University Administrators Are Lobbying for Protection From COVID Lawsuits
Reopening schools right now is extremely dangerous — which is why many colleges and universities are lobbying in Washington for immunity from COVID-related lawsuits.
19118 Articles by: Yi San
Yi San is a freelance writer based in New York.
Centrists Are Pining for a Golden Age that Never Was
As the political center has withered in recent years, self-described moderates have often expressed nostalgia for the “normal” politics of the 1990s. But the era of Blair and Clinton really wasn’t a golden age of progress — and it brought a wave of market fundamentalism still sowing havoc today.
The Long-Term Dangers of Joe Biden’s Terrible Campaigning for President
Joe Biden may indeed win in November. But he has run an inconsequential and pathetic campaign — one that could pose enormous dangers in the coming years.
Here Is One Graph Everyone Should See on Labor Day
On this Labor Day, remind everyone you can that if we hope to ever rebuild an economy that works for everyone, we’re going to need many more workers in unions and a much stronger labor movement.
Remembering My Friend, David Graeber
David Graeber will remain for me a model for how to live to the fullest a scholarly and activist life.
Under Capitalism, There’s No Such Thing as a “Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work”
We’ve got some bad news for you on Labor Day: your boss is exploiting you. Karl Marx explains how.
Workers at Melbourne’s Toll Warehouse Unite Against COVID-19
When managers at a major retail warehouse in Melbourne concealed information on the spread of COVID-19 among the workforce, casual and permanent workers united to walk off the job. The result was a powerful victory in the fight against unsafe conditions.
Socialists Can Still Change the World for the Better
Because socialists were marginalized for decades, we’ve had to build a new left almost from scratch. It’s understandable to feel demoralized by defeats. But the movement we’re building is one that can still win real change.
“Jess La Bombalera” and the Pathologies of Racial Authenticity
Simply put, Jessica Krug was a minstrel act, a racist caricature. But while Krug’s persona was certainly offensive, what’s far more offensive is that there is a demand for this kind of performance in liberal academic circles.
What Martin Luther King Jr Really Thought About Riots
Joe Biden is trying to use Martin Luther King’s legacy to make the case for a law-and-order crackdown on protests. But King drew a distinction between violence against people and violence against property — and he viewed riots as the product of an unjust social order.
Europe’s Coronavirus Recovery Program Will Make It Even More Unequal
The negotiations over a European Union bailout were riven with splits on whether “frugal” Northern states should have to assist their coronavirus-hit Southern partners. But while the eventual €750 billion deal was widely hailed as a victory for European solidarity, its details show that it will aggravate the EU’s inequalities even further.
Melbourne’s Spotless Laundry Workers Went on Strike to Stop COVID-19
At the Spotless Laundry in Melbourne’s southeast, employers demanded that work continue despite escalating numbers of COVID-19 cases. The workers refused to allow the company’s profit to be placed above their safety — and won.
A Jewish Goodbye to David Graeber
David Graeber’s intellectual legacy is enormous and wide-ranging, but his recent writings on antisemitism deeply moved me. He knew that antisemitism was far from dead — and he also knew that only a democratic left could stop it.
Joe Biden Won’t Learn Anything From Ed Markey’s Win
For four decades Sen. Ed Markey was a run-of-the-mill liberal Democrat. But when he found himself threatened by a potentially career-ending defeat, he turned toward young voters and the Left — and it worked. Could Biden do the same? Maybe. But he probably won’t even try.
Oliver Cromwell Cox and the Capitalist Sources of Racism
Radical sociologist Oliver Cromwell Cox argued that racial antagonism was an essential tool for maintaining capitalist power. Cox’s understanding of race and class can help us forge a broad, multiracial movement against oppression today.
The OAS Accusation of Electoral Fraud Against Evo Morales Is Bullshit — And Now We Have the Data to Prove It
The day after the Bolivian election, the Organization of American States suggested the result was fraudulent — then took months to provide any proof. Last month, it finally released its data — and researchers at the Center for Economic and Policy Research found a basic coding error that destroys the OAS’s case against Morales.
Why We Should Care About American Federalism
In the face of climate crisis and police killings, thinking about American federalism can seem terribly boring. But the fragmentation of the US state and the dilution of popular power are at the root of many of our most pressing problems — and we desperately need fundamental changes to the country’s constitutional order.
Lodge 49 Is a Comedy About Being Broke and Desperate
In AMC’s comedic drama series Lodge 49, webs of debt and despair, disappointed dreams, and displaced lives tie the characters together at first. But it’s solidarity that makes the bonds last.
The Needs of Students and Educators Should Guide Our Use of New Classroom Technologies
Since the start of the pandemic it’s become common to suggest that education will have to adapt to a “new normal,” with increased use of online platforms. But private tech firms risk having an oversized say in what the “new normal” is — ignoring the needs expressed by teachers and learners themselves.
Joe Biden Is Falling into Donald Trump’s Law-And-Order Trap
Despite Trump’s posturing, crime is nowhere near top of mind for most of the American electorate. So why is Joe Biden running on a triangulating law-and-order message?