One of the Largest Nurses’ Strikes in US History is Brewing in Minnesota
Last week, 15,000 nurses at seven Twin Cities hospitals voted to authorize a strike. Their demand is simple: put patients before profits.
19030 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.
Rosa Luxemburg Was the Great Theorist of Democratic Revolution
A new edition of Rosa Luxemburg’s writings, most of which have never appeared in English before, gives us a unique perspective on her thought. Luxemburg believed that a socialist revolution would have to be democratic or else it would be doomed to failure.
Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò: “Oppression Is Not a Prep School”
In activist and academic circles, privileged people are expected to automatically defer to marginalized people on issues of oppression. Philosopher Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò argues that this norm kills solidarity and replaces effective politics with endless navel-gazing.
What Are the Chances for a Negotiated End to the Ukraine War? It’s Complicated.
A diplomatic settlement to bring the war in Ukraine to a close won’t be easy. But it’s not impossible.
The Workers Who Seized the Means of Production
During the height of Salvador Allende’s socialist government in Chile, workers began to take over their factories and assert their right to live free of those who had oppressed them for generations.
Joe Manchin Is a Very Good Friend to His Fossil Fuel Donors
In exchange for his support of the Inflation Reduction Act, Joe Manchin demanded major giveaways to the oil industry. He got them, making his big donors in fossil fuel companies quite happy.
Bernie Sanders Is Rallying to Build Working-Class Power
Bernie Sanders is holding rallies in cities across the country — not to stump for candidates but to broadcast ordinary people’s struggles, build enthusiasm for the labor movement, and promote pride among the working class. That’s exactly what we need.
Italy’s Centrists Are Failing to Take the Fight to the Far Right
Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party is on course to victory in next month’s Italian election. She’s benefiting from indulgent media — and the center left’s failure to explain how it can break Italy out of its long stagnation.
Ilhan Omar: Minnesota Nurses Are Ready to Strike. I Stand With Them.
Rep. Ilhan Omar in Jacobin: hospital CEOs are getting paid millions, but Twin Cities nurses don’t have the proper resources to care for their patients. It’s obvious why I’m on their side — you should be, too.
South Africa’s Energy Transition Is Mired in Disaster Capitalism
Years of sabotage by South Africa’s corrupt energy interests have led to unprecedented electricity blackouts and a stunted renewables sector. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s solution: privatization.
New York’s Socialists Were Largely Victorious in Last Night’s Elections
In yesterday’s New York state primaries, the New York City Democratic Socialists of America didn’t win every race. But socialists notched two important victories, both defending and expanding their electoral wins in the state of New York.
Richard Nixon’s Watergate Paranoia Was Animated by a Fierce Anti-Communism
It’s easy to chalk up the Watergate scandal to Richard Nixon’s singular paranoia. But his criminal actions are better understood as a reaction to the social upheavals of the day and a feverish attempt to destroy the Left.
Biden Is Canceling $10,000 of Student Loan Debt for Some Borrowers. That’s Not Good Enough.
President Biden has announced the cancellation of $10,000 of student debt for borrowers with incomes below $125,000. Even as a matter of naked political calculation, it would be better for him to just cancel it all.
The Right Fearmongers About Progressives, But the Democratic Party Remains Neoliberal
The Left’s beachhead in Congress has grown in the last few years. But at the current rate of expansion, the Left will remain a minority in the Democratic Party’s congressional caucus until 2091. We can’t wait that long for change.
We Need to Escape This Dystopia and Open New Horizons of Hope
At a time of severe austerity, Spain has made key progressive advances. We spoke to labor minister Yolanda Díaz about her government’s attempts to bolster labor rights, fight climate change, and how the Left needs to build social movements beyond party structures.
Howard Zinn Carried Out an Act of Radical Diplomacy in the Middle of the Vietnam War
Today would have been Howard Zinn’s hundredth birthday. He is rightly remembered for works like A People’s History of the United States. But he was also an antiwar activist who went to North Vietnam in 1968 to accompany three captured US pilots back home.
Cricket Is Political, and Shane Warne Knew It
Popularized by the dying British Empire, cricket is a sport that has always been riven by class politics. The career of Australian bowler Shane Warne, who died earlier this year, offers a microcosm of this history.
Democrats’ Midterm Prospects Are Looking Up. They Still Don’t Have a Long Game.
Democrats are hoping to win the midterms by touting the pared-down Inflation Reduction Act and their (modest) commitment to abortion rights. That might work in November — but it’s a poor strategy for reversing hemorrhaging support among working-class voters.
Thirteen Lives Leaves the Viewer Stuck Between Rocks and Ron Howard
At the heart of the new film Thirteen Lives lies a paradox. On the one hand, Ron Howard can be boring and annoying. On the other, caves are really cool, and we all want to see a group of teenagers get rescued from deep in the bowels of one.
What Mother Country Radicals Misses About the Weather Underground
A new podcast examines the life and times of the Weather Underground and several of its members. It’s a moving story. But an assessment of the New Left’s turn toward political violence, rooted in political weakness rather than strength, is missing.