In Defense of the American Revolution
1776 began as a petty squabble among odious and powerful elites. In spite of them, it soon became the lodestar of emancipatory movements everywhere.
19274 Articles by: Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
When Workers Stopped Seattle
The Seattle General Strike of 1919 is a forgotten and misunderstood part of American history. But it shows that workers have the power to shut down whole cities — and to run them in our interests.
Down With Florida’s Poll Tax
Florida Republicans just passed a poll tax that disenfranchises many of the same felons who recently won the right to vote. It’s a chilling throwback to previous eras of black voter suppression — and a reminder that we still have to fight for basic democratic rights today.
Bernie Is the Best Candidate on Palestine
Bernie Sanders has repeatedly denounced the brutality of Israel’s occupation and stood up for Palestinian rights. He’s the only candidate who has a chance of breaking the bipartisan pro-Israel consensus.
Criminalizing Solidarity
An Italian court has overruled the arrest of migrant-solidarity activist Carola Rackete. But as the far right in government criminalizes efforts to save lives at sea, the Left must offer unconditional solidarity to all those crossing the Mediterranean.
Defend the Post Office, Defend Black Workers
The United States Postal Service is a crucial institution for black workers in America. That’s why Bernie Sanders’s strong support for defending and expanding the USPS is a key racial justice issue.
The US Health System Is a Nightmare Where 50 Million Go Uninsured Every Single Year
Anyone who says they’re worried about people losing their health insurance because of Medicare for All is being disingenuous: every year, under our current system, 50 million lack insurance at some point. The only solution to that insecurity is Medicare for All.
Elizabeth Warren’s Next Step on Medicare for All
Elizabeth Warren finally took a strong stand on Medicare for All on the campaign trail. It’s a welcome shift. Here’s how she can fight for it.
We Shall Never Be at Peace Again
One of the great Italian novelists of the last century, Natalia Ginzburg was long overlooked in the United States. Yet as Italy turns back toward the far right, this leading voice of the antifascist generation is again calling out to the present.
Crush the Democrats Funding Trump’s Concentration Camps in 2020
Last week, a group of Democrats in the House of Representatives who are part of the bipartisan “Problem Solvers Caucus” helped pass additional funding for Donald Trump’s immigrant concentration camps. All of them should be primaried in 2020.
Meet Sydney Ember, the New York Times’ Senior Anti-Bernie Correspondent
Big surprise: the New York Times reporter covering Bernie Sanders has a long record of unfairly attacking Sanders — while neglecting to mention that the sources she quotes are corporate lobbyists.
The Unbearable Emptiness of the Presidential Debates
The Democratic Party should be hosting thematic debates with viable presidential candidates on poverty, housing, foreign policy, immigrant rights, the climate crisis, and more. Instead, they are collaborating with the mainstream media to host empty entertainment spectacles.
Why We’re Socialists, Not “Progressives”
It’s not enough to just be “progressive.” To tackle the many problems we face today, we need to name the system that’s behind all of them, capitalism — and fight for the only viable alternative, socialism.
Berlin’s Black Communist
In the years before Hitler seized power, a Cameroonian communist was an icon of the Berlin left. Joseph Ekwe Bilé linked the fight against race hate in Germany to the vision of a world free of imperialism.
Why Bernie Was Right to Oppose US Intervention in Central America
The New York Times recently attacked Bernie Sanders for opposing US intervention in Latin America in the 1980s. We should set the record straight on what the US was doing in Central America — and why Sanders was right to oppose it.
We Need a Labour Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn faces increasing calls to turn Labour into the “party of Remain.” But thwarting Brexit would embolden the EU and its neoliberal dogmas — with disastrous consequences for the Left across Europe.
A Religion of Unity
For black meatpacking workers, multiracial class politics was the path to economic and social advancement.
What Revolutionary Socialism Means to Me
The revolutionary socialist vision is a vital one. Today’s rising socialist movement shouldn’t discard it.
The New Deal in the American Political Imagination
The New Deal solidified capitalist democracy in the United States. The country has swung between hints of social democracy and free market absolutism ever since.
Gene Sharp, the Cold War Intellectual Whose Ideas Seduced the Left
Gene Sharp has been called the most important American political figure you’ve never heard of. How did a militant Cold Warrior come to wield so much influence in protest movements from Venezuela to the Middle East?