Harold Washington’s Legacy Still Hangs Over Chicago
A new documentary shows how Mayor Harold Washington upended politics as usual in 1980s Chicago. What goes unsaid is how quickly Washington’s legacy was undone after his untimely death.
19040 Articles 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.
The Biggest Academic Strike in US History Is Underway at the University of California
Yesterday, unions representing 48,000 graduate student workers in the University of California system went on strike. Jacobin spoke with striking workers at UC Berkeley about their demands and the organizing leading up to the strike.
Even Diabetes Supplies Companies Realize the Need for Universal Health Care
Tandem Diabetes Care’s stock has fallen as diabetic Americans are dangerously foregoing expensive medical supplies. Its CEO says this drop-off isn’t happening in countries with universal health care. He’s inadvertently making the case for Medicare for All.
Triangle of Sadness Is as Absurd as 21st-Century Capitalism Is
Triangle of Sadness is more than a little over the top at times. But so what? Unlike every other movie at the theaters, it’s over the top in its scathing portrayal of the ugly realities of contemporary inequality.
The Cold War Made It Harder for the Left to Win Social Democratic Reforms
Across the political spectrum, many believe the threat of communist revolution made the 20th century’s social democratic reforms possible. In fact, the Cold War’s hostile environment divided the Left and excluded communist parties from government.
The 2022 Midterms Were One of the Best Elections the Left Has Had in Memory
Put the mainstream Democrats aside. After the midterms, more left-wing insurgents are going to the House, Bernie Sanders has two strong allies in the Senate, and progressive ballot measures passed everywhere. Election night was a good night for the Left.
Philadelphia Baristas Are Trying to Unionize the City’s Coffee Shop Workers
Starbucks baristas have made headlines for unionizing across the country. But smaller coffee shop workers have organized, too. And in Philadelphia, baristas are looking to unionize the entire city.
Mexico’s Struggle to Build an Independent Labor Movement
Throughout most of the last century, the Mexican labor movement has largely seen its unions become corrupt instruments of state control. That’s slowly beginning to change, but the road to independent, democratic Mexican unionism remains a steep one.
Climate Reparations Could Be Based on Post-Nazi Germany’s Payouts
Wealthy countries don’t want to pay climate reparations, but they’re going to have to. COP27 officials are currently grappling with who will pay for climate-related catastrophe and how. They could look to postwar Germany for a model.
Universal Benefits Are Actually Cheaper Than Means-Tested Ones
The argument that means-tested welfare programs reduce inequality and poverty more than non-means-tested programs is based on an accounting trick. Universal benefits are the best and cheapest way to alleviate poverty.
Italy’s Far-Right Government Is Already at War With Migrants
After just three weeks in office, Giorgia Meloni’s government has declared war on migrant-rescue organizations. The affair has prompted a diplomatic incident with France — but also shows how far Europe has been won to the far right’s anti-immigrant agenda.
The Right Could Still Capitalize on Democrats’ Lack of a Substantive Political Vision
Democrats’ midterm strategy was to campaign on issues where they had an edge and little else. If they don’t start to offer voters a meaningful comprehensive vision for the future, Republicans are poised to emerge victorious from the coming period of gridlock.
Marxists Changed How We Understand History
Marxist historians in Britain — like E. P. Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm — sparked a revolution in understanding the role of working people in making history. Their work is still fresh and vibrant today.
Why Foxconn Workers in China Walked Off the Job
Last last month, dramatic images of Chinese workers jumping over fences at the electronics giant Foxconn’s factories and walking home grabbed headlines. Despite China’s lack of independent trade unions, the workers took collective action and refused to work.
How Oil Workers in Trinidad and Tobago Fought to Revolutionize Fossil Fuels
Faced with job losses, oil workers in Trinidad and Tobago put forward a plan for worker ownership. Their fight shows how workers in fossil fuel industries can play a central role in reorienting production to social need.
Far-Right “Landlordism” Wants to Dispossess Entire Populations
From Israel to Brazil, violent far-right forces have taken up the language of “landlords” defending their threatened property. Their war on the dispossessed is built on a simple claim: we own this country, you only live here.
Canada’s Liberals Expect the Working Class to Bear the Brunt of the Economic Downturn
Other than suspending student loan interest, Canada’s fall economic statement promises next to nothing for workers. Bloodless technocratic tinkering is never enough, but during times of crisis, leaving structural change off the table is indefensible.
Greg Abbott Is Texas’s Most Powerful Governor Ever. That’s Bad for Working People.
Texas governor Greg Abbott has forever changed the state’s politics. To undo the damage he has caused, we can’t rely on top-down initiatives. We need a working-class alternative.
Jeremy Corbyn: We Need a National Care Service
Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, and the country’s care sector is in crisis after years of austerity and privatization. That’s why former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says that the UK needs a National Care Service.
To Make Sense of Modern China, Look to Mao Zedong’s Long March to Power
In the 1920s, China’s Communist Party retreated from the cities to the countryside to wage a protracted guerrilla war. This long separation from the Chinese working class fostered an autocratic culture that went on to shape the party’s rule over China.