Linton Kwesi Johnson’s Dread Dialectics
The dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson fused Jamaican music, linguistic innovation, and socialist politics. A new study finally treats his work with the seriousness it deserves.
19236 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
France’s Pro-Nazi Vichy Regime Still Has Defenders
France’s collaborationist Vichy regime aided Nazi Germany during World War II. With far-right candidates surging in the upcoming presidential election, it’s clear there are still people in French political life who think that was a good thing.
Israel Is Trying to Push War With Iran — and the US Press Barely Cares
Top Israeli officials, now on an official visit to Washington, are pushing for US military action against Iran. It’s a dangerous provocation that should be mainstream news.
The Great American Teacher Exodus
Chronic disinvestment in public education, a corporate reform model that punishes student poverty, and the pandemic’s disruption of school life are making it impossible for teachers to do the job they love. Many educators are reaching their breaking points.
The Job Market Is Strong — but Not Strong Enough to Chip Away at Corporate Profits
Thanks to COVID-related developments like expanded unemployment insurance, US workers have seen wages increase. But corporate profits have grown even more — meaning labor’s share of the economic pie is still small compared to its 20th-century peak.
A New Report Shows Just How Brutal Amazon Warehouse Work Can Get
A new report finds that Amazon warehouses in Minnesota have more than double the injury rate of non-Amazon warehouses, with a sky-high turnover rate and black workers making far less than their white counterparts.
Seattle’s Capitalists Couldn’t Defeat Kshama Sawant
Seattle socialist city councilor Kshama Sawant has been subject to repeated corporate-backed attempts to remove her from office. Last night, she defeated yet another. Despite attacks from some of the world’s most powerful capitalists, Sawant isn’t going anywhere.
Israel Is Hell-Bent on Sabotaging US Nuclear Negotiations With Iran
You’d think that Israel might feel obligated not to drag the United States into another disastrous military conflict in the Middle East, this time with Iran. But no: Israel is doing everything it can to sabotage US-Iran nuclear negotiations and stoke a war.
Starbucks Workers in Buffalo Just Won Themselves a Union
Starbucks was designed from its inception to be union-proof. But yesterday workers in Buffalo, New York, managed to win the first union at the company in the US. It’s a landmark victory, and it can be replicated elsewhere.
Who Owns Frantz Fanon’s Legacy?
Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth captures the revolutionary possibilities of decolonization. Yet the book has been marred by a misreading that ignores Fanon’s socialism and class analysis, and turns the great thinker into a prophet of violence.
Despite Record Profits for Canada’s Big Banks, Customer Fees Keep Going Up
This year alone, Canada’s big banks have made over $57 billion in profits. They are celebrating this windfall by paying out $19 billion in bonuses to their executives. Meanwhile, transaction fees and other bank charges continue to rise.
Democrats Chose Bad Policy Over Truly Universal Childcare
Democrats’ half-baked childcare proposal opened itself up to Republican attacks. There’s an easy solution: scrap the byzantine and expensive scheme Dems have concocted, and just give everyone universal childcare.
Teacher and Pennsylvania State Senate Candidate Paul Prescod: “The Rich Need to Start Paying”
Paul Prescod is a socialist, teacher, and longtime Jacobin contributor who is running for Pennsylvania state senate. In an interview, Prescod discusses his roots in labor, an agenda for Pennsylvania left elected officials, and why he plans to be an “organizer-in-chief.”
House of Gucci Should Have Been Campier — and More Scathing
Lady Gaga captures every scene in House of Gucci, and she’s backed up by a stellar supporting cast. But the film somehow ends up going far too soft on the Gucci family’s absolute sociopathy and appallingly hideous clothes.
Why Don’t We Call Corporate Handouts “Corruption”?
The Biden White House purports to be worried about corruption — just not the kind now dominating American politics, in which every new policy includes gigantic giveaways to corporations.
Good Riddance, Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel’s 16-year German chancellorship has finally come to an end. Though she presented herself as the sensible and stabilizing force in Europe, her tenure was characterized by economic neglect, obstruction, and brutal austerity.
The Media Is Rewriting Bob Dole’s History as a Vicious Right-Wing Attack Dog
Today, pundits are pretending that Bob Dole, who died this past weekend, was a patron saint of compromise and decency. But for virtually his whole career, Dole was an unscrupulous partisan warrior who did big favors for wealthy donors and pushed a radical anti-government agenda.
At a Time of Crisis in the Supply Chain, Workers Have Enormous Power
The solution to the supply chain crisis is not rocket science: build unions, raise living and working standards, and shorten logistics workers’ hours at higher pay.
The Mainstream Abortion Rights Movement Needs a Complete Rethinking of Strategy
Abortion rights in the United States are in greater danger than any time since Roe v. Wade — and the abortion rights movement’s national leadership has proven incapable of mounting the kind of strategy needed to protect it. That needs to change.
The Indian Farmers’ Movement Has Shown Us How to Fight Narendra Modi
A heroic struggle has stopped Narendra Modi’s government from ramming through regressive farm laws. Modi is still deeply entrenched in power, but the farmers have shown that mass mobilization can pose a bigger challenge to his rule than parliamentary games.