Issue 53: Misery Index
Crunching the numbers on the class war.
20395 Article(s) by: Tanner Howard
Tanner Howard is a freelance journalist and In These Times editorial intern. They’re also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Israel’s Useful Idiots
With the war in Gaza, it seems only one side’s blood and pain gets much attention in the US media.
God Complex
Evangelical Christians are major supporters of Israel — because they think its existence heralds the Second Coming of Christ.
A New Giant of Labor Emerges
Episode 1 of Organize the Unorganized: The Rise of the CIO explores key developments that led to the CIO’s founding: the split with the AFL, the broken promises of welfare capitalism, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the mass strikes of 1934.
The Big Red Hymn Book
Some working-class anthems are sung to the tunes of Christian hymns.
The Epoch of the Epoch Times
Their business is attacking China and promoting right-wing political tropes — and business is booming.
Prosperity Gospel
The Bible’s actual takes on wealth are not what you might think.
A Biden Envoy to the Pacific Had Major Conflicts of Interest
When Joseph Yun was the chief US negotiator in the Pacific, he also led talks that are likely to deliver a lucrative advantage to the consulting firm where he currently works and the powerful defense contractor it represents in the region.
Netanyahu Has Brought Us to the Brink of War With Iran
The terrifying escalation of attacks between Israel and Iran is a predictable result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s clear desire to start a war with Iran — enabled, like everything else Netanyahu has done since October 7, by Joe Biden.
Édouard Louis: Your Identity Isn’t Private Property
Author Édouard Louis was asked if he thought someone lacking his experience of homophobia could stage a theater adaptation of one of his books. In his response, he argues against a restrictive idea of identity as a property some of us own.
Workers, Not Technocrats, Can Secure a Sustainable Planet
Liberals believe that the greatest obstacle to necessary climate intervention is a lack of social awareness and professional leadership. The real problem is the absence of a militant, worker-led climate stabilization program.
Keir Starmer’s Leadership Is Deeply Antidemocratic
The Labour Party’s online voting system appears open to tampering — and some left-wing candidates claim it’s been systematically rigged. If true, these allegations would mark a new low for party democracy under Keir Starmer.
The Outsize Influence of Small Wars
The small wars waged by European empires generated arguments for the legitimacy of state violence that remain in use today. Lauren Benton’s new book, They Called it Peace, finds that the era of gunboat policing anticipated the age of the predator drone.
America’s Last Violent Strike Has Been Wrongly Forgotten
The 1937 Little Steel strike is often dismissed as a failure and relegated to a footnote. But it was a courageous organizing effort and a crucial moment in US labor history — revealing the limits of the New Deal order and the deepest dynamics of capitalism.
Daimler Truck Workers Are Strike-Ready in the Anti-Union South
The South has long been the Achilles heel of the American labor movement. The United Auto Workers are trying to make inroads — including with a heated contract fight between workers and bosses at the multinational corporation Daimler Truck North America.
Biden’s Attempt to Get Tough on Netanyahu Quietly Failed
Nothing Joe Biden has done to rein in Benjamin Netanyahu’s brutality against the people of Gaza has worked. Biden has proven too weak, indecisive, and indulgent of Israel to even induce Netanyahu into making small tweaks to his behavior.
The Speech That Got Me Banned From Germany
Today, Yanis Varoufakis was banned not just from visiting Germany but from participating in video conferences about politics hosted in Germany. Here’s the plea for humanity and justice in Palestine that got him banned.
The Rich: On Top of the World and Very Anxious About It
The small handful of ultrawealthy winners are firmly ensconced in their positions of privilege in power. Yet so many of them seem haunted by the possibility that maybe they don’t deserve it.