The Age of Class Dealignment
Over the course of decades, social democracy abandoned workers. Then workers abandoned social democracy.
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Bernard-Henri Lévy Is the Leading Intellectual of French Anti-Socialism
Bernard-Henri Lévy has made a name for himself as the patron philosopher of France’s neoliberal elite. Here’s how an ex-Maoist become Europe’s leading anti-socialist.
Introduction: Europe Against the Left
What makes this perennial sad story worthy of another reexamination?
The Centrist Cul-de-Sac
Even if Macron wins, five more years of neoliberalism in France could further bolster Le Pen's National Front.
The Impossible Escape From the European Union
Neoliberalism is embedded in the European Union’s DNA. But for the continent’s left, there are few good alternatives.
After Raising the Pension Age, Emmanuel Macron Is Planning “Unprecedented Austerity”
Emmanuel Macron has pushed through a rise in the pension age despite vast protests. In a televised address on Monday night, he said he’d “heard the anger” in the streets — yet his government’s new budget plans promise further attacks on France’s social model.
No Direction Home
The far right has made breakthroughs in old Communist heartlands across Europe. A new memoir blames this on the slow and painful erosion of class politics.
Overhauling French Politics
At stake in Sunday's French election is the specter of the far right, the neoliberalism of the extreme center, and Mélenchon's challenge to the system itself.
The Anti-Communism That Fueled Jean-Marie Le Pen
After the Axis powers’ defeat in World War II, many former Nazis and Vichyites recycled themselves as anti-communists. Jean-Marie Le Pen sought to rally such forces with radicalized conservatives in a common front against the red peril.
How France’s Intellectuals Became Reactionaries
France has always had right-wing thinkers — but they are more prominent now than any time since World War II. A decades-long counterrevolution against the Left has led to reactionary provocateurs reshaping French intellectual life.
François Ruffin: It’s Time to Put an End to the Neoliberal Era
Filmmaker François Ruffin has become a leading critic of the destruction of France’s welfare model. Today an MP, Ruffin told Jacobin how the Left can rediscover its purpose — and again rally the discontent of rural and peripheral France.
Emmanuel Macron Is Using the Far Right to Bolster His Power
Since his first presidential campaign in 2017, Emmanuel Macron has presented himself as the only barrier to chaos. But this snap election has shown how much Macron has helped build up the far-right threat in order to entrench his own power.
How “Social Europe” Became the Alibi for a Neoliberal EU
During the 1970s, left parties and unions promoted the idea of a “Social Europe” as a response to the crisis of capitalism. The term later served as a rhetorical distraction from the EU’s ongoing embrace of neoliberal dogma.
In France, Too, Billionaire Tycoons Are Silencing Their Critics
In France, right-wingers love to pose as defenders of free speech. Yet the takeover of media by a cast of billionaire pro-Trump tycoons means that just a handful of individuals have a veto over huge swaths of the press.
Paris’s Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, Is Running for President — but Her Socialist Party Is Dying
France’s Socialist Party has announced Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo as its candidate to take back the presidency. Yet far from reconnecting with working-class voters, her candidacy illustrates how France’s established parties have lost their roots.
The Long Transition
Four decades since the passing of Spain's democratic Constitution, the "regime of '78" is sharply criticized by the Left and the Catalan independence movements. Yet former prime minister Felipe González still defends it.
Anything but Pacific
Emmanuel Macron celebrated New Caledonia’s vote to remain part of France as an indication of the Republic’s strength. Yet France’s continued control is based on a bloody history of repression against the independence movement.
Class Struggle Built the Welfare State
The welfare state wasn’t created by enlightened dialogue or “sensible” moderate politics. It was a concession won by workers against bosses through decades of struggle.
Daniel Guérin Showed Us What a Socialist Writer Should Be
French socialist thinker Daniel Guérin lived a life of extraordinary political commitment, from anti-fascist and anti-colonial struggles to his pioneering advocacy of gay liberation. Guérin’s writings and record should be a touchstone for the modern left.
Brussels, Dec. 12, 1975
NATO leaders from across the political spectrum found common cause opposing Eurocommunism.