Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams
The TV series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous inaugurated an era when the ruling class was there to be envied more than to be abolished.
19153 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
Pop of the Fops
From Boy George to Bryan Ferry, the New Romantics were working-class youths who created their own imaginary aristocracy through 1980s pop stardom. Did the mask end up eating the face?
Monopoly Music
Today’s ruling class treats all culture as either commodity or plaything. We should not accept either definition.
Billionaire Garage Bands
Under capitalism, New York Knicks owner James Dolan can make bad music. Under socialism, we can all make bad music.
Yuppie Misandry
At the turn of the last century, Alexandra Kollontai identified the problem with elite feminism.
The Crime of the Century
The mystery of Agatha Christie’s enduring popularity is rooted in a nostalgia for the certainties of the Victorian class system.
Take Me to Your Leader: The Rot of the American Ruling Class
For more than three centuries, something has been going horribly wrong at the top of our society, and we’re all suffering for it.
More Fun for More People
The architect, planner, and landowner Clough Williams-Ellis dedicated his estate to an experiment in “propaganda for architecture.” How did it become best known as the cutest of all the fictional dystopias?
Letters + #JacobinPitches
Email us letters — we’ll print the fawning ones.
From New Labour to Nouveau Riche
Meet Tony Blair, a “democratic socialist.”
Political Elites Aren’t Worried About Inflation
With the passage of a $2 trillion stimulus bill, deficit-phobia appears to be waning in Washington. But it’s not because lawmakers have been won over to redistributive policies — it’s because they think the working class is too weak to set off inflation.
The Ruling Class Doesn’t Rule — But It’s Got Veto Power
Capitalists don’t need to directly govern the state, or even be particularly organized, in order to get what they want.
Know Your Enemy
G. William Domhoff’s work is a vital reminder that the task of changing society begins with understanding who holds power in it, and how.
They Have the Money, We Have the People
No one wants a world where Billionaire magazine exists but Jacobin doesn’t.
Bill Gates Chooses Corporate Patent Rights Over Human Lives
The global battle over drug company patents for COVID-19 vaccines is the latest skirmish in the irrepressible conflict between property rights and human rights. It’s no surprise that Bill Gates, the monopolist billionaire, has taken the side of patents.
Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Isn’t About Democracy or Human Rights — It’s About Maintaining US Dominance
Joe Biden hits his 100-day mark in office this week. His foreign policy has been as bad as expected, animated by the grotesque idea that now and forever, the US should call the shots around the world.
The Working Class Isn’t Just White Male Factory Workers (And Never Was)
A leading exponent of global labor history, Marcel van der Linden’s work looks beyond the Fordist industrial workforce to examine the ever-changing forms of exploitation on which capitalism relies.
Save the Redwoods
Corporate logging has destroyed much of California’s once vast and majestic redwood forests. As environmental crises collide, the imperative to save the remaining trees is stronger than ever. That means challenging those who profit from the trees’ destruction.
The Left Must Offer a Transformative Post-Pandemic Agenda — Or Risk an Emboldened Right
Around the world, the global pandemic has spurred widespread public hunger for radical economic and political change. It’s a historic opportunity the global left must seize — or risk watching as it’s seized by the Right.
Joe Biden’s New Climate Pledge Isn’t Fair or Ambitious
President Joe Biden has announced a new emissions reduction plan. It doesn’t do nearly enough to address the US’s climate impacts on the rest of the world.