Peter Hitchens Is Wrong. The Nazis Weren’t “Left-Wing.”
Conservative commentator Peter Hitchens thinks the Nazis were leftists. His case doesn’t even begin to add up.
19426 Articles by: Wouter van de Klippe
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.
The Problem With AI Is the Problem With Capitalism
Workers’ fear of new artificial intelligence technology makes sense: that technology has the potential to eliminate their jobs. But if we didn’t live under capitalism, AI could be used to liberate us from drudgery rather than hurl us into poverty.
The EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan Is a Windfall for Corporations
Responding to the Inflation Reduction Act, the EU has unveiled its own green industrial plan. It has little to do with real decarbonization — but hands public money to big business, fueling a global race among “clean-tech” oligopolies.
The United States Has Used Latin America as Its Imperial Laboratory
Over the past two centuries, US imperial interventions have had a devastating impact on the peoples of Latin America. Those interventions have also played a crucial role in US domestic politics, enabling new power blocs to cohere and develop their strategies.
Only a Mass Working-Class Climate Politics Can Free Us From the Climate Doom Cycle
The latest UN climate report was just released, and it’s brought the usual doom loop of grave headlines as emissions keep rising. The way out isn’t getting people to “believe the science” but building a pro-worker climate politics that can win power.
The Biden Administration Is Letting Big Pharma Profiteer Off a Cancer Drug
Under existing law, Joe Biden and his health secretary have the power to lower the price of medicines developed with taxpayer funds. They’re refusing to do so for the $180,000-a-year cancer drug Xtandi — after a furious lobbying campaign by Big Pharma.
Free-Market Idolatry and Hatred of Democracy Go Hand in Hand
The wildest fantasy of hypercapitalist ideologues isn’t to expand democracy but to avoid its reach or even snuff it out.
How Financial Institutions Like Silicon Valley Bank Fund the Weapons Industry
After Silicon Valley Bank’s near collapse, commentators rightly focused on the unfairness of state intervention for an institution that had acted irresponsibly. But little attention was paid to the role that banks like SVB play in financing US militarism.
In the Post-9/11 Media Landscape, the Fake News Was Coming From Inside the House
Twenty years ago, George W. Bush and Tony Blair lied their way into invading Iraq. The mainstream media cheered them along.
Donald Trump Can’t Incite Riots Like He Used To
Donald Trump has implored conservatives to hit the streets if he ends up indicted in New York. It might be cause for worry — if Trump had any ability to mobilize mass numbers of supporters anymore.
Good Riddance to Howard Schultz, Starbucks’s Union-Buster-in-Chief
Howard Schultz has yet again left the top executive position at Starbucks. He’s carefully cultivated an image as a progressive CEO. In reality, he has spent his tenure viciously trying to destroy the Starbucks workers’ union.
Universal Free School Lunch Is an Absolute No-Brainer
Public school in the US is already provided universally, free of charge. There’s no reason we shouldn’t provide free lunch to every child at school as well.
QAnon Will Not Be Leaving Us Anytime Soon
Will Sommer, author of the new book Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America, explains where QAnon came from, why it isn’t going away anytime soon, and how material deprivation helps drive conspiracy theories.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Workers Are in the Longest Newspaper Strike in Decades
Workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have been on strike for nearly half a year. Despite a recent assault on two of the strikers and continued intransigence by the ultrawealthy family who owns the paper, they are digging in for the long haul.
How a Verizon Worker Beat the Company’s Union Busters
In November, the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Verizon, alleging that the company illegally fired an employee in retaliation for union activities. Now that employee is getting his job back.
Without Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish National Party Is Facing an Identity Crisis
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation as SNP leader has exposed deep-rooted problems with the party’s centralized, secretive organizational culture. The contest to succeed her could result in a marked rightward shift with profound consequences for Scottish politics.
Emmanuel Macron’s Constitutional Coup Has Thrown France Into Crisis
Most French people oppose raising the pension age, and there was no parliamentary majority for the change. While the reform has now been railroaded through the National Assembly, mobilized opponents see a chance to finish off an unpopular government.
Australians Under 40 Must End Neoliberalism for Good
Australians under 40 face an uncertain future and lower living standards than their parents or grandparents enjoyed. To bring us back from the brink, Australia needs to end the neoliberal consensus.
Insulin Makers’ Profit Seeking Will Keep Killing Diabetics
The three big insulin manufacturers recently announced some reductions in prices. But the price changes didn’t come from corporate beneficence — they came from public and government pressure. And they don’t go nearly far enough.
NBA Players Wanted Their Rights as Workers. Owners Were Standing in the Way.
NBA players are well-paid today, but it wasn’t always so. As a new labor history of the league shows, pro basketball players had to unionize and threaten strikes to get out from under the thumb of owners and win a bigger piece of the financial pie.