Andrew Yang’s New Political Party Exposes the Farce of Radical Centrism
Andrew Yang’s new Forward Party is the latest in a long line of efforts that seek to shake up American politics by leaning into the status quo.
19674 Articles by: Yi San
Yi San is a freelance writer based in New York.
Die Linke’s Defeat Is a Dire Warning for the Left
In September’s German election, the socialist Die Linke party slumped to under 5 percent support. If the Left is to recover, it needs to show that it’s still on the side of disenfranchised working-class voters.
Keir Starmer Cares More About Driving Out Socialists Than Winning Power
When Keir Starmer ran for Labour leader last spring, he promised to unite the party. In reality, he has worked tirelessly to silence socialists, while doing nothing to take the fight to the Tories.
Peter Thiel Embodies Silicon Valley’s Conservative Past and Dystopian Future
Peter Thiel’s right-wing provocations lead many to conclude that he’s an outlier in supposedly liberal Silicon Valley. In fact, as an open advocate for a world where technology supplants democracy, he’s the industry’s fullest embodiment.
Canadian Private Security Companies Have Wreaked Havoc in Afghanistan
In the record of the disastrous war in Afghanistan, little attention has been paid to the horrific role of Canada’s private security firms.
Facebook Harms Its Users Because That’s Where Its Profits Are
Facebook has been the target of an unprecedented flood of criticism in recent months — and rightly so. But too many critics seem to forget that the company is driven to do bad things by its thirst for profit, not by a handful of mistaken ideas.
Workers at Buffalo’s Mercy Hospital Are on Strike for Patient Safety
Catholic Health has spent the pandemic buying real estate instead of fixing understaffing issues that overburden workers and put patients’ lives at risk. Mercy Hospital workers have walked off the job to demand new priorities.
Transphobia Is the Latest Front in the Blairites’ War Against the Left
In recent years, a cavalcade of British liberals has taken to Twitter to denounce the supposed trans takeover. But as last week’s Labour Party conference showed, pushback against trans rights has also become a key weapon in the Blairite war against the Left.
The American Muckrakers Who Spoke Truth to Power
The bulk of mainstream journalism in the US has long stood as a mouthpiece for ruling-class interests. Yet from Ida B. Wells to Ida Tarbell, a powerful tradition of “muckraking” has gone against the grain to hold the powerful accountable.
How Neoliberalism Embraced Human Rights
The intellectual godfathers of neoliberalism knew they needed to attach a philosophy of high-minded ideals to the vicious free-market system they wanted to spread around the globe. They found such a philosophy by perverting the idea of human rights.
Hong Kong’s Trade Unions Are Under Attack
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions has dissolved after months of media and government attacks. It’s a blow to worker organization across China.
Sick and Injured Americans Are Drug Companies’ Favorite Cash Cows
Global pharmaceutical companies sell their medications in every country around the world. But only in the US do they get away with charging the extortionate prices Americans have become familiar with.
How Big Pharma Flipped Kyrsten Sinema
Big Pharma needed a senator to do their dirty work to kill or gut Democrats’ drug pricing plan. They found someone willing and able in Kyrsten Sinema.
The Czech Left Is Being Punished for Its Disastrous Record in Government
Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš is a scandal-plagued, right-wing billionaire. In this weekend’s elections, the Czech Republic’s social democratic and communist parties are set to be punished for keeping his government in power.
Emmanuel Macron’s Africa Policies Are Still Rooted in French Colonialism
Today’s Africa-France summit is a typical show of French president Emmanuel Macron’s imperial grandstanding. But it wouldn’t be possible without business leaders and intellectuals who paint France’s interference in its old colonies in a humanitarian light.
Dominic Perrottet Is Bad News for New South Wales
After Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation last week, New South Wales has a new premier. The rise of Dominic Perrottet — with links to Opus Dei, a raft of reactionary opinions, and close ties to big business — is bad news for Australia’s most populous state.
We Can’t Leave Society. We Can Only Change It.
Capitalism is all-encompassing — we can’t simply opt out and cultivate our personal purity. Like so many others, the protagonist of Tao Lin’s latest novel wants to leave society, but the point is to change it.
Workers at Kellogg’s Cereal Plants Across the Country Are on Strike
More than 1,400 workers at Kellogg’s cereal plants across the US are on strike. Fed up with 12- to 16-hour days, seven days a week, with mandatory overtime, they were pushed over the edge by the company’s drive to downgrade wages and benefits for new workers.
CIA Op or Not, the Pandora Papers Are a Big Deal
There’s good reason to speculate that the Pandora Papers, the massive leak exposing the tax-dodging practices of the global superrich — which includes plenty of Russians and Chinese, but almost no Americans — is a CIA plant. Nevertheless, it’s a newsworthy story that deserves the attention it’s gotten.
In Berlin, We Won a Vote to Nationalize the Big Landlords
Last Sunday, Berliners voted to nationalize the big landlords and win housing justice. We managed to get over a million people to vote to expropriate 240,000 apartments owned by mega-corporations.