The GOP Is Afraid to Cut Social Security. Good.
Republicans hate Social Security and Medicare, but the programs’ universal structure makes them too risky to take on. We need more programs like that.
19104 Articles by: Yi San
Yi San is a freelance writer based in New York.
Why Joan Robinson Blamed Unions for Inflation While Milton Friedman Did Not
During the ’50s-to-’70s debate on inflation, left Keynesians like Joan Robinson, who strongly supported trade unionism, saw it as a key cause of high inflation, while Milton Friedman and the monetarists, who hated unions, insisted they weren’t to blame for it.
Germany Had Its Debts Written Off. Today, We Should Do the Same for the Global South.
Seventy years ago today, Germany’s debts from World War II were written off. Today climate activists around the world are protesting in front of German embassies to demand the cancellation of the debt of the Global South.
How the Nazis Exploited the Reichstag Fire to Launch a Reign of Terror
Ninety years ago today, a fire engulfed the Reichstag in Berlin. The arsonist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was hoping to inspire resistance to fascism, but the Nazis used the fire as a pretext to impose a regime of violent terror against the German left.
In Bosnia, the End of War Has Not Brought Peace
The Dayton Agreement ended the bloody Bosnian War of the 1990s, but it hasn’t resolved the conflicts plaguing the country. It’s a cautionary tale for finding an effective peace agreement in Ukraine.
G. M. Tamás Wasn’t “Hungary’s Last Marxist”
Upon G. M. Tamás’s death last month, even many laudatory obituaries claimed that he marked the endpoint of Hungary’s Marxist traditions. But Marxism isn’t dead in Hungary.
A Rare Book Scandal Provides a Warning About Private Equity
In the early 2000s, a French company sold joint ownership shares of manuscripts for cheap, promising high returns for working people who bought in. The returns never came. The same could happen to public workers’ savings invested in private equity.
The Best Political Movie Since Z Is Up for an Oscar
We spoke to director Santiago Mitre about his Oscar-nominated film Argentina, 1985, which depicts the struggle to bring the leaders of Argentina’s murderous military junta to justice.
Capitalism Makes Everyone Bend to Its Will, Rich and Poor Alike
In his new book Mute Compulsion, Søren Mau argues that to understand and end capitalism, we need to analyze how it not only subordinates the poor to the rich but in fact exerts economic power over everyone — including capitalists themselves.
Britain’s Economic Model Is Crumbling, but Its Politicians Don’t Want to Face Reality
Thatcherism and austerity have had a devastating impact on British society, with stagnant wages and declining life expectancy. There’s a crying need for radical change, but no mainstream political force is offering to deliver it.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is Refusing to Call the Derailment in East Palestine a Disaster
Ohio governor Mike DeWine is bungling the cleanup after the recent train derailment in East Palestine, which released harmful pollutants. His refusal to announce a disaster declaration is grounds for scrutiny of his connections to the railroad industry.
The State of Ukrainian Democracy Is Not Strong
One year after Russia’s invasion, Ukraine is backsliding away from democratic freedoms and liberal pluralism.
HarperCollins Workers Just Ended a Three-Month Strike
After three months on strike, employees at HarperCollins Publishers are now back at work after finally ratifying a new contract with the company. Jacobin spoke with HarperCollins workers about their walkout and what they won.
Strikes Were Up Significantly Last Year
New numbers show that the number of strikes and the number of workers on strike both went up last year. Labor is still incredibly weak, but more workers walking off the job is a very good thing.
The Massive Death Toll From Turkey’s Earthquake Is No Natural Disaster
Two weeks after twin earthquakes hit Turkey, thousands of dead bodies are still being picked from the rubble. Far fewer would have died if it hadn’t been for the Erdoğan administration’s lenience toward cowboy construction firms.
Palestinian Survivors of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre Remember the Horror
Twenty-nine years ago, Baruch Goldstein, a US-born Jewish settler, shot and killed 29 Palestinians in Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque. Jacobin talked to witnesses, who now face a rise in the same extremist Zionism that motivated Goldstein’s slaughter.
In Chicago, a Socialist Teacher Takes on the Entrenched Political Machine
Ambria Taylor, a socialist teacher from a working-class background, is running for Chicago City Council. In a ward long known as a stronghold for conservative Democratic machine politics, she says she hopes to usher in a new era of participatory governance.
The Root of Fake News Is the Corporate Lust for Profit in Media
Recent court disclosures prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt: Fox News knowingly lies to its audiences. But corporate media is fundamentally a vehicle for profit-making, which means that both right-wing and liberal outlets have an incentive to lie.
Putin’s Failed War Shows That “Great Powers” Can’t Always Get What They Want
Vladimir Putin’s invasion was meant to last just a few days. But Ukrainian resistance turned it into yet another imperial quagmire — showing that the great powers aren’t as able to reshape the modern world as they think.
Peace in Ukraine Isn’t Coming Soon
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine one year ago today hoping to capture it in a few days — then spent the last year turning its southeast into a bloodbath. Even if the current military stalemate is broken, the divides created by the war won’t heal soon.