Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
Jackson, Mississippi’s water crisis is an omen of climate disasters to come. But August floods were only the straw that broke the Jackson water system’s back. More fundamentally, the crisis is the result of decades of disinvestment and austerity.
When he became the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to democratize the USSR without embracing free-market capitalism and end the Cold War without enabling US domination. The world is still haunted by his inability to achieve those goals.
There are many things to like about Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman. But his dismal position on Palestine is a reminder of how foreign policy is so often the weak spot of progressive politicians.
We spoke with indie singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus about being a musician during the pandemic, her supergroup boygenius, the state of the music industry, and her very public support of and admiration for Bernie Sanders.
Two Trader Joe’s stores have now unionized, raising the question of whether the chain could be the next Starbucks. But the company may at least be following in Starbucks’s footsteps in one way — by engaging in illegal union busting.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s ascent stirred enthusiasm among Italy’s Communists, who had long dreamed of reform in Moscow. The Soviet leader was inspired by the Italians’ more democratic, pluralistic approach to Communism. His failure would doom Eurocommunism, as well.
Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev, who died last week, was a tragic figure. He tried to build a humane socialism on the rotten foundations of authoritarianism. Today, without the albatross of Stalinism, we can fight for an entirely different kind of socialism.
When you think of poorly paid workers, minor league baseball players probably aren’t the first group that comes to mind. But minor leaguers suffer paltry compensation — and a drive to unionize them is now officially underway.
This Labor Day, the overall situation for US labor remains bleak. Yet the Starbucks union campaign has spread across hundreds of stores, offering a model for other unions. In tough times, Starbucks workers are giving hope to the labor movement.
On Labor Day, there’s perhaps no one better to read than Eugene V. Debs. Here’s his 1903 Labor Day message, never before republished, in which he declares, “The struggle in which we are now engaged will end only when every day is Labor Day.”
Leftist activist Anjali Appadurai has thrown her hat into British Columbia’s NDP leadership race. If she wins, she will become the new premier. But win or lose, her presence in the race is shaking things up.
Today Chile votes on a new constitution. Chileans have a chance to replace Pinochet’s document with one that guarantees social, economic, and environmental rights, and to bury the legacy of neoliberalism once and for all.
In 1905, revolt across the Russian Empire threatened to topple the tsar — but also prompted a formidable reactionary backlash. For Rosa Luxemburg, it showed the need for working-class leadership in the fight to democratize society.
The mass media, both inside Russia and beyond its borders, hasn’t much noticed — but young Russian leftists have been at the forefront of opposing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Workers have been striking throughout the summer to demand an end to Britain’s cost-of-living crisis that doesn’t come at their expense. Expect more such strikes in the very near future.
For decades, Canada has been a consistent bulwark against the success of popular forces in Haiti. As Haiti’s capital is engulfed in protests and violence, Canadian calls for international intervention to “help” sound ominous, not reassuring.
US life expectancy has declined for the second year in a row — a historic drop that hasn’t been seen for a century. We can thank our country’s threadbare welfare state and antidemocratic political institutions.
In a new survey, the overwhelming majority of railroad workers say they reject a proposed settlement that fails to improve their draconian working conditions. They could strike as soon as September 16.
The Nazi legal theorist Carl Schmitt opposed liberalism in favor of an authoritarian politics based on singling out the enemies of the state. His ideas are incompatible with democracy, equality, and socialism.
Monsoon rains and melting glaciers have driven tens of millions of Pakistanis from their homes. The disaster shows that the poor Global South populations who do least to cause climate change are the people who pay most for its consequences.