Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
John Milton died 350 years ago, leaving behind Paradise Lost, a poem composed in a state of deep despair. Blind, alone, and reeling from the failures of the English Revolution, Milton wrote an epic reflection on political defeat and the possibility of hope.
When Australia’s Labor government overrode union rights — and justice — to place the construction union under administration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thought he’d played a trump card. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Liberal democracy’s assumption that political parties must compete for votes in the same way that businesses compete for customers is a dangerous trap. It reduces voting to a mere transactional choice and erases the participatory vision of self-governance
The Left is not in a position to win Medicare for All under the Trump administration. But we have an important battle that can position us for future victories: defending Medicaid, which demonstrated the power of public health care during the pandemic.
Forty years ago today, San Francisco dockworkers struck a blow against apartheid by refusing to unload cargo from South Africa. That kind of international worker solidarity is badly needed today to end Israeli genocide and apartheid.
With Democrats’ help, Republicans have taken a big step toward giving Trump the power to wipe out enemy nonprofits — and they already have a blueprint for how to defund clean energy groups.
“Energy workers,” a union leader told us, “are politically homeless.” Here’s why the IRA legislation didn’t do much to change things.
There are plenty of real catastrophes in today’s world. But from military build-up to fantasies of mass deportation, right-wingers are promising their supporters better disasters: ones where they get to be in charge.
The progressive alliance that backs Sri Lanka’s new president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, won a landslide victory in last week’s parliamentary election. The government has a clear mandate for change but now faces many obstacles to its reform agenda.
We live in an era of increasing tribalism and self-righteousness, made more toxic by social media. Philosopher Mark Kingwell argues that the Left can forge a healthier political culture.
Donald Trump’s attorney general pick, Pam Bondi, is reportedly the sister of the lawyer who defended Elon Musk and Tesla against federal securities fraud charges. If confirmed, Bondi would be in a position to shut down the ongoing investigation into Musk.
Ukraine’s military position is worsening, and there are signs of fatigue on the home front. A tit-for-tat escalation between Washington and Moscow would be disastrous for Ukrainians and for us all.
All of a sudden, mainstream politicians and pundits are talking about class dealignment in American elections. We at Jacobin have published on dealignment for years — and wrote a short guide about why it’s such a pressing political issue.
The European Union loves boasting about its green agenda. But its plans rely on electric vehicles — and a push for lithium mining in Serbia, which would outsource the environmental costs of the green transition to a non-EU country.
Despite favorable polls, the Queensland Greens suffered a setback in the recent state election. The results point to structural barriers that left-wing minor parties will need to overcome in order to challenge two-party rule.
Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy, is a former airline industry lobbyist who has voted to make it harder to impose safety regulations on airlines. The industry is already celebrating his nomination.
Donald Trump’s reelection and the specter of Jair Bolsonaro’s return loom over the G20 summit in Brazil. But despite the country’s struggles, Lula da Silva’s leadership provides a playbook for battling the far right.
Liberal pundits have puzzled over increasing support for Trump by immigrants and people of color. To understand the trend, we should look to economic issues and the way institutions like unions and churches affect political socialization.
Over the course of decades, social democracy abandoned workers. Then workers abandoned social democracy.
In Finland, a coalition of conservative and far-right parties is slashing social spending and squashing unions. It’s an authoritarian brand of neoliberalism that is undoing welfare while giving tax cuts to high earners.