The Self-Serving Myths of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley’s boosters say it’s an innovative, meritocratic wonderland that rewards brilliant visionaries and just might save the world. That’s nonsense.
20389 Article(s) by: Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
We Can Have Beautiful Public Housing
From Vienna to Chile, the success of social housing for the working and middle classes shows how beautiful homes can coexist with urban housing for all.
We Don’t Forget, We Don’t Forgive
Fifty years since the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968, Mexican students again face repression and violence. Today they draw inspiration from that past, in the name of building another future.
Comrades at War
Governments want us to respect World War I veterans in an apolitical way. But we should not forget the thousands of veterans who returned home to fight for their rights.
Playing at Politics
Video games can and should be full of interesting politics. So why aren’t they?
We Don’t Want a Public Option — We Want Medicare for All
Medicare for All threatens top Democratic donors’ interests, so Democrats offer the public option as a watered-down compromise.
Central American Migrants Are Not Your Enemy
Donald Trump is sending thousands of troops to the southern border to confront the migrant caravan. Here, in a joint statement, two antiwar veterans call on US soldiers to defy their commander in chief’s deployment order.
Latin America’s Re-Militarization
Even before Jair Bolsonaro’s rise, Latin America’s militaries had been regaining power through the court system.
Without History We Are Dust
Across Europe, a rising far right is on the offensive against LGBT people.
Fernando Haddad Reflects
In the aftermath of his defeat to far-right Jair Bolsonaro in the Brazilian presidential elections, Fernando Haddad looks back to the days of the 1980s Workers Party.
Vox Is Wrong About the Midterm Elections
Despite breathless claims of a deepening political cold war, Democrats made gains this month in every Republican-leaning voting group.
Felon Disenfranchisement and the New Jim Crow
On Tuesday, Floridians voted to largely end felon disenfranchisement in the state. It was a huge win — and it showed the importance of multiracial, class-based coalitions.
The Contradictions of the #Resistance
Jeff Sessions’ tenure as attorney general was vastly more detrimental to democracy and the rule of law than shuttering Mueller’s investigation could ever be. No one should be nostalgic for his tenure.
Working at Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson is one of most iconic “American” companies in America. What does work on its shop floor look like?
Red Flags Over Germany
One hundred years ago today, radical sailors, soldiers, and workers in Germany rose up to put an end to the carnage of World War I. And the revolutionary upheaval had only just begun.
A Podemos Budget?
Podemos’s backing for Spain’s Socialist cabinet risks making it a prop to the institutions it once rebelled against. Yet it has also imposed its own stamp on the government’s agenda.
Directing the Revolution
Political cinema can sometimes be too highbrow for a mass audience. But in the 1960s and early ’70s, French-Greek director Costa-Gavras showed that films with a revolutionary message can also be popular.
How Massachusetts Health Care Companies Defeated Question 1
The nurses union-backed Question 1 would have established safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in Massachusetts — which is exactly why a hospital lobby group spent more than $30 million against it.
A State of Division
Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina once again handed control to rival nationalists. But low turnout and weak social movements also show how institutionalized sectarianism hollows out democracy.
Baby Steps Are Not Enough
Yesterday’s midterms were a rebuke to Trump. But America’s decades-long shift to the right won’t be undone with Democratic Party liberalism.