An Imagined Community
All politics are identity politics.
66 Search Results for: Erik Olin Wright
Vivek Chibber: “Bad Ideas” Aren’t Keeping Workers From Fighting Back
Critics often say the working class doesn't fight back against exploitation because it's confused about its real interests. But this ignores how capitalism itself leads workers to resign themselves to their situation — and how we can overcome that resignation.
How Analytic Philosophers Have Made Sense of Capitalism
Analytic philosophy, a branch of the discipline that emphasizes rigorous argumentation, is often dismissed as a set of abstract puzzle games. But analytic philosophers have reinterpreted Marxism to provide a radical critique of capitalist society.
How to Think About (And Win) Socialism
A revolutionary rupture is not on the horizon, but capitalism can still be overcome.
Tech Workers at Every Level Can Organize to Build Power
Tech workers occupy a contradictory location in the American class structure. On the one hand, many are well paid and identify both as professionals and with management. On the other, the proletarianized aspects of their work can offer opportunities to seize for organizing as workers.
Ireland’s Working Class Is Still the Key Force for Social Change
Irish politics has been shifting toward greater class polarization in recent years, defying academic predictions about the death of class. The modern working class has taken a new shape, but it still has the potential to mobilize for radical change.
Dentists of the World, Unite?
The middle class isn’t going away — and we’re not sure they’ll help us.
American Marxism Got Lost on Campus
In defiance of predictions, American Marxism has survived and even flourished, notably in universities. This institutional base has produced plenty of good scholarship, but it’s also encouraged hyper-specialization and the use of impenetrable jargon.
Ecological Politics for the Working Class
Solving the ecological crisis requires a mass movement to take on hugely powerful industries. Yet environmentalism’s base in the professional-managerial class and focus on consumption has little chance of attracting working-class support.
We Need a Media System That Serves People’s Needs, Not Corporations’
Our corporate media system prioritizes making money over producing adversarial journalism and covering working-class issues. We should dare to imagine something different: a public media system that privileges democracy over profits.
Rosa Lives
The revolutionary thought of Rosa Luxemburg continues to inform and inspire anticapitalist movements today.
France Insoumise Faces an Enigmatic Path Forward
In July’s French elections, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise yet again beat expectations. Its focus on leader and program have proven to be an electoral asset, but its top-heavy structure risks undermining its longer-term sustainability.
Class Rules Everything Around Me
The socialist emphasis on the centrality of class isn't about ignoring racial inequalities, but about crafting a politics capable of ending them.
We Need to Say What Socialism Will Look Like
Socialists can't wave away concerns about the feasibility of a future socialist society — we need to offer people credible answers.
Étienne Balibar: Socialism and Democracy Are Intrinsically Related Ideas
Marxist philosopher Étienne Balibar sits down with Jacobin to discuss freedom and democracy — and why socialists need to reclaim those words from the Right.
Socialism Won’t Get Rid of Work. But It Will Allow Us to Work Less Under Better Conditions.
Some leftists imagine a postcapitalist society will free everyone from the need to work. But the only realistic and fair way to manage production under socialism is to democratically distribute and share in the burdens of labor.
The Labor Movement Must Learn How to Exploit “Choke Points”
US labor union density is at historic lows, and multinational corporations seem more powerful than ever. But by organizing to take advantage of strategic vulnerabilities in supply chains, workers can still score major victories.
Capitalism Makes Everyone Bend to Its Will, Rich and Poor Alike
In his new book Mute Compulsion, Søren Mau argues that to understand and end capitalism, we need to analyze how it not only subordinates the poor to the rich but in fact exerts economic power over everyone — including capitalists themselves.