The Rise of the Machines
Automation isn’t freeing us from work — it’s keeping us under capitalist control.
19186 Articles by: Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer is a PhD candidate in sociology at Stockholm University. He researches right-wing politics in welfare states.
Honduran Labyrinth
In a leftward-moving region, the iron fist of Honduras’ Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo makes him Obama’s sort of “democrat.”
Life and Death Squads in the World’s Homicide Capital
In a society ravaged by crime, radical “law-and-order” forces end up being at the root of the problem.
When the Union’s the Boss
While some level of personal sacrifice on the part of union organizers is inevitable, that can’t justify rendering them powerless over their own workplace conditions.
The Industrial Classroom
In resisting standardized testing, today’s teachers are part of a rich tradition of struggle against dehumanization in the workplace.
Curriculum for a New American Century
What would a national core curriculum to prepare students for work in the Age of Service look like?
A Day Without Care
What does it mean to strike when “production” isn’t the production of widgets, but care for children, the ill, disabled, or elderly?
They Shoot Oscars, Don’t They?
The Oscar ceremony has finally acquired an ideal twenty-first century host in the smirking, tap-dancing, bland-faced Seth MacFarlane.
Palestine and the Left
The Left has a checkered history when it comes to Palestine.
Whores’ Glory
The reaction to a new film about sex workers tells us more about liberal reviewers than the workers themselves.
The Last Lost Cause
Was the mid-century dominance of southern Democrats essential to the defeat of Hitler and the triumph of American democracy?
Against the Law
By organizing based on international law, the struggle for Palestinian liberation has been transformed into a question of rights.
The Oslo Illusion
The Oslo Accords weren’t a failure for Israel — they served as a fig leaf to consolidate and deepen its control over Palestinian life.
How Does the Subaltern Speak?
Postcolonial theory discounts the enduring value of Enlightenment universalism at its own peril.
The Problem of Sex
Without radical change, disquiet finds other outlets. Dystopic visions have replaced Shulamith Firestone and Adrienne Rich’s utopian ones.
Truth Told Through Lies
Zero Dark Thirty is a film that didn’t need to be made — it strives for realism, but ends up rehashing Bush-era tropes about the ‘war on terror.’
A Dishonest Umpire
Two-state proponents argue that comprehensive peace is only possible with deeper American involvement in the process. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Dead White Reds
For today’s beleaguered left, it’s tempting to pine over the past. But the lives of two socialist intellectuals remind us that no one should be too nostalgic for the twentieth century.
The Perils of Wonkery
As the policy wonk has risen in prestige, we seem to have reached the point where this entire class of commentators is highly susceptible to what I’ll call “Charlie Rose disease.”
Visions of a New World
The struggle for structural reforms is essential to changing the “common sense” of the US political arena. But it is not enough to wound the rabid beast; one must ultimately bring it down.