Wouter van de Klippe is a freelance journalist and writer based in Europe. He is particularly interested in organized labor, social and environmental justice, and social welfare states.
Conservatives have never much liked democracy, but the unpopularity of the modern Republican Party’s agenda has made them more contemptuous. The other day, Rick Santorum even denounced ballot measures on “very sexy things” like abortion and marijuana.
After supporting screenwriters and actors through their monthslong strikes, film and TV crew workers with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) are launching a reform caucus. The members say they want to democratize their union.
Spain’s congress has voted in Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez for a new term as prime minister. His pact with left-wing Sumar and Catalan parties has withstood far-right violence — but must still overcome resistance from conservative activist judges.
Donald Trump has announced disturbingly detailed plans for the mass arrest and detention of people suspected of being undocumented immigrants. With Joe Biden’s dismal poll numbers, there’s an uncomfortable chance Trump might be able to follow through.
A variety of prominent Israeli voices, including its paper of record, have denounced the war on Gaza and pointed to anti-Palestinian repression as the root cause of Hamas’s violence. But those in the US saying the same have been met with slander and censure.
Britain’s political class overwhelmingly supports Israel’s war on Gaza, even though the British public backs the call for a cease-fire. One of the biggest protest movements in living memory is defying threats of state repression to challenge this complicity.
In the last century, liberals claimed that Hegel had inspired fascism, and socialists accused him of having held back Marxist theory. Today the German idealist has drifted into obscurity. A new book makes the case for his contemporary relevance.
Signs and speakers at yesterday’s March for Israel endorsed continuing violence, but since the event was pro-Israel, no one in the establishment will condemn that rhetoric. The worst invited speaker was notoriously antisemitic Christian pastor John Hagee.
Last month, nearly 600 private sector doctors and other health care providers in Minnesota and Wisconsin voted to unionize — likely the biggest union of private sector doctors in the US. We talked to some of them about why.
Joe Biden’s reelection chances are dimming, and about the worst thing he could do is cozy up to Rahm Emanuel, the Clintons, and Liz Cheney. Yet that’s the kind of advice he gets in a bizarre new column from one of Politico’s senior writers.
Israel’s war has no keener defenders than far-right Hindus spreading fake news on Twitter/X. But their dogged support for Israel isn’t just a matter of inflammatory posts — it goes hand in hand with rising repression against Muslims in India itself.
Mental health activists in Michigan are fighting for legislative change to help families pay for desperately needed care. Insurance firm Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is shelling out exorbitant amounts of money on lobbyists to stop them.
Celebrated spy novelist John Le Carré is the subject of Errol Morris’s new documentary The Pigeon Tunnel. While it claims to reveal secrets about his famously strange life, you get the sense Le Carré told as much as he ever meant to and no more.
As UK prime minister, David Cameron unleashed disastrous austerity policies, and his subsequent career in the private sector was plagued by scandal in his dealings with the state. Now he has a cabinet position: yet another example of the elite failing up.
AIPAC is funneling mounds of money to pro-Israel candidates, including in Democratic primaries. Now, all Democrats likely know that expressing anything short of unwavering support of Israel’s siege on Gaza means they might be outspent in the next election.
The United States’ 20-plus-year War on Terror has led to disasters throughout the Middle East. But the greatest failure of US counterterrorism operations may be in Africa, where they have destabilized multiple governments and led to a huge spike in violence.
Israel is meting out lethal collective punishment in Gaza and floating plans of ethnic cleansing to try to restore its security. But peace will not be won without democracy for Palestinians.
After securing historic deals with the Big Three automakers, the UAW is continuing to go on the offensive. It has set its sights on nonunion automakers, from Toyota and Hyundai in the South to Tesla in California.
Britain’s Conservative government has scrapped policies to reduce carbon emissions while the Labour opposition is also rolling back its own climate commitments. Trade unions are stepping into the political vacuum to demand a working-class ecological agenda.
Increased productivity has failed to translate into fair compensation, and we’re all working ourselves to death. Not having time to rest or think is not just terrible for human beings — it’s terrible for democracy.