The Fool and the Madman
Last night, Jordan Peterson spouted nonsense about Marxism. And Slavoj Žižek reminded us of how deep into liberal pessimism he's fallen.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
When Fighting Racism Meant Fighting Economic Exploitation
Though often forgotten today, the National Negro Congress forged a black-led, labor-based coalition in New Deal America that fought white supremacy and the economic exploitation that undergirded it.
Capitalism Has Always Had a Problem With Democracy
From South Korea to the United States, there are multiplying signs of democratic crisis in today’s world. The root of the problem is the permanent tension between capitalism and democratic freedoms, which only exist because of great popular struggles.
Heat Kills. Trump Has Ensured There Will Be More Victims.
We should be slashing emissions and climate-proofing our cities. Instead, Republicans are turning up the carbon spew and stripping away heat protections — effectively condemning the poor to die under rising temperatures.
Cautionary Tales From the New Left
In a new memoir, New Left leader Michael Ansara wants to impart lessons from his own time as a campus activist to today’s protesters. But his later role in a corruption scandal that set back Teamsters reform for decades offers its own cautionary lessons.
No, Bulgaria Doesn’t Need to Bury the Communist Past
Bulgarian authorities have begun dismantling the capital city's main memorial to the Red Army. Celebrated as a move to bury the Communist past, the obsession with symbolic score-settling in fact reflects an inability to talk about this history seriously.
Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership Was a Cautionary Tale of Liberal Inaction
Kindness, empathy, and compassion were values at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s political career — but they were often absent from her government’s policies. The result was a squandered opportunity to overhaul New Zealand’s economy for the better.
Assessing Robert Conquest
Historian Robert Conquest was a fierce critic of Stalinist brutality, but Cold War anticommunism hampered his scholarship.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Is Popular Because He Confronts the Powerful
For years, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has faced endless accusations of “divisiveness” and “extremism.” Today, his left-wing movement is more popular than ever — and it’s because it didn’t shy away from taking on French elites.
The Social Democracy Index
We looked at the best polling from the 2020 primary season. Turns out, you can spot a Bernie Sanders supporter not just by their age, but by their support for social-democratic policies.
How to Change Everything
Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything is a vital book whose limitations should spark discussion about where we go from here.
UAW Region 9A’s Big Risks in NYC’s Elections Paid Off
While most unions played it safe in New York’s recent elections, UAW Region 9A and its director, Brandon Mancilla, took big swings in supporting progressive and socialist insurgent candidates like Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier — and won.
Abortion Is Our Right To Strike
Abortion isn’t a “cultural” issue. The production of children, and who will pay for it, is a key economic battlefront.
How to Revive the Antiwar Movement
The headlong rush toward war with Iran seems to have slowed down. But we shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security — we urgently need a mass antiwar movement that isn’t tied to the Democratic Party.
Burning Man’s Gentrification Was Inevitable
Burning Man wanted to escape capitalism’s ills. It ended up recreating them.
Scottish Independence Will Dominate British Politics for Years
On Thursday, pro-independence parties won a majority in the Scottish Parliament. But Boris Johnson has insisted he’ll deny any fresh vote on independence. Whether we like it or not, socialists cannot afford to turn away from the national question.
Reading C. Wright Mills in the Age of Trump
Seventy years ago, C. Wright Mills published The Power Elite, a scathing indictment of corporate executives, state officials, and their academic apologists. His analysis has lost none of its bite as we confront an increasingly degenerate US power elite.
Dialectical Enlightenment
The socialist project isn't to rebel against the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity, but to show how capitalism is incapable of fulfilling them.
Public Education Can Win
In Massachusetts, students, parents, and teachers defeated a $23 million campaign to lift the state's cap on charter schools. How did they do it?
Revolt of the Elites
Patricio Guzmán’s The Battle of Chile captures the class war that culminated in Salvador Allende's overthrow 44 years ago today.