It’s Time for a Four-Day Workweek
Recent progress toward shorter hours among certain sectors of UK workers has set a starting point for a winnable demand for workers everywhere: a four-day workweek.
18089 Articles by: Zola Carr
Zola Carr is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, working on a dissertation on the development of experimental brain implants for psychiatric disorder.
Washington Must End Its Support for Azerbaijan’s War Crimes
The US has long offered unconditional military assistance to Azerbaijan even as it carries out ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. It’s consistent with Washington’s support for brutal human rights violators from Saudia Arabia to Israel.
A Scandal-Ridden Building Company Is Poised to Take Advantage of the Biden Climate Plan
Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is expected to spend $369 billion on green building investments. One insulation manufacturer — notorious for its role in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire — is greenwashing itself to receive lucrative US tax benefits.
Pro-Israel Billionaires Are Spending Big to Oust Socialists From Office
Across the country, pro-Israel groups and billionaires are trying to stop the antiwar movement pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza by bringing down its elected leaders, including Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. These are fights the Left can win with popular support.
2023 Was a Good Year for Canadian Labor
In 2023, Canadian unions experienced a banner year marked by successful strikes and legislative victories. These wins should be celebrated alongside ongoing efforts to build an even stronger labor movement.
Enzo Traverso: Revolution Is an Idea for the Future, Not Just a Glorious Past
Karl Marx wrote that “revolutions are the locomotives of history.” For Italian historian Enzo Traverso, regaining the idea of revolution is essential if we refuse to accept capitalism as an eternal state of affairs.
The US Labor Movement Experienced a Breakthrough Year in 2023
In 2023, half a million workers, including machinists, teachers, baristas, nurses, hotel housekeepers, actors, screenwriters, and autoworkers, went on strike and won. Their historic gains underscore the momentum of a rising reform movement in US unions.
You Should Know About Minnesota Labor and Civil Rights Hero Nellie Stone Johnson
Minnesota civil rights and labor activist Nellie Stone Johnson was born on this day in 1905. Though little known nationally, she was a key figure in the US democratic socialist tradition who saw struggles for racial and economic justice as inseparable.
The Antiwar Left Saved the Honor of German Socialism Amid the Horror of the Trenches
Germany’s radical left spearheaded opposition to a futile, destructive war after 1914. Alongside famous leaders like Rosa Luxemburg, there were lesser-known figures such as Johann Knief, whose political life illuminates this vital period of socialist history.
This Massive Oil Refinery Illustrates the Challenges of Colombia’s Clean Energy Transition
President Gustavo Petro has pledged to transform Colombia’s energy industry in a greener direction. But the country’s heavy economic dependence on hydrocarbons, illustrated by the legacy of its massive refinery in Barrancabermeja, poses steep challenges.
A Global Movement for Union Solidarity With Palestine Is Underway
From India to Canada to Belgium and many places in between, union members are standing up in solidarity with the Palestinian people, taking action to stop the flow of arms being used by Israel in its destructive war on Gaza.
We Need a Marxist Account That Can Make Sense of Europe’s Reformation
The Reformation was a fundamental transformation in European society, blending religious disputes with political ideology and class conflict. Marx and Engels fully understood its importance for their view of history, and today’s Marxists should do the same.
Psychiatry Won’t Solve Our Mental Health Crisis — Only Politics Can Do That
Politicians want to improve our worsening mental health with big psychiatric initiatives. The problem with this model, says historian of neuroscience Danielle Carr, is that it ignores the social and structural forces causing widespread mental suffering.
When You Want to Fight Unemployment, Shorten the Workday
In the mid-20th century, union leader Harry Van Arsdale Jr became obsessed with a simple idea: fewer working hours would mean a need for more workers, and therefore more jobs. He considered it the solution to unemployment, and his union fought to realize it.
Billionaire-Backed Conservative Legal Groups Are Paying for Judges’ Luxury Vacations
Right-wing legal interests funded by the megawealthy are routinely feting lower-court judges and treating them to all-expenses-paid trips, which effectively function as a reward system for judges who espouse and maintain hard-line conservative legal views.
Hunter Biden’s Corruption Is a Symptom of Grotesque Inequality
Hunter Biden, the president’s problematic son, has finally been indicted for his years of tax evasion. Only in an egregiously unequal society like ours do the children of the rich and powerful get away with corruption for as long as Hunter Biden has.
Spain Says Europe’s Leaders Should Do Everything in Their Power to Stop Israel’s Crimes
Spain is one of the European states most critical of Israel’s collective punishment of Gaza. Here in an op-ed, Spanish social rights minister Pablo Bustinduy calls on Europe to use legal and economic pressure to halt Israel’s crimes.
Australia’s Elites Are Censoring Criticism of Israel by Calling It Antisemitic
In Australia, the political, media, and arts establishment is weaponizing accusations of antisemitism to silence critics of Israel’s war on Gaza. It’s tantamount to blackmail, and the goal is to delegitimize solidarity with Palestine.
Filippo Buonarroti Was a Jacobin and a Revolutionary Conspirator
Filippo Buonarroti was one of the radicals who sought to turn the French Revolution into a profound transformation of society. A theorist of the secret revolutionary conspiracy, his example inspired the rising labor movement of the 19th century.
Javier Milei Has Tapped Into the Discontent of a New, Informal Working Class
Most surprising about Argentina’s election of far-right libertarian Javier Milei was his capture of a large part of the working-class vote. His ability to speak to the anxieties of the country’s growing precarious sector should be a wake-up call to the Left.