Respect Is a Weak Portrait of the Hellaciously Strong Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin was a legend. But the new Franklin biopic, Respect, is a forgettable film that avoids the darker and more difficult parts of her life.
19230 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
Bernie to House Progressives: Don’t Back Down
It’s do-or-die time for the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. So Bernie Sanders is rightly insisting that House progressives reject the bipartisan infrastructure bill until it’s linked to the reconciliation bill’s passage.
Things Can’t Go on Like This for the German Left
After a catastrophic defeat in last Sunday’s general election, Germany’s socialist party Die Linke faces a choice: return to its working-class roots or face political irrelevance.
The Road to Climate Action Might Run Through Labor Law Reform
Democratic Socialists of America is pushing for the PRO Act as part of its climate strategy — because it realizes that rebuilding working-class power is crucial to confronting the climate crisis.
John Deere Workers Have Voted Overwhelmingly to Authorize a Strike
Over 10,000 John Deere workers have voted to authorize a strike, with 99 percent voting yes. “We are making these shareholders billions of dollars while we are fighting for peanuts.”
The US Should Welcome Haitian Refugees, Not Brutalize and Deport Them
The US and its allies have transformed Haiti into an aid state that is not controlled by and does not serve the Haitian people. America owes an enormous debt to Haiti — starting with asylum and a warm welcome for migrants.
In Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho, Even the Rooster Is Bad
Clint Eastwood is back in a starring role at age 91 in Cry Macho. But if this is to be his final film, it’s an awful way for a legend to say goodbye.
Democrats Will Probably Lose the Midterms. But They Don’t Have To.
There’s no natural law that says the Democrats have to lose next year’s midterm elections. But if Democrats can’t fundamentally improve the quality of life for working-class voters, there’s good reason to think they will lose.
Big Pharma Is Showering Conservative House Democrats With Gushing Ads
A front group for Big Pharma is running ads backing the House Democrats who are trying to gut the party’s plan to cut drug prices.
Abolish the Organization of American States
The Organization of American States made unfounded claims of electoral fraud in Bolivia in 2019. Now a growing chorus of Latin American leaders is calling for the end of the OAS, which has long stood as an obstacle to meaningful democracy across the continent.
In 1969, Australian Workers Launched a General Strike to Free Jailed Union Leader Clarrie O’Shea
When Tramways Union secretary Clarrie O’Shea refused to pay fines imposed on his union, the authorities imprisoned him for contempt of court. The move triggered a general strike that freed O’Shea and turned Australia’s anti-union laws into a dead letter.
Conspiracist Thinking Is the Result of 40 Years of Social Atomization
Amid a disorienting explosion of crises and social shifts, there are worrying signs that some parts of the Left are becoming more susceptible to conspiracist ways of thinking. It’s a symptom of social atomization in the neoliberal era — but we don’t have to accept it as inevitable.
McDonald’s Workers in Denmark Won Good Pay and Benefits Through Striking
In Denmark, McDonald’s workers receive $22 per hour and 6 weeks of vacation. But it’s not because Danish capitalists are more enlightened — it’s because, when McDonald’s entered the country in the 1980s, unions launched mass strikes and boycotts.
Kyrsten Sinema Comes Through Yet Again for Big Pharma
Joe Biden allies ran ads thanking Kyrsten Sinema for fighting for lower drug prices — just before she did the exact opposite by opposing Democrats’ drug pricing plan.
A New Working-Class Party Is on the Rise in Norway
Norway’s billionaires spent the election campaign smearing the Red Party as totalitarian extremists. But the party kept its focus on working-class Norwegians’ material interests — and secured a historic electoral breakthrough.
The Communist Party Just Won the Elections in Austria’s Second-Biggest City
In Sunday’s elections in Graz, Austria, the Communist Party romped to victory for the first time in history. Jacobin spoke to one of its winning candidates about how the party built a “red fortress” in the city.
Socialist Assemblywoman: Shut Down Rikers Island
Two people have died at Rikers Island in the past week, bringing the total to 12 this year. We spoke with socialist assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest, who just visited Rikers Island, about the unconscionable conditions and why we must close the prison facility once and for all.
Revolutionary Cuba and the Legacy of Fidel Castro
Cuba is facing a new set of challenges as a post-Castro leadership confronts the pandemic and its economic fallout. But Cuban socialism has repeatedly shown its capacity for survival and adaptation since the revolution of 1959.
Canada’s Essential Workers Fought and Won Against Their Bosses During World War II
In the 1940s, Canadian workers were essential to the nation’s war effort, but the government and employers used the war to justify a clampdown on labor rights. In Windsor, Ontario, workers fought back, securing gains that lasted decades.
Germany’s Electric Car Program Is About Defending Its Auto Giants’ Profits
Ahead of today’s German election, all the main parties have emphasized the need to green the auto industry. But the state’s strategic support for electric cars isn’t an attempt to save the planet — it’s about enhancing German capital’s supremacy over its foreign competition.