The Ghost of the Mechanical Turk
Digital microwork in the Middle East exploits occupation, war, and neoliberalism to extract the cheapest labor possible.
19661 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
A Rough Night at the Opera
John Adams and Peter Sellars’s Girls of the Golden West is bland, poorly staged liberalism.
New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
At this weekend’s ANC congress, South Africa doesn’t need a new leader, it needs a new economy.
That’s Just Capitalism
Sure, rigged, “crony capitalism” generates enormous inequality. But unrigged capitalism does the same thing.
Debating Black Freedom
A look back at Liberator, an anticolonial magazine that operated during a golden age for black radical publications.
Ed Lee (1952–2017)
Under Ed Lee, San Francisco was remade into a playground for tech capitalists and real estate developers.
The Jerusalem Gambit
The United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as part of its decades-long support of Israeli colonialism.
Capitalism and Freedom
Why do conservatives like capitalism? Because it keeps in place the hierarchies they cherish.
Movable Empire
The story of how America’s imperial quest for labor shaped the hemisphere’s working class.
The “Death Tax” Cargo Cult
With its assault on the estate tax, the GOP is demonstrating that it’s not even under the thumb of the 1 percent, but the 0.2 percent.
Whatever Happened to Cool Britannia?
1997 was a cultural watershed for a new, “cool” neoliberalism.
Reflections on Anti-Communism
Throughout history, anti-communism has aided the forces of tyranny and reaction — not democracy and freedom.
Catastrophe and Colonialism
Hurricane Maria brutally exposed the crisis of Puerto Rico’s colonial status.
Taming the Antislavery Revolution
The Civil War wasn’t just a struggle against the South. It was an ideological battle within the heart of Northern society.
Energy and Roses
In Mexico, an energy users’ association is growing into a militant women’s movement.
Where Liberals Go to Die
The centrist nadir in a nutshell: “Am I really so out of touch? No. It’s the voters who are wrong.”
When Libertarian Judges Rule
Libertarians have a distorted sense of what counts as free speech.
The Corbyn Doctrine
On International Human Rights Day Jeremy Corbyn makes the case for a fundamental break with the world order.
Podemos Under Pressure
With the Catalan standoff emboldening the Spanish right, can Podemos revive its populist alternative to the status quo?
“The Election Is Being Stolen”
In the face of state repression and blatant fraud, Hondurans are demanding their right to a democratic election.