The Workers Our Coronavirus Debate Is Leaving Out
The media and the Democratic Party establishment’s singular focus on paid sick leave leaves out millions of contract and informal workers. We need to think much bigger — now.
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Why Socialists Need to Talk About Justice
It’s not enough for socialists to point out capitalism’s many faults — we need to explain our positive vision of the future and how it lives up to our ideals of justice.
The Crisis Is Only Going to Get Worse for Workers
Labour MP Navendu Mishra spoke to Jacobin about the UK government’s feeble response to coronavirus — and why workers with precarious income and housing need help now
Spain Needs Social Solidarity as Well as Social Distancing
Last month’s revelations of the Spanish monarchy’s illicit financial dealings embarrassed official claims that “we’re all in this together.” Faced with COVID-19, citizens are forced to build their own collective response — replacing the empty rhetoric of “national unity” with the real practice of social solidarity.
COVID-19 Shows Why We Must Socialize the Food System
Coronavirus has emphasized a truth we knew before the pandemic: capitalist food systems are irrational and don’t serve human needs. Socialists have to demand a food system based on social and ecological needs — one that can provide food for all.
The Left Can’t Just Dismiss the Anti-Lockdown Protests
The anti-lockdown protests may currently represent a Trumpian minority — but that could easily change if the choice becomes going hungry or going back to work. We need a real alternative that refuses to accept the false trade-off between economic security and public health.
Ireland’s Green Party Is Ready to Help the Right Stay in Power
Ireland’s conservative establishment was on the ropes after February’s shock election result. But Leo Varadkar’s caretaker government has exploited the COVID-19 crisis to regain his authority — and is now counting on the Greens to keep the center-right parties in power as a recession looms.
Jair Bolsonaro Is Laying the Groundwork for a Coup in Brazil
Brazil marks two centuries of independence from Portugal today. Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is using the occasion to help create the mood music for a coup against Brazilian democracy after an October election that he expects to lose.
We Need to Escape This Dystopia and Open New Horizons of Hope
At a time of severe austerity, Spain has made key progressive advances. We spoke to labor minister Yolanda Díaz about her government’s attempts to bolster labor rights, fight climate change, and how the Left needs to build social movements beyond party structures.
We Can’t Let Boris Johnson’s Government Sacrifice Workers for Corporate Profits
The British government has extended its program to subsidize employment during the lockdown, but pressure is mounting on workers to risk their lives for the sake of profit. We can't let this happen.
Why Social Distancing “Doesn’t Apply” to Germany’s Migrant Farmworkers
The German state emphasizes the need for social distancing — except for the Romanian migrants working in its farms. The EU’s neoliberal order has deepened the continent’s labor market inequalities, making a mockery of the rhetoric of European solidarity.
Capitalism Was Always Like This
It’s fashionable to claim that the “rise of the robots” or the “disappearance of work” have changed everything about labor in the twenty-first century. But when it comes to extracting profit from workers, today’s era of ruthless capitalism is fundamentally the same as those of the past.
Meet the 25-Year-Old Socialist Organizer Running for State Senate in Connecticut
Democratic socialist Justin Farmer is running for state senate in Connecticut on a platform to reform the criminal justice system and reinvest in communities. We talked to him about it.
How Thomas Piketty Ignores Class Struggle
Offering a welcome rejoinder to many neoliberal orthodoxies, French economist Thomas Piketty has established himself as a sharp critic of growing inequality. But when he presents these ills just as a result of wrong choices, he ends up erasing the realities of class struggle — leaving him unable to explain how neoliberalism imposes its power.
Teachers’ Unions Are Making Totally Reasonable Pandemic Health and Safety Demands
After a four-day refusal to teach in-person, the Chicago Teachers Union is going back to school on Wednesday, where they wanted to be all along. The city’s lackluster pandemic safety made that impossible.
No, Automation Isn’t Going to Make Work Disappear
Talk of a great technological replacement suggests that automation is rendering most workers obsolete. But innovation isn’t simply replacing human workers — rather, it’s created a battle over whose interests the new technologies will serve.
The Labour Left’s Fatal Contradictions Are Still Unresolved
In the best moments of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the Labour left captured an insurgent, democratizing spirit. Yet two years after the Left’s defeat, the top-down approach that led to the fatal “second referendum” policy continues to hamper its recovery.
We Need a Socialist Spotify
Streaming services like Spotify shamelessly exploit musicians. But there is an alternative to corporate monopoly music: a music streaming platform built for the common good.
Finland Is Rallying Around a Six-Hour Workday — And So Should We
Finland’s social-democratic prime minister, Sanna Marin, has called for a six-hour workday without loss of pay, allowing Finns more free time and a fairer distribution of employment. As the pandemic forces us to reassess how working life is organized, we should take up labor’s historic call for a shorter workday.
Camila Vallejo: Chile’s Left Needs to Be as Class-Conscious as the Right Is
Chile’s Constitutional Convention promises to shift the balance of power in a society long prey to neoliberal dogmas. But as Communist MP Camila Vallejo tells Jacobin, the Chilean right will stop at nothing to defend ruling-class interests.