AI May Very Well Change Our Species
Some technologies increase productivity, but others reshape not only our society but our physiology. Whatever AI turns out to be, the socialist strategy must be the same: increasing the power of labor.
19532 Articles by: William G. Martin
William G. Martin teaches at SUNY-Binghamton and is co-author of After Prisons? Freedom, Decarceration, and Justice Disinvestment (2016) and a founding member of Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier; he covers local justice matters at www.justtalk.blog
The Zone of Interest Is Much More Than a Holocaust Film
Jonathan Glazer’s haunting new film The Zone of Interest follows the life of an Auschwitz commandant in 1943 as his family goes about their business with the horrors of the Holocaust just on the other side of a wall. It’s mesmerizing and unsettling.
Israel Is Brazenly Defying the Order to Prevent Genocide
Last Friday, the International Court of Justice directly ordered Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid. With its attack on UNRWA, Israel is blatantly violating that order, and the Biden administration has also put itself in the dock.
Elite-Driven Housing Policy Has a Long Record of Failure
Proposals for market-based solutions to the housing crisis have precedents in the elite-driven housing policy of the 20th century. Those policies favored business interests at the expense of poor and working-class people while worsening racial divides.
Chicago’s Cease-Fire Vote Is a Warning to Joe Biden
Yesterday Chicago became the largest US city to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, issuing a challenge to Joe Biden from a Democratic stronghold. It’s an omen for what could be a turbulent election season.
Why Is Nancy Pelosi Slandering Democrats’ Own Voter Base?
This week, Nancy Pelosi suggested that supporters of a cease-fire in Gaza were foreign government “plants.” But the demand for a cease-fire is wildly popular among Democratic voters — and party leaders are playing a dangerous game by insulting them.
Trader Joe’s Rejects the New Deal
Trader Joe’s, the supposedly progressive grocery chain, has joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX in attacking the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board. The employer class can’t stomach any obstacles to its union busting.
AIPAC’s War Chest Is Growing as the War on Gaza Rages
Since the war on Gaza began, the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC has reaped $90 million in fundraising. The organization is using that massive haul to lobby against a cease-fire.
Violence Is Overwhelming Chiapas
Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas, birthplace of the Zapatistas and once a safer part of the country, has seen a dramatic increase in violence. A scholar from Chiapas explains how cartel conflict and a glut of weapons are creating a perfect storm.
Union Democracy Is a Value, Not a Strategy
Democracy is a central value of every trade union worth the name. But we shouldn’t assume that a more democratic union means a more militant union.
How Liberal Anti-Racism Was Used to Privatize Public Schools
In 2013, a movement of working-class New Jerseyans halted Cory Booker’s plans to privatize Newark public schools. A new book shows how a group of neoliberals co-opted this victory, securing consent for school charterization under the banner of anti-racism.
Biden Is Backing Israel’s Genocide — and Risking Reelection
Democratic voters increasingly view what Israel is doing in Gaza as genocide. Don’t be surprised if Joe Biden’s support for it tanks his reelection chances.
Arbitrating Against Corporate Power Just Got More Expensive
In contracts ranging from credit cards to employment terms, arbitration agreements force consumers and workers to pursue corporate accountability via private arbitration rather than the court system. That arbitration process just got way more expensive.
Migrant Caravans Are Challenging an Oppressive Border Regime
Central American migrants taking part in caravans that cross Mexico’s territory are often presented as pawns manipulated by NGOs or smuggling gangs. In fact, they’re making an active choice to challenge a violent border system that extends far beyond US soil.
China Miéville on The Communist Manifesto’s Enduring Power
In an interview, author China Miéville explains why Marx and Engels’s Communist Manifesto is such a remarkable work, defending the book against its detractors and arguing that it remains urgently inspiring and deeply relevant.
In Europe, the Liberal Center Is Going Extinct
Europe’s centrists often claim to defend liberal values against populist threats. Yet ahead of June’s EU elections, liberals have adopted far-right talking points on everything from the climate to migration — and it’s not saving their weak poll numbers.
Defunding UNRWA Is Collective Punishment
Reeling from the ICJ’s genocide ruling, Israel attacked the credibility of UNRWA, the UN agency that provides food and health care to Palestinian refugees. Now Joe Biden and other Western leaders are cutting funding for the vital humanitarian aid agency.
The UAW’s New Push to Organize Nonunion Auto Is Bearing Fruit
The UAW announced yesterday that 10,000 autoworkers have signed union cards since it launched its drive to organize the nonunion auto workforce two months ago. It’s a high-risk campaign — and precisely the type of gambit the working class needs right now.
The US Refuses to Even Apologize for Killing Civilians
The US admits that it continues to kill civilians in drone strikes across Africa and the Middle East. Yet despite US government promises, it routinely refuses to apologize or offer compensation to the families of its victims.
Our New Cities Can Be Born From the Ashes of the Old
Commercial real estate is in crisis throughout North America. This presents an opportunity for the mass conversion of commercial buildings, which could help address the housing crisis and create better cities in the process.