Lies, Damn Lies, and CBO Statistics
The Republican-led Congressional Budget Office is using gimmicks and fuzzy math to “prove” that the richest country on Earth can’t afford a decent welfare state.
19667 Articles by: Yi San
Yi San is a freelance writer based in New York.
Brazil’s Far-Right Government Is Using COP26 to Greenwash Its Image
Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro is trying to tone down his well-deserved reputation as a climate change denier. But the new proposals from his government serve the same purpose of blocking the radical measures we need to address the climate crisis.
RIP Dean Stockwell, a 70-Year Hollywood Renegade
Forced to support his family as a child star of the 1940s, Dean Stockwell embraced the counterculture of the 1960s while cutting his own path through eight decades in Hollywood.
The Left Needs More Than Low-Hanging Fruit to Win Power
To win universal social programs and pro-working-class politics in America, the Left needs to win outside of traditional Democratic strongholds. And that means having the message and organizing that can capture the attention of millions.
Edward Said Showed Intellectuals How to Bring Politics to Their Work
The Palestinian writer Edward Said wasn’t merely an intellectual who took brave political stands. Said’s whole approach to his work should be a model for politically engaged scholarship that doesn’t get bogged down in the thickets of academic culture.
Issue 43: Letters + Internet Speaks
Working through your issues in the comments section.
Lower the Crime Rate
Crime is born out of poverty and the miseries of capitalism. An index of oppression can’t be ignored by socialists.
Did Liberals Give Us Mass Incarceration?
The United States managed its violence on the cheap — through police and prisons instead of social welfare.
For Albania, Capitalism’s Promise of Freedom Soon Turned Sour
Lea Ypi’s memoir of life in Albania as its Communist system disintegrated is essential reading. Ypi gives us a frank picture of authoritarian rule, but she’s also scathing about the destructive shock therapy imposed on her country in the name of freedom.
Julian Assange’s Extradition to the United States Would Result in Serious Human Rights Violations
The US government is begging the British High Court to allow Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States. Doing so would be a human rights disaster, given that American prisons violate the most basic human rights of political prisoners like Assange.
Stress Is a Collective Issue, Not Just an Individual One
Corporate stress management techniques emphasize individualized solutions to our anxieties and stresses. But a society plagued by stress has to solve its stress problems collectively, not just individually.
Yes, Jacobin Has a Board Game Now
Class War is the new two-player board game from Jacobin. You can order a copy today and support our journalism!
Vietnam War Soldiers Helped End the Vietnam War
The anti–Vietnam War movement cut across the civilian-military divide, with active-duty soldiers abroad and stateside defying their commanders and refusing to fight. Those soldiers played a key role in bringing the brutal war to an end.
Brian Williams Was Just the Face of Corporate News Lies
NBC’s Brian Williams didn’t just exaggerate one anecdote: He serially lied about nearly a dozen events he had covered, and continued to rake in millions after it. He was everything wrong with corporate news.
Democrats Can’t Be Losing Because They “Moved Too Far Left” When They Aren’t Moving Left
What accounts for the Democrats’ deepening electoral malaise? You can take your pick of reasons — but the one we can be sure is wrong is the absurd claim that Joe Biden has spent his first year in office pandering to the Left.
Why Columbia Graduate Workers Like Me Are on Strike
Graduate workers deserve to live decent lives now, not defer necessities like dental care or being able to make the rent to a distant future of decently paying academic jobs that never arrive. That’s why Columbia graduate workers walked off the job last week.
The US Is Reneging on Climate Change Commitments
By refusing to define “climate finance,” the United States and other wealthy nations are avoiding their responsibilities to fight climate change and forcing poorer nations into never-ending debt traps.
Wes Anderson Goes Gallic in The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch tips the director’s trademark, Francophile style into overdrive — no doubt pleasing his fans while infuriating his detractors.
Post-Astroworld, Travis Scott Is Partnering With an Incredibly Exploitative Therapy App
After the deadly tragedy at Astroworld, rapper Travis Scott has announced a partnership with therapy app BetterHelp, sometimes called the Uber of the mental health space. Its business model: ruthless exploitation of both therapists and patients.
Nicholas Kristof Was a Terrible Journalist. He Might Make a Worse Governor.
The good news is the New York Times’s Nick Kristof won’t be in the paper of record anymore. The bad news is he’s already plotting ways to broadcast his treacly liberalism to the good people of Oregon in a run for governor.