Salman Rushdie’s Stabbing Is an Attack on Free Speech
Salman Rushdie was seriously injured in a stabbing, decades after reactionaries called for his death. He deserves the unqualified support of everyone who values freedom of expression.
19209 Articles by: Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
The Korean War Is All but Forgotten Today. It Shouldn’t Be.
Ever since the end of the Korean War, the US has tried its best to make Americans forget it. But for Koreans, the war never really ended. The new season of the podcast Blowback aims to excavate the realities of US brutality during and after the war.
The CHIPS Act Is a Massive Giveaway to Tech Companies
President Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS Act earlier this week. It’s a massive giveaway to the semiconductor industry, which has spent the last decade padding the pockets of CEOs and stockholders with billions upon billions of dollars in stock buybacks.
Pakistan’s Army Is Just as Corrupt as the Politicians It Denounces
Despite his removal from office in April, the pseudo-populist Imran Khan is trying to mount a comeback in Pakistan. Khan’s ouster has generated a crisis for the politically powerful Pakistani army and the vast patronage networks it controls.
Postal Banking Can Destroy Predatory Lending
The payday loan industry is thriving in Canada, and borrowers are paying the cost through extraordinary interest rates and fees. There is a simple solution: postal banking.
Starbucks Is Accusing Me and My Coworkers of Kidnapping Our Boss
How bad has Starbucks’ union busting gotten? The company is accusing workers at a South Carolina store of kidnapping their boss. We spoke with one worker about the absurd charges and how they unanimously won their union vote in a notoriously anti-labor state.
The Trump-Voting Kansas Electorate Is a Better Protector of Abortion Rights Than the Supreme Court
The resounding defeat of a ballot initiative to strip abortion rights from the Kansas state constitution is a reminder that we don’t need to rely on benevolent philosopher-kings in black robes to protect our rights. We can mobilize popular majorities.
Wall Street Is Mostly to Blame for Rising Commodity Prices
The mainstream narrative is that Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine single-handedly caused an inflationary surge in commodity prices. But in fact, it was Wall Street speculators reacting to Putin’s war that forced up prices.
The Government Should Cancel the F-35 Program and Replace It With Nothing
The F-35 fighter plane project is a complete failure. But if it ends up on the congressional chopping block, Lockheed Martin will do everything in its power to line up another trillion-dollar weapons manufacturing contract in its stead.
How Liberals Gave Up on Progress
Liberals constantly urge citizens to accept difficult decisions to protect the capitalist economy. This wasn’t always the case.
Prey Brilliantly Revives the Predator Franchise
Hollywood loves to crank out boring action movies. But Hulu’s Prey is anything but. It plays off of and reverses long-standing Hollywood tropes about Native Americans to craft an alien thriller that actually delivers.
The Federal Government Has Long Made the Cost of Higher Ed Worse, Not Better
Everyone knows the cost of higher education in America is massive and unsustainable. The federal government has played a key role in inflating college costs — but any president, including Joe Biden, could easily change that while wiping out student debt.
Starbucks’s Abortion Promises for Workers Are PR Stunts. We Want a Union Contract.
Starbucks is seeking good PR by offering to cover travel costs for abortion and gender-affirming care for workers like me. But its promises come with caveats and can be revoked. We don’t want flimsy promises — we want these benefits in a union contract.
Recent Primary Results Show the GOP Is Still Sliding Toward Authoritarianism
Candidates who amplified false claims about Donald Trump winning in 2020 did very well in this month’s primaries. Their victories are one more step in the direction of authoritarianism.
Joe Biden Promised a Public Option for Health Care. What Happened to It?
On the 2020 campaign trail, Joe Biden and much of the rest of his party promised to pursue a public option for health care. We haven’t heard a word about the public option since.
Charlie Kirk Is Right to Be Afraid of Spinoza
Right-wing culture warriors recently attacked Immanuel Kant as the father of “critical race theory.” Now, figures like Charlie Kirk are going after Baruch Spinoza — a radical enlightenment thinker who can actually teach us a few things about how to fight the Right.
Australian Unions Need to Stop Pinning Their Hopes on the Labor Party
Since the 1980s, Australian unions have subordinated everything to getting Labor elected. It’s a failed strategy that has diminished union power, leading to declining wages and conditions for workers.
Boston Starbucks Workers Have Been on Strike for 3 Weeks
Three weeks ago, in response to what workers say has been particularly flagrant union busting at a Boston Starbucks after their unanimous vote for a union, baristas have gone on strike. That strike is still going.
No, Criticism of the Democratic Climate Bill Isn’t About Bitter “Internet Leftists”
Have you heard? All criticism of the Inflation Reduction Act can be boiled down to moralizing hippies and a bitter, “Internet-poisoned” left. This is absurd: deflecting from the bill’s flaws does a disservice to the climate fight.
US Global Dominance Is Bad for Workers at Home and Abroad
Rather than benefiting workers in the US and elsewhere, US foreign policy enriches corporate elites and the national security state. Our task is to rebuild the left institutions that bind workers together across borders and fight for a more just world order.