Nationalize the Weed Industry
Today is 4/20, so we’re indulging in some speculation: What if we didn’t just legalize marijuana but put the cannabis industry under public ownership — and hired the victims of prohibition to run it?
20378 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.
Service Workers at America’s Biggest Companies Still Don’t Make $15 an Hour
A new study finds that majorities of service workers at some of the United States’ biggest name-brand companies — including Dunkin’, Burger King, and Dollar General — are still paid less than $15 an hour, even as CEO pay skyrockets.
Emergency Room Doctors Are Organizing Against Profit-Driven Health Care
Doctors in the US are rarely unionized. But in the face of staff shortages, patient surges, and the chaos of COVID-19, emergency room doctors are starting to organize.
If You Like Democracy, You Should Oppose Capitalism
Liberal democracy gives us essential rights like free speech and civil liberties. But without challenging the domination of capital, liberal rights will always be curtailed by the power of the rich.
Working at Amazon Is Hazardous to Your Health
A new report shows just how dangerous it is to work at Amazon. Injury rates last year at Amazon warehouses were 20 percent higher than the already alarmingly high 2020 rate — and more than twice that of non-Amazon warehouses.
Occupied Palestine Is as Entitled to the World’s Solidarity as Occupied Ukraine
We could soon see another brutal Israeli war on Palestinians after this weekend’s shocking attacks on Ramadan worshippers by Israeli forces. Yet the Western solidarity that’s rightly been forthcoming for Ukraine is now nowhere to be seen.
In the 1970s, Third World Leaders Wanted a New Economic Order
Fifty years ago today, Mexican president Luis Echeverría outlined a vision to remake the relationship between rich and poor countries. It became part of a broader struggle for a more equal international order.
Amazon Is Playing Dirty to Stop a Second Warehouse From Unionizing
In a massive victory, Amazon workers recently won a union at a warehouse in New York. So now the company is trying every trick in the union-busting playbook to throttle worker organizing at a second facility.
An Oil Billionaire Is Trying to Crush Nina Turner in Ohio
A super PAC bankrolled by an oil billionaire is trying to crush Nina Turner and boost her opponent, Shontel Brown, in their upcoming Ohio congressional race. It might have something to do with the fact that Turner is a leading proponent of a Green New Deal.
China Could Be the Big Winner of the War in Ukraine
Walden Bello is one of the world’s leading critics of corporate globalization. In an interview with Jacobin, he explains why Russia’s war is a shock to the international system — and why it is likely to accelerate China’s rise.
How Marxists View the Middle Ages
Class societies didn’t begin with capitalism: the ancient and medieval worlds had their own systems of exploitation. Marxist historians have set out to explain how those systems worked — and what their eventual demise tells us about what might lie ahead.
Doing Your Taxes Doesn’t Have to Be This Miserable
It’s Tax Day, so ponder this: in social democratic countries like Sweden, the government does your taxes for you. Just add it to the list of nice things we should have in the US.
We Need Public Housing, Not Affordable Housing
Homeownership is out of reach for millions in Canada and the US. One well-meaning response to this crisis has been to call for more affordable housing. But we should be demanding more social housing instead.
Unions Must Fight for a Universal Welfare State
The United States is notorious for having the weakest welfare state of any advanced economy. The labor movement needs to fight for social provisions for all workers, not just some.
New York Mayor Eric Adams Is a Do-Nothing Mayor
New York mayor Eric Adams, whose first one hundred days in office just came to a close, has had few accomplishments to brag about. But his hidden source of political strength lies precisely in the fact that he never promised he’d do much in the first place.
A. J. Muste Was a Prophet of the 20th-Century US Left
This Easter, we should remember the rich tradition of Christian socialism in the US. And one of that tradition’s most important figures is the radical leader A. J. Muste, whose religious faith animated his commitment to socialism and nonviolence.
G. A. Cohen Showed Why We Should All Be Socialists
Right before he died, Marxist philosopher G. A. Cohen wrote a short book called Why Not Socialism? It’s a perfect introduction to the case for moving beyond a capitalist economy.
Undergraduate Worker Unions Are Taking Off
At colleges around the US, undergraduate workers are unionizing. The growing movement not only builds worker power on campuses but can help make university students into lifelong trade unionists.
We Don’t Need Billionaires Like Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter in the name of free speech is the latest example of his hubris. It’s not just that Elon Musk shouldn’t own Twitter — billionaires shouldn’t even exist.
Britain Is Planning to Outsource Its Refugees to Rwanda
This week, Britain announced an inhumane and unworkable plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda — permanently. It’s a cruel effort to outsource border control at the expense of refugees’ well-being.