Why You’re Watching Squid Game
The extraordinary success of Netflix's Squid Game demonstrates how many people relate to a portrayal of capitalism's miseries — and how few feel there is any way to escape.
Blog
Meet Joe Manchin’s Appalling Daughter
As if his own record weren’t bad enough, former coal baron and current West Virginia senator Joe Manchin’s daughter Heather Bresch — who doubles as a major donor to Joe — is a price-gouging drug profiteer who has played a central role in her father’s destructive political career.
San Antonio Symphony Musicians Are Striking to Keep the Band From Breaking Up
Musicians say that management’s austere proposal, gutting the full-time orchestra and slashing pay and benefits, will destroy the San Antonio Symphony. They’ve gone on strike because, as one musician said, “We will not be complicit in our own destruction.”
Kaiser Wants to Cut Health Care Workers’ Wages. It Might Provoke a Massive Strike.
In ongoing contract negotiations, health care giant Kaiser wants to impose a two-tier wage structure — meaning a giant pay cut for new hires. Union locals representing 35,000 Kaiser workers have voted to authorize a strike in response.
US Billionaires Got 70% More Wealth Under COVID. They Didn’t Deserve Any of It.
New data shows that Elon Musk's fortune grew by 750% during the pandemic. It's not because he worked 750% harder than the rest of us.
Insurance Companies Are Trying Desperately to Stop Medicare Expansion in the Budget Reconciliation
The health insurance industry is spending big to halt efforts to expand Medicare benefits — and running false ads claiming Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are protecting seniors rather than privatizing Medicare.
The Best Thing the US Can Do for Afghanistan Is Stay Out of It
Despite four decades of imperial interventions, the United States was defeated in Afghanistan. Tariq Ali explains the long history of meddling in Afghanistan — and why the US's defeat will set back the broader project of American military supremacy.
The Pandemic Has Given Us the Opportunity to Transform Europe
In response to COVID-19, EU member states have agreed to policies that once seemed inconceivable. The EU recovery fund falls well short of what’s needed, but there’s now an opening for the European left to demand more radical forms of economic redistribution.
There’s Nothing Honorable or Decent About Colin Powell’s Long List of War Crimes
Excellence, devotion, loyalty — the list of noble attributes heaped upon Colin Powell after his death is long. But using such attributes to carry out an illegal war that slaughtered hundreds of thousands, as Powell did, is despicable, not noble.
Only Labor Can Force Canadian Pension Funds to Divest From Oil
One of Canada’s largest institutional investors, responsible for managing billions of dollars in workers’ pensions, has committed to fossil fuel divestment. It’s a good step — but without pressure from the labor movement, these promises will mean nothing.
Bernie Sanders Is Showing the Democrats How to Take on Joe Manchin
For months, Bernie Sanders has been making a case for the multitrillion-dollar reform bill he’s spearheaded in the Senate. Now, he’s taken that case to Joe Manchin’s home turf in West Virginia — and is facing backlash from the mainstream media for breaching the norms of Beltway etiquette.
AMLO Is Nationalizing Mexico’s Lithium Supply
In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is attempting to transform the country’s overpriced energy industry by nationalizing lithium — a move essential to kicking out private mining and developing a robust and affordable public energy sector.