelosi and Schumer Hate BDS More Than Ultranationalism
Democratic elites would rather side with Benjamin Netanyahu’s racist agenda than give any power to Israel critics like Ilhan Omar.
Brecht Was a Revolutionary
Not only did Bertolt Brecht transform German drama, but his work captured his radical commitment to socialist politics and the emancipation of working people.
Have You Heard? Pete Buttigieg Is Really Smart
The recent craze for Pete Buttigieg — multilingual Rhodes Scholar and all-around smart guy — is just the latest incarnation of the meritocratic cult of “smartness.” It’s social Darwinism for elite liberals.
No Beauty in Defeat
The Spanish Civil War ended 80 years ago today with Franco’s victory. But for opponents of Spanish fascism, the brutal repression of popular culture and democracy was only beginning.
Time to Bury the Dead
Eighty years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, tens of thousands of Franco’s victims still lie in unmarked graves. Identifying the dead is a vital means of providing Spain with closure — and making sure fascism doesn’t rear its head again.
How to Be a Marxist
Blending Kierkegaard with Hegel and Marx, Martin Hägglund’s This Life offers a new generation of socialists a guide to living a life of radical political commitment.
Don’t Believe the Hype: Paying for Medicare for All Is Simple
The critics have it wrong: by reducing health care spending through efficiency gains, Medicare for All would actually make it easier to fund other government programs.
Is Left Populism the Solution?
Left populism is the new idiom of radical politics worldwide. It emerged as the answer to the problem of a weak and disorganized working class — but despite its electoral successes, that class remains weak and disorganized.
Painting Budapest Red
In March 1919, Hungary saw the creation of a short-lived revolutionary state. We look at the significance of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, and its attempted transformation of art and culture.
The City Is Ours
In tomorrow’s Turkish elections, the leftist Peoples’ Democratic Party is putting forward a type of politics that directly challenges Erdoğan’s autocratic rule: pro-worker, anti-patriarchy, radically democratic.
The Critics Ruined “Us”
Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” was a masterpiece. “Us” is a tedious drag tailored to the sensibilities of critics.
Theresa May Is Hilariously Bad at Her Job
Theresa May’s handling of Brexit has been so inept she doesn’t even have enough support to resign.
Democrats Should Fight Trump With Medicare For All
Instead of championing Medicare for All, the Democratic leadership is proposing mild tweaks to Obamacare. That’s a disaster — centrist incrementalism is a gift to Trump.
Gambling With Your Life
Boeing’s corner-cutting likely killed hundreds of people in the recent Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes. Capitalism is to blame.