What the New Economic Policy Did — And What It Left Unfinished
The NEP helped the young Soviet Union rebound economically. But its lack of political reform hampered the ability of workers and peasants to resist the onset of Stalinism.
21035 Article(s) by: Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
Why We Should Remember William Monroe Trotter
In the early twentieth century, conservative “race leaders” like Booker T. Washington preached self-help and other accommodationist nostrums. William Monroe Trotter was different. A pioneering black editor, he worked closely with African-American workers to advance a liberatory black politics.
Against Recycling
Recycling is part of an insidious sleight of hand that reframed our growing waste problem as one not of corporate excess, but of irresponsible consumer choices and individual lifestyles.
Chile Needs a Political Revolution
After weeks of popular protests, Chilean authorities have promised to rewrite the constitution inherited from the Augusto Pinochet regime. But the millions-strong mobilization behind the protests wants to totally undo the country’s neoliberal order.
A Strong Welfare State Could Be a Blow Against Imperialism
The US military is a human-maiming, planet-destroying machine. We have to begin rolling it back immediately.
Sports Teams Should Be Owned by the Public
Why do we allow billionaires to run beloved sports franchises as dictatorships and blackmail us for tax subsidies? We should put our favorite teams under public ownership.
The Year in Class Struggle
Labor is going into a new decade weaker than it’s been in nearly a century. But the year was a promising one for those looking for sparks from the US working class — and hoping the new decade can stoke those sparks into a flame.
Italian Football, a Mirror of a Society in Crisis
In the 1980s and 1990s, Italy’s Serie A was the world’s leading football league. But as financial interests asset-strip once-great clubs and the terraces become home to harshening racist abuse, Italian football no longer looks like such a “beautiful game.”
The Australian Labor Party’s Official Election Review Learns All the Wrong Lessons
Six months after the Australian Labor Party lost what was widely regarded as an unlosable election, the party released its internal review of the defeat. The document refuses to face the real reasons for the catastrophe, while proposing a potentially disastrous shift to the right.
“We’re Creating a Society That’s Better for All of Us Together”
Socialists have seen electoral gains in many major American cities in the last few years. But they’ve also won local races in towns like Peekskill, New York, where Vanessa Agudelo recently won a race for city council. We interviewed Agudelo about what socialism means to her.
When W. E. B. Du Bois Went to the Masses
In 1952, W. E. B. Du Bois began teaching at the Jefferson School of Social Science, an institution of the Communist Party devoted to worker education. The school gave him the opportunity to combine Marxist theory with pan-Africanism and support global anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles.
I Am a Union Worker, and I Want Medicare for All
My union is in a perpetual battle for decent health care coverage. It’s a tactic of our employers to prevent us from striking against our terrible work conditions. If we had Medicare for All, we could demand much more at the bargaining table.
We Should Recapture the Optimism of the 1960s
In order to make progress in our time, we have to remember the radical promise of the 1960s — both what was won, and what’s been forgotten.
“Socialists Identify With Humanity as a Whole”
We speak with Nathan J. Robinson, founder of Current Affairs, about self-interest versus moral conviction, the cruelty of conservatism, and the cluelessness of liberalism.
A Wildcat Strike at UC-Santa Cruz
Graduate student workers at University of California, Santa Cruz are on wildcat strike until they’re paid a living wage.
The Loophole that Stole Christmas for Movie Theater Workers
Little-known fact: movie theater workers who work on Christmas aren’t covered by overtime laws. Now, workers at the nation’s largest theater chain are demanding holiday pay. They’re the real reason theaters are open on Christmas Day, and they deserve the movie-going public’s support.
“We’re Not Organizing the Poor, We’re the Poor Organizing”
Few artists blend hip-hop and leftist politics like Rebel Diaz. We sat down with the group to talk about American imperialism, the current mass movement in Chile against neoliberalism, and the connection between hip-hop and community organizing in times of alienation and austerity.
The Global Corporate Tax Scam Is Under Pressure
For decades, multinational companies have used fraudulent accounting techniques to evade corporate taxes with impunity. Thanks to populist pressure and national rivalries, international talks are now underway to explore reforms. The risk now is that reform ideas will be watered down, and poor countries excluded from the benefits.
Class War on the Final Frontier
The Outer Worlds isn’t quite a socialist video game. But it’s close.
Radical Academics for the Status Quo
Judith Butler donating to Kamala Harris? Martha Nussbaum supporting John Hickenlooper? You can learn as much about a radical academic’s ideas by searching their campaign contributions as by reading their books.