You Have to Watch Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Chadwick Boseman’s final performance in playwright August Wilson’s new Netflix adaptation of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a haunting but appropriate farewell.
20412 Article(s) by: T Rivers
T Rivers is a pseudonymous journalist who covers East and Central Africa.
Anti-Asian Racism Is on the Rise in Australia — and It’s Coming From the Top Down
This past year saw a wave of anti-Asian racism, egged on by a club of conservative “anti-anti-racist” commentators who brand opponents of bigotry as stooges for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s long past time to challenge their sly dog whistles and disingenuous smears.
New Polling Shows That Millions of Americans Really Hate Wall Street
The GameStop saga was more than a simple tale of upstart traders taking on big business. But it highlighted again how disconnected Wall Street is from ordinary workers — and new polling finds that even more Americans now resent Wall Street.
To Defeat the Radical Right, End American Empire
The American military has long been fertile ground for the far right. To weaken the radical right’s power, we need to dismantle the warfare state — and build in its place a humane welfare state that provides for all.
Keeping George Orwell on the Left
The term “Orwellian” has long been a vacuous cliché, and now even allies of Trump are making use of it to deride their opponents. But George Orwell, a self-described democratic socialist, always belonged on the Left.
The Left Can Take Back Power in Ecuador
From 2007 to 2017, Ecuador was a beacon of hope on the Latin American left, but the last four years have seen a neoliberal regime imposing IMF-driven austerity. The front-runner in polls for today’s presidential election, left-winger Andrés Arauz, told Jacobin how he’ll continue the Citizen Revolution — and build on his ally Rafael Correa’s legacy.
Canada’s Largest Meatpacking Facility Is on Trial for Endangering Its Workers During the Pandemic
Cargill runs Canada’s biggest meatpacking facility and obliged its workers to come in despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the company is facing a criminal investigation — the first of its kind — after the sadly predictable deaths of workers and their family members.
The Global South Needs Power and Resources, Not Empty Representation
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is rumored to be the next president of the World Trade Organization. But placing an African woman at the top of the powerful institution will do little if it continues to push neoliberal policies that harm workers and farmers across the Global South.
On the Picket Line at Hunts Point
We should all cheer on strikes like the recently ended Hunts Point Teamsters walk off in the Bronx. But there’s no substitute for socialists actually showing up on the picket lines to provide tangible material support and engage with striking workers.
Why Cable News Hates Medicare for All
From last year’s Democratic primaries to this year’s Biden agenda, TV news coverage of the health care debate is outrageously skewed against single-payer reform. To understand why, we need look no further than their business model.
Tech Workers at Every Level Can Organize to Build Power
Tech workers occupy a contradictory location in the American class structure. On the one hand, many are well paid and identify both as professionals and with management. On the other, the proletarianized aspects of their work can offer opportunities to seize for organizing as workers.
Why Memes Will Never Be Monetized
Attempts by companies like McDonald’s to use memes for marketing have flopped, with ad men unable to reproduce memes’ inherent reliance on collective creativity. Memes don’t fit with the logic of private appropriation — and social media sites looking for ad revenue are giving them ever less space.
The Australian Labor Party Needs to Ditch Neoliberalism Instead of Doubling Down
The Write Stuff, a recent collection of essays from the ALP’s conservative wing, argues that Labor must shift even further to the right to become electorally successful. The book’s authors couldn’t be more wrong — to win, Labor must ditch the neoliberal policies they celebrate.
Burma’s Coup Shows How Little Power the Military Ever Gave Up
The military coup against Aung San Suu Kyi marks the end of Burma’s ten-year experiment with democracy. Her government spoke of national reconciliation while denying the military’s atrocities and doing nothing to stop its war on ethnic minorities — an explicit refusal to “take sides” which ensured the armed forces would continue to dominate the country’s politics.
How Anton Pannekoek Planned to Storm the Heavens
Before Anton Pannekoek, astronomers sought only to interpret the cosmos — his goal was to change it. The renowned Dutch scientist who gave his name to an asteroid and a moon crater was also a Marxist revolutionary who debated with figures like Lenin about the road to power.
Rihanna Is Right About the Importance of India’s Massive Farmer Protests
The massive farmer protests in India are facing down a Modi government that has no qualms about using repression to push through its neoliberal agenda. The farmers’ resolve has been remarkable — and they’re providing a glimmer of hope that Modi’s far-right government may not be as invincible as it seemed just months ago.
The Pandemic Hasn’t Made the Case for Universal Basic Income
Universal cash assistance programs have provided an indispensable financial lifeline for households and the economy as a whole during the pandemic. But contrary to many advocates of a universal basic income, the past year’s experience offers no model for a left policy agenda in normal times.
Perhaps We Should Regulate Deranged Billionaires Like Elon Musk
By one estimate, Elon Musk owns more than a quarter of all active satellites orbiting Earth. Though his fantasy of becoming emperor of Mars probably won’t materialize, we have to scale back the unchecked power of deranged Bond villain types like Musk before it extends from Earth to the skies.
Joe Biden’s Steps Toward Ending Saudi Arabia’s War on Yemen Are Tentatively Hopeful
Yesterday, the Biden administration took two long-overdue steps toward potentially ending the Saudi war on Yemen. But the president has to provide more clarity on what exactly his administration is willing to do to halt Saudi Arabia’s brutality and remove the boot from the neck of Yemenis.
The Victorian “Green New Deal” Is Really an Exercise in Greenwashing
At the end of 2020, Victoria’s parliament passed a motion calling for a Green New Deal. But the plan drawn up by Australian Labor premier Daniel Andrews is market-driven and won’t come close to achieving the kind of large-scale public transformation that we need to avert disaster.