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
Like the monarchy in Old Regime France, the mystique of the presidency has always played a crucial role in maintaining the symbolic legitimacy of an oppressive American political order. In four years, Donald Trump has systematically destroyed that mystique.
British Columbia has historically been dominated by right-wing governments, so last weekend’s overwhelming New Democratic Party win is a significant moment. John Horgan, the first two-term NDP premier in the province’s history, needs to set out a more ambitious agenda in his second term.
On Sunday, Chileans voted by a huge majority to abandon the Augusto Pinochet-era constitution. Currently first place in polls for next year’s presidential election, Chilean Communist Daniel Jadue told Jacobin how his country can break from Pinochet’s neoliberal dogmas.
The Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma falls into the common trap of conflating the far left and far right, grouping both under the umbrella of “extremism.” In reality, the politics advanced by the socialist left represents a countervailing force to right-wing conspiracism and reaction.
In normal times, college football players are seen by administrators as cash cows for universities. Under coronavirus, more than ever, other students are, too. And whether it’s student-athletes suffering severe injury or fans risking illness, both are considered expendable in the pursuit of profit.
Walmart is the largest private-sector employer in the United States, and it’s an important source of low-cost groceries for consumers around the country. It also pays poverty wages, busts unions, and drives economic inequality. Luckily, there is an economically viable route to solving those ills: bring the megacorporation under public ownership.
After the Australian Labor Party’s 2019 election loss to the Liberals, the commentariat bemoaned Queensland’s seemingly entrenched conservatism. Yet as a state election approaches, the experience of campaigners and volunteers on the ground tells a different story.
Last weekend’s Bolivian elections saw socialist Luis Arce romp to victory with 55 percent of the vote. Former senate president Adriana Salvatierra told Jacobin how the restored MAS government can undo the damage caused by last year’s coup — and set Bolivia back on the path to social transformation.
Democratic Socialists of America–backed candidate Omar Fateh scored an upset primary victory and will almost certainly represent the Minnesota State Senate district where George Floyd was killed. We talked with Fateh about the working-class agenda he put forward, why he’s a democratic socialist, and how Floyd’s killing transformed the political landscape.
Bernie Sanders is reportedly making a bid to be the secretary of labor in a potential Biden administration. That’s good news. The labor secretary has broad latitude to raise worker standards — and Bernie could use the bully pulpit to declare that all workers will have the full backing of the federal government if they organize on the job.
Last Thursday, Poland’s Constitutional Court banned almost all abortion, as part of a wider Catholic-conservative offensive against women’s rights. But the ruling has already sparked strikes and blockades across Poland — and the working-class women least able to afford a clandestine abortion are leading the revolt.
Texas Rep. Van Taylor has voted against aid for renters and student debtors. Yet the real estate mogul is now using his office to pressure the government into giving his commercial real estate industry a bailout.
Commentators have long drawn sharp distinctions between conservatives in English-speaking countries and Europe’s own far-right traditions. Yet in the famously liberal Netherlands, such divides are becoming increasingly blurry, as reactionaries seeking a cultural counterrevolution try to imitate US neocons.
The Electoral College is an undemocratic mess. It also creates a far higher possibility of narrow elections being overturned by courts, according to a new study.
The fight over pandemic prevention isn’t just about surviving the coronavirus. It’s about our potential to build a more collective and compassionate society. Despite Donald Trump’s absurdities, most Americans are ready and willing to adopt solidaristic measures.
Indonesia’s new Omnibus Law was passed earlier this month, enacting a major series of counterreforms to workers’ rights and the environment. In protest, tens of thousands of workers went on strike, and in dozens of cities, students took to the streets.
For years, right-wingers have sought to destabilize Venezuela, and even proclaimed their own rival “president,” Juan Guaidó. But average Venezuelans understand that US sanctions hurt them — and should be resisted.
Philosopher and activist Cornel West discusses the presidential election and why a democratic socialist vision is necessary to overcome capitalism and build a better society.
The already Herculean task of parenting in normal times has now become impossible under coronavirus. Parents are going insane — and it’s made worse by the United States’ complete lack of basic social programs supporting them.
Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee hasn’t been asked much about it in Senate confirmation hearings, but Amy Coney Barrett made a series of rulings against workers facing racial discrimination on the job.