No One Ever Said It Would Be Easy
Labour lost this election not because it was too much of a working-class party, but because it was too little of one in too many places. Our cause endures — and now is the time to steel ourselves for the next fight.
20378 Article(s) by: Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
I’m Crying, You’re Crying. But Our Day Will Come.
The exit polls from the British election are a devastating blow. Allowing the Tories to pose as the defenders of Brexit ensured defeat — and has handed historic Labour areas over to the party of bosses and landlords. But with resolute socialist organizing, we will have another shot at power.
The Corporate Media Has No Idea What to Do With the Fact That Bernie Sanders Is Jewish
The mainstream press loves attacking Bernie Sanders for either being too Jewish or not Jewish enough. It’s a cynical ploy to undermine his unapologetically left-wing campaign.
Anti-Zionism Is Not Antisemitism
Just days after he was warmly applauded by a Zionist group for delivering a stunningly antisemitic speech, Donald Trump issued a cynical “antisemitism” decree meant to stamp out campus criticism of Israel. It’s just the latest episode in Zionism’s long history of allying with antisemites.
Bernie’s First Political Revolution
In 1981, Bernie Sanders achieved the unthinkable — dethroning a deeply entrenched city establishment in Burlington, Vermont, with an upset victory in the city’s mayoral race that no one saw coming. His methods were familiar: a populist, working-class message, door-to-door grassroots organization, and a dogged refusal to bow to elite pressure.
You Can Have Means Testing or You Can Have Democracy
Political scientists are discovering something that today’s Democrats refuse to understand: social policy is about more than technocratic tinkering — it defines who counts as a full citizen. And means testing tears apart the very fabric of society.
The Great NHS Heist
The NHS is one of the great social achievements of the twentieth century — and it’s currently under attack. If an incoming Jeremy Corbyn–led Labour government wins today’s election, it will have to be serious about rebuilding Britain’s health service.
Bernie Sanders Is a Critic of US Imperialism. Elizabeth Warren Is Not.
You can tell a lot about a candidate’s foreign policy by the way they’ve responded to the right-wing coup in Bolivia. Bernie Sanders immediately called out the coup by name. Elizabeth Warren did not.
Migrant-Led Movements Are Leading the Charge Against Australian Border Barbarism
Australia’s sadistic border regime doesn’t stop at its offshore detention camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. As those island prisons are wound down, a new asylum-seeker-led organization is campaigning for basic rights for those living in precarious situations inside Australian borders.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg Is Even Worse Than He Seems
There are three things Pete Buttigieg wants you to know: He’s smarter than you. He’s allergic to any hint of a progressive agenda. And he’s smarter than you.
The Bernie Sanders Origin Story, Part 1
In the first part of an ongoing series covering Bernie Sanders’ time as mayor of Burlington, we look at Sanders’ years in the wilderness and the circumstances that made his rise possible.
Something Frightening Is Happening in British Politics
This election campaign has marked a grim milestone in British political history: a pathological liar in Downing Street, Boris Johnson, has run a campaign in which all standards of honesty and accuracy have been tossed aside — and a ferociously partisan media has done everything it can to cover it up.
We Should Be Free to Say “Fuck You” to the Boss
As soon as we show up for work, our much-vaunted free speech goes out the window. But when we win full employment and don’t fear losing our jobs, we can tell the boss what we really think.
Yet Another Round of Clinton Smears
Two-time presidential loser Hillary Clinton has dusted off her time-worn excuses and leveled another round of attacks on the Left. Someone should remind her she’s in a glass house.
100 Years of American Communism
The Communist Party USA, which turned 100 this year, has left behind a complicated legacy, filled with great victories and terrible blunders.
Argentina Steps into the Post-Macri Era
Argentina’s Mauricio Macri officially steps down as president today, having overseen four years of neoliberal mismanagement, inflation, and a new IMF bailout program. The election of the Peronist Alberto Fernández is good news for the Left, but it faces an uphill battle in stabilizing a deeply indebted economy.
Workers of the World Can Still Unite
Jane McAlevey believes in the potential of working people to unite across divisions, develop their collective potentials into a creative social force, and change the world. Her new book offers concrete tactics and practices for how workers can win more battles — and prepare for the larger wars to come.
Pete Buttigieg on Bernie Sanders
When Pete Buttigieg was a high school senior, he wrote a prizewinning essay praising Bernie Sanders. Here, we republish the essay in full.
When Being a Red Meant Risking Your Life
This year marks a century since the First Red Scare, which decimated the ranks of the US left. One of the worst episodes was the Centralia incident — where a reactionary mob tortured and killed a group of IWW members to drive them out of the Washington town.
Paul Volcker Was a Hero of the Ruling Class
Paul Volcker, who died yesterday, won’t be mourned by this publication. As Federal Reserve chair under Reagan and Carter, he destroyed millions of working-class jobs and pushed a radical neoliberal program.