The Left Should See Our Movement as a Dynamic Ecology
Instead of finger-wagging at other leftists, we should think ecologically about our organizational structures and tactics.
19069 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 Full Extent of Jeffrey Epstein’s Crimes Are Slowly Being Revealed
The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was disappointing for those hoping it would blow the lid off the Jeffrey Epstein sex ring. But the trial and new reporting have shown Epstein’s relationship with political elites runs even deeper than we already knew.
In Weimar Germany, Women Fought for Abortion Justice
Abortion was illegal in Weimar Germany — and poor women were most often punished for breaking the law. The fight for legalization was also a struggle for the justice reform and welfare measures that would truly empower working-class women.
Peter Bogdanovich Embodied an Era When Cinema Really Mattered
Writer, director, and actor Peter Bogdanovich died last week at 82. His rocky career as a filmmaker, actor, and critic is a testament to an era in which the public took film seriously — and filmmakers took the public seriously.
The Bernie Left Is Taking on Machine Politics — and Each Other
Rhode Island has long been one of the most corrupt and machine-driven states in America. A new left movement is trying to change that — but they can’t agree on how.
How the New York Times Covered Two Transit Strikes, 42 Years Apart
The vastly disparate NY Times coverage of two NYC transit strikes illustrates the dramatic transformation of mainstream coverage of working-class life in recent years. As media companies chase an upper-crust audience, workers have been erased.
Kroger Employees in Colorado Have Had Enough — Thousands Are Now on Strike
More than 8,000 workers at Kroger-owned King Soopers and City Market stores are on strike in Colorado. Their fight highlights the company’s long history of atrocious treatment of its workforce.
Socialists Believe in Workers Liberating Themselves
That workers must liberate themselves rather than rely on top-down liberation is one of the few rules for socialist organizing that Marx and Engels ever laid down. It’s nonnegotiable: socialists believe in workers freeing themselves through class struggle.
The Anti-Abortion Movement Is Desperate to Protect the Filibuster
Anti-abortion forces can’t win by democratic means, so they are campaigning to protect the filibuster and crush voting rights — and Democrats may be content to let them win.
Congress Is Day-Trading While the World Burns
It was a hell of a year for the professional day traders who moonlight as members of Congress. Collectively they traded hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stocks and related securities — usually from industries that are closely regulated by Congress.
Kenyan Police Have Committed Murder on Behalf of Property Developers
Over 70 percent of Nairobi’s inhabitants live within just 5 percent of the city’s residential space. Kenyan police are displacing — and sometimes even killing — these residents to make room for property developers and highways for the rich.
It’s Time to Eliminate Water Bills
Americans regularly lose access to water simply because they are poor and unable to pay their bills. Water bills are cruel and unnecessary. We should just get rid of them.
The Real Estate Industry and New York Progressives Are Headed for a Showdown
Progressives and socialists in the New York State legislature are bracing themselves for a titanic fight with the state’s real estate industry and landlord lobby over “good cause” eviction protections, a long-standing goal of the housing movement.
A Horrifying Report Shows the Miserable Working Conditions at Kroger
A survey of thousands of Kroger workers finds that while its executives rake in millions, homelessness and food insecurity are rampant among its workforce.
Thanks to US Sanctions, Afghans Are Starving
The plight of the Afghan people was crucial for pundits and journalists — as long as they had a war to defend. Now that US troops are gone, Joe Biden’s sanctions are causing starvation and suffering — and the media has been astonishingly silent.
Big Oil Has a Friend in California’s State Insurance Commissioner
California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara could be playing a key role in fighting climate change in the state. Instead, he has taken campaign money and gifts from fossil fuel interests — and done “almost nothing” to address climate catastrophe.
Bernie Wants Democrats to Fight for the Working Class. They Won’t.
Bernie Sanders is sounding the alarm: working-class people are fed up with Democrats’ failed strategy of behind-the-scenes negotiations. But the party won’t listen. So Sanders and the Squad should take a more aggressive approach against the Democrats.
Colorado Public Sector Workers May Be on the Verge of Winning the Right to Unionize
With a major push from the state AFL-CIO and the support of Democratic leaders in the legislature, a Colorado bill to recognize public sector unions has a real shot at passage.
Canada’s Small Business Lobby Is Working to Cut Wages and Government Benefits
Claiming to stick up for the little guy, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has consistently fought to further its anti-worker, anti–public sector agenda. The COVID-19 pandemic has made their crusade even more obscene.
Public Pension Funds Are Massive Investors in Fossil Fuels
California’s top investment funds have resisted divestment from fossil fuels and funneled big money into firms like those behind Dakota Access. Not only are these investments dirty, but they’re costing public workers billions in the process.