Capitalist Inequality Won’t Last Forever
You must have an incredibly dismal view of both human agency and human nature to believe that we will continue to live in the future much as we live today.
19549 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.
Mike Gold Was a Working-Class Hero
Mike Gold was a pioneer of proletarian literature and once one of America’s best-known writers. But his refusal to capitulate to McCarthy-era blackmail saw him written out of history.
Mass Surveillance Is Bad News for Privacy — and Democracy
Canada is reviewing its privacy legislation, and its facial recognition technologies are under scrutiny. It’s well past time to strictly regulate their usage by both public and private actors.
Emmanuel Macron’s Government Is Ordering Striking Oil Workers Back to Work
A strike at France’s oil refineries is demanding pay raises that reflect firms’ soaring profits. Liberal president Emmanuel Macron’s government is forcing employees back to work — but unions insist they’ll defend their right to strike.
Joe Biden’s New National Security Strategy Puts US Global Dominance First
Despite its flowery rhetoric about transnational cooperation, Biden’s new National Security Strategy ultimately recommits to a basic principle of ruling-class foreign policy: US hegemony, now and forever.
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver consistently earns top ranks in international livability indexes, yet it is brutally unaffordable. A new book plumbs the city’s history, revealing how past tensions between its elites and masses define its present — and may shape its future.
Eugene V. Debs: Socialism Will Free Workers From Private Tyranny
For the great labor leader Eugene Debs, socialism and freedom went hand in hand. In a 1920 article entitled “The Genius of Freedom,” reprinted here for the first time, he explained that socialism would free workers from the bonds of their capitalist masters.
We Need More Military Veterans in Congress Who Oppose the “Forever Wars”
Congress desperately needs more representatives from working-class backgrounds, including those who are military veterans. Unfortunately, most veterans currently serving in Congress are foreign policy hawks who want to keep the war machine running.
Liz Truss Is Exacerbating Britain’s Deep Economic Woes
The British economy is in shambles. Yet new UK prime minister Liz Truss is making things far worse with a disastrous economic policy that does nothing for ordinary workers.
Australia Must Confront Its Past as a Colonial Power in the Pacific
Anthony Albanese’s Labor government claims that it views Australia’s neighbors in the Pacific as “partners.” For this to be more than hollow rhetoric, Australia must face up to the injustices it has committed as a colonial power in the region.
Direct Action Gets the Goods — Including at the Post Office
I’m a mail carrier in Naples, Florida. When management cut into our Sunday breaks, we walked off the job — and now mail carriers like me across the state have their break back, proving the power of collective action on the job.
“Pro-Refugee” Corporations Are Bankrolling Anti-Immigrant Republicans
Major companies are trying to get good PR by joining a nonprofit that supposedly works to improve the livelihoods of refugees. But those same companies are bankrolling virulently anti-immigrant GOP politicians.
Canadian Labor Cannot Rely on the Goodwill of Politicians
Canadian unions are often weakened by their reliance on the goodwill of the New Democratic Party. The only way to ensure that the New Democrats will advocate for pro-worker policy is for labor to push the party — not the other way around.
Secular Schooling Is Critical to a Functioning Democracy
The US education system is being desecularized as public money floods into private religious schools. This mix of religious conservatism and free-market fundamentalism threatens to unravel public education.
Modern Cities Are Haunted by the Ghost of British Empire
Cities in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are indelibly marked by the British Empire. Imperial outposts, structured in accord with the schemes of long-dead aristocrats, form the foundation for the uncanny architecture of today’s commonwealth capitals.
Gabor Maté: Capitalist Society Is Making Us Physically and Mentally Unwell
World-renowned physician Gabor Maté’s new book examines the profound physical and psychological harms of “normal” capitalist society, which makes a small minority very well-off while sowing illness and despair on a vast scale.
In the WWE, Wrestlers Say Labor Abuses Are Everywhere
The WWE wrestlers who put their bodies through the ringer on a near-nightly basis lack basic control over their work and lives. Many know they need a union — but the barriers to forming one are steep.
In Brazil’s Elections, Bolsonaro’s Far-Right Mass Appeal Proved Durable
Lula da Silva is still favored to win Brazil’s presidency in a second round of voting this month. But a close look at the vote breakdown of the first round reveals that Jair Bolsonaro has built strong pockets of support that aren’t going away anytime soon.
How the Military-Industrial Complex Gets Its Power and Harms Workers, in 6 Graphs
The military-industrial complex generates death and destruction abroad while also harming workers at home: it funds politicians and think tanks, siphons off money from pro-worker programs, and turns the public coffers into a slush fund for war profiteering.
Angela Lansbury Was a Brilliant Actor and a Comrade
Angela Lansbury, who died this week at 96, was a proud socialist who achieved enormous success in film, theater, and TV. Yet her astonishing range was botched by the Hollywood studio system — preventing her movie career from flourishing even more.