Australian Labor Is Becoming the Party for Coal
The fires are barely out, and a new right-wing faction in the Labor Party is organizing to protect the coal industry. It didn’t take long for party leader Anthony Albanese to cave.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
The Socialist Tradition Shaped Martin Luther King
Accounts of the life of Martin Luther King Jr often present him as a singularly great individual. Yet MLK was profoundly shaped by a vibrant ecosystem of socialists and labor radicals, from Myles Horton and Rosa Parks to Bayard Rustin and Stanley Levison.
“It’s the Demand of the People that Creates Real Change”
Heidi Sloan is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America running for Congress in Texas's twenty-fifth district, challenging Republican incumbent and very rich used car salesman Rep. Roger Williams. Sloan sat down with Jacobin to talk about her story, how she came to socialism, fighting for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, and which supervillain she would most like to interrogate as a member of the House of Representatives.
Horror Show
In the first season of Stranger Things, all possible futures are permeated by the Demogorgon of capital. What new terrors will season two bring?
Lori Lightfoot Is Insisting on Forcing Chicago Teachers Into Unsafe Schools
Despite Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s own admission that reopening other parts of the city like restaurants would be unsafe given COVID-19 infection rates, she is insisting Chicago teachers and students return to in-person learning. The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to defy the mayor, refusing to return to schools under current conditions.
The Radical History of New York City's Jewish Women
Over a century ago, Jewish immigrant women arrived in New York’s Lower East Side from the Russian Empire with nothing. Within a generation, they had pulled off some of the most combative and highly organized labor actions in American history.
Winston Churchill Was Not Your Friend
Winston Churchill has become all but deified in modern Britain. But in his own lifetime, Churchill was often recognized for who he really was: an unrepentant imperialist and racist, a foe of trade unions and women’s rights, and a defender of elite privilege.
Keir Starmer Has Paved Nigel Farage’s Path to Power
The right-wing party Reform UK outperformed Labour in elections this month across Britain. Labour has mainly been shedding support on its left flank, but the party’s current leaders have no desire to win those voters back with left-wing policies.
Ireland’s Civil War Ended in Victory for the Irish Counterrevolution
A hundred years ago today, the Irish Civil War began in Dublin. Its outcome entrenched the power of an ultraconservative bloc whose leaders ruthlessly snuffed out hopes that Irish independence would result in social transformation for workers and women.
How Russia’s War Broke the Backbone of the European Left
Russia’s war on Ukraine threatens to escalate in ways that imperil all human life. Yet the mainstream reaction is mostly striking for its apathy — and the Left is failing to mobilize against the mounting disaster.
Liberalism’s Crisis, Socialism’s Promise
Socialism isn't the negation of liberalism. It's the realization of liberal values made impossible by capitalism.
The Exploitation of Veterans Day
How should we observe Veterans Day? By working to eradicate war and the economic system that helps produce it.
Labor Unions Were Occupy Wall Street’s Key, Forgotten, Conflicted Ally
The labor movement played a key role in the success of Occupy Wall Street. But the alliance of unions and Occupy never succeeded in reaching its full potential.
France’s Far Right Is Setting the Agenda Because the Mainstream Allows It To
Ahead of the 2022 election, French media are presenting an inevitable duel between incumbent Emmanuel Macron and the "populist" Marine Le Pen. Yet for decades we've seen how this liberal framing fuels far-right talking points — echoing Le Pen's false claim to stand for those "left behind" against the status quo.
A Marxist in the European Parliament
Last week’s elections produced grim results for the Left across most of the continent. But in Belgium, the Workers’ Party made a historic breakthrough.
Why Momentum Is in Crisis
Momentum was created to organize Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters into a socialist force in the Labour Party. But faced with Keir Starmer’s moves to expel the Left, Momentum has retreated from the central political battle in favor of NGO-style campaigning.
The Spirit of ’45 Can’t Be Snuffed Out
Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45 chronicles how Labour ended many of the UK’s worst barbarities through socializing key industries and creating public goods like the National Health Service. That project is now on the back foot — but won’t ever be fully defeated.
Joe Biden, Neoliberal
Joe Biden proudly called himself a “Third Way” Democrat who hates “class warfare.” His forty-five-year political career shows how right he was.
This Tuesday, the Political Revolution Comes to Philadelphia
If they win tomorrow, two independent left candidates could fundamentally realign Philadelphia politics.
When Public Transit Workers Ground New York City to a Halt
In 1966, New York City public transit workers went on strike for a better contract, paralyzing the life of the city. The strike showed that New York couldn’t function without their labor and forced reluctant bosses to concede to their demands.