It’s a Dismal Time for Political Films
Film industry executives are scared of them. Audiences are bored by them. It’s a dismal time for political films.
18220 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 GOP Is Set to Roll Back a Raft of Consumer Protections
Many of the Biden administration’s final policy measures could soon be rolled back and permanently prohibited by the incoming GOP Congress, thanks to Democratic gambles and an obscure federal law increasingly weaponized by Republican lawmakers.
Dems’ Glitzy Celebrity Strategy Was an Embarrassing Failure
Democrats had a billion dollars to pull off a Kamala Harris victory. They hurled much of that money at celebrities and designing lavish environments to say the word “joy” in. It was one big A-list party, and Americans didn’t feel invited.
The Pathologies of Inequality Are an Age-Old Preoccupation
Conservatives today often denigrate a concern with economic inequality as a deviant left-wing preoccupation. In fact, from antiquity to the present, canonical thinkers of diverse political orientations have diagnosed economic inequality as a great evil.
Four Myths About Kamala Harris’s Loss
In assessing Donald Trump’s victory, pundits have claimed the country turned right, the Harris campaign was too far left and woke, Biden’s presidency was robustly populist, and racism and sexism made the result inevitable. Those claims are all wrong.
Israel Is Carrying Out a War on Hospitals
In both Gaza and Lebanon, Israel’s attacks on hospitals and health care are part of a deliberate effort to collectively punish and depopulate large geographic areas.
Donald Trump’s Attack on Online Censorship Is a Distraction
Donald Trump has claimed that he will disempower content moderators and put an end to the “left-wing censorship.” We shouldn’t overstate the importance of such moves. Material inequality, not online discourse, explains liberalism’s defeat.
Political Betting Platforms Have a Friend in Trump
Political betting markets, which facilitated more than $3 billion in total election-related bets during this election season, are poised to win big from Trump administration ties and policies.
How German Imperialism Rebranded Itself as Feminist
Last year, Germany’s Foreign Office spelled out guidelines for a “feminist” foreign policy, focused on defending marginalized women. Today in Gaza, this same ministry is arming the deadliest war on women and girls this century.
Trump’s EPA Nominee Will Further His Deregulatory Agenda
The selection of Lee Zeldin — a devoted Trump ally with no meaningful environmental expertise — to head the Environmental Protection Agency threatens to gut crucial protections for clean air and water while giving corporate polluters free rein.
Democratic Socialists of America Needs a Unified Strategy
So far, the Democratic Socialists of America has mostly relied on left-wing elected officials to act in concert without a coherent program. It has worked — but staying the course is risky. To keep up the momentum, DSA needs a coordinated plan.
The Meaning of the First World War
World War I gave rise to a heated century-long debate about its causes. In Disputing Disaster, Perry Anderson surveys this wide-ranging field and makes the case that the Great War cannot be understood without considering the role of imperialism.
The Fight to Unionize US Call Center Workers
In the US, the past 40 years have seen the explosive growth of a new call center workforce, which now employs nearly 4 million people. Despite vigorous organizing efforts, the sector remains largely nonunion.
Inflation Didn’t Have to Doom Biden
Economist Isabella Weber explains in a long-form interview where the inflation surge came from and how the Biden administration struggled to take necessary measures to combat it.
Germany’s Project for Europe Is in Tatters
For decades, German governments have pursued the project of a free-market European empire. Today the war in Ukraine and US pressure are undermining the economic foundations of its hegemony — and Germany’s political leadership seems unable to respond.
Lithuania’s Social Democrats Set Unsteady Course for Change
Lithuania’s Social Democrats won the recent general election by promising to rein in the cost of living. But the party’s unnatural coalition partners and a difficult international picture make it hard to foresee a major shift to the left.
Transgender Politics Didn’t Have to End Up Here
Democratic Party leaders and their donors bear responsibility for the increasingly widespread view of trans rights as incompatible with a politics that benefits the many, not the few.
Calling a Football Riot a Pogrom Insults Historical Memory
Israeli ultraright football hooligans rampaged through Amsterdam, and regular fans were targeted with violence in turn. The whole episode was atrocious, but calling it a pogrom is historically ignorant and trivializes genuine horrors.
France’s Double Standards on Free Speech About Palestine
Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich, a self-proclaimed fascist, is set to appear at a fundraising gala in Paris on Wednesday. Authorities have refused calls to block his visit — even as they silence public displays of solidarity with Palestine.
Democrats May Give Trump the Power to Wipe Out Nonprofits
Congress is set to vote on bipartisan legislation that would allow the government to strip any nonprofit it deems a “terrorist-supporting organization” of tax-exempt status — potentially arming Donald Trump with a new tool against his opponents.