We Need to Take On Drug Companies’ Abuse of the Patent System
If we want to curb the power of pharmaceutical companies and rising drug prices, we need to overhaul the patent system.
19086 Articles by: Yi San
Yi San is a freelance writer based in New York.
Neoliberalism Is Driving Away Working-Class Voters of Color. They Need to Be Won Back.
Universal programs and economic redistribution, far more than rhetorical moderation and identity-based pandering, are the best bet for winning over workers of all races.
We Don’t Need a Culture War. We Need a Class War.
“Polarization” isn’t intrinsically good or bad, but the kind we have now is a roadblock to progress. We need to find ways to depolarize along culture war lines and repolarize along class war lines.
How Sci-Fi Shaped Socialism
From William Morris to Ursula K. Le Guin and Iain M. Banks, science fiction has provided an outlet for socialist thinkers — offering readers a break from capitalist realism and allowing us to imagine a vastly different world.
Congressional Democrats Are Raking in Huge Donations from War Profiteers
A look at the numbers reveals that congressional Democrats who voted for Trump’s defense budget last week accepted four times as much war industry cash in the House and six times as much in the Senate as those who voted against. To stop the war machine from sucking up resources that could be used on social programs, we need to confront those Democrats happy to rake in cash from war profiteers.
Scott Morrison’s Industrial Relations Laws Are a Kick in the Teeth for Australian Workers
The Morrison government has proposed sweeping changes to Australian labor laws intended to cut wages, entrench precarious work, and cripple unions. The proposed changes would sweep away the remnants of collective bargaining and hand dictatorial power to bosses.
The Iowa Caucus Meltdown Showed Everything That’s Wrong With the Democratic Party
A recently released audit of the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucus reveals an absolute disaster from top to bottom. The Iowa caucus was a textbook case of the morass of professional political hacks and vendors looking to make a buck that is central to the Democratic Party as it exists today.
Students at Columbia and the University of Manchester Are Rejecting Austerity in Higher Ed
Across the world, universities have seen rising tuition costs, bloated administrations, and worsening conditions for students in recent decades. By organizing a rent strike at the University of Manchester and a tuition strike at Columbia, undergraduates at the two schools are drawing a line in the sand against higher-ed austerity.
Hari Kunzru’s Novel Red Pill Is a Literary Document of the Age of the Alt-Right
Hari Kunzru’s latest novel, Red Pill, follows the mental unraveling of a liberal Brooklyn-dwelling “creative” as he finds himself being drawn into the world of the alt-right. In an interview with Jacobin, Kunzru reflects on the nature of the alt-right’s appeal and the dilemmas it poses for the Left.
It’s Long Past Time for Democrats to Reject Austerity
Democrats have bought the right-wing lie that they must zealously guard against deficits by reining in public spending. The result: mass economic pain and poor performance at the polls. It’s time for Democrats to finally reject austerity.
Socialists Will Not Be Driven Out of the Labour Party
Alan Gibbons, secretary of Liverpool Walton Constituency Labour Party, was suspended from the party this week as part of its mass suspensions throughout the UK. He has a simple message: socialists will not be driven out of Labour. “We’re here to stay.”
The Revolutionary Genius of Ludwig van Beethoven
250 years after his birth, Beethoven’s music still has an exhilarating, subversive power. His revolution of artistic form was intimately linked to his sympathy for the political revolutions of his time.
Joe Biden Wants to Bring the Dems Responsible for the 1994 Crime Bill Back to the White House
Documents from the Bill Clinton Library tell the story of the disastrous 1994 crime bill. They reveal the cynicism and callousness of Clinton administration officials — including Rahm Emanuel and Ron Klain, who Biden is considering for his own administration — who shepherded the bill through Congress for naked political gain.
Don’t Break Up Facebook — Make It a Public Utility
We should be concerned about the power big tech firms have in our lives. But antitrust lawsuits against tech monopolies are just a Band-Aid for the real problem: the need to free the social networks we use from private profit and the drive to sell our data.
Collective Bargaining Needs a Fresh Start, in Canada and the US Alike
Although Canadian unions are in a better position than their US counterparts, the Wagner model of industrial relations still can’t be relied on to protect vulnerable workers in either country. American and Canadian labor law need a complete overhaul.
Columbia University’s Tuition Strike Is Only the Beginning
Three thousand students at Columbia University have pledged to begin a tuition strike next semester if administrators do not concede to their demands. The strike is part of the nationwide student movement to end university austerity, resist rising student debt, and democratize the university.
Lorraine Hansberry Was an Unapologetic Radical
Lorraine Hansberry is best known for her classic play A Raisin in the Sun. But she was also a committed radical who insisted that black workers must be at the heart of the struggle for liberation.
The Welder Who Helped Bring Democracy to South Korea
South Korean labor activist Kim Jin-suk inspired her country back in 2011 by occupying the top of a 115-foot shipyard crane to protest worker layoffs and defend workers’ rights. Now, as she fights for her life against breast cancer, she’s demanding her job back.
Denmark’s “Democratic Ownership” Agenda Shows We Can Run Our Own Lives
Denmark’s new budget promises more state investment and welfare spending, but also a commission on helping workers take control of their workplaces. Marking a break with decades of pro-privatization dogma, the bill is a small step toward an economy that serves social need, not just profits for shareholders.
The Pain of Pandemic-Induced Unemployment in America Is Brutal and Unceasing
The lack of long-term economic aid for unemployed workers has meant that incredible amounts of suffering are everywhere in America right now. We talked to unemployed workers to hear their stories in their own words.