Reformism Yesterday and Social Democracy Today
We shouldn't try to resurrect the social-democratic politics of the past. What we need is a socialist movement that pairs radical demands with mass, militant action.
411 Search Result(s) for: “Karl Marx”
A Green New Deal for Housing
A Green New Deal can’t deliver economic or environmental justice without tackling the housing crisis. We should go big and build 10 million beautiful, public, no-carbon homes over the next 10 years.
Rosa Luxemburg Was the Great Theorist of Democratic Revolution
A new edition of Rosa Luxemburg’s writings, most of which have never appeared in English before, gives us a unique perspective on her thought. Luxemburg believed that a socialist revolution would have to be democratic or else it would be doomed to failure.
The Political Tradition of Republicanism Should Be a Touchstone for Democratic Socialists
The radical idea at the heart of republicanism is a challenge to private bosses and public tyrants everywhere: that we can live free from the whims of arbitrary power. Democratic socialists should embrace the radical currents of this ancient philosophy.
The Fatal Flaws of the Futureless Left
The rise of doomers, preppers, and antinatalists on the Left reveals something deeper than the hollow posture of rebellion: a collapse of belief in tomorrow. A Left that chants “No future” isn’t just demoralized — it’s unserious, misanthropic, and bound to lose.
Anna Seghers, a Writer Who Defended the Wretched of the Earth
Born this day in 1900, Anna Seghers was one of Germany’s great modern writers, an internationalist and anti-fascist through the darkest hours in German history. Her works are a monument to the dignity of the oppressed.
The German Revolution’s Bloody End
The decisive battles of the German Revolution ended in March 1919 with the bloody crushing of the workers’ uprising. Why did it meet such a fate?
Nixon’s Basic Income Plan
Why Richard Nixon once advocated for basic income — and then turned against it.
What Revolutionary Socialism Means to Me
The revolutionary socialist vision is a vital one. Today’s rising socialist movement shouldn’t discard it.
The State We Need
Socialists throughout history have understood that holding office is not the same thing as winning power. Working people can only entrench their victories through a fight to change the state itself.
The Fight for Italian Reunification Inspired the International Left
The first meeting of the Italian parliament in Rome, 150 years ago today, was a symbolic show of national reunification. Yet the battle against foreign domination had raised sharply contrasting ideas of the future Italy — leaving a lasting impact on socialists worldwide.
What Does Global Justice Look Like in the 21st Century?
In an interview with Jacobin, the political philosopher Philippe Van Parijs discusses the challenges of achieving global justice today, from winning an emancipatory basic income to accommodating mass migration to rich countries.
The Reactionary Jargon of Decoloniality
Cloaked in an impenetrable jargon, “decoloniality” dehistoricizes and culturalizes colonialism. It’s a political and intellectual dead end for socialists.
The Righteous Jim Larkin Turns 150
The Irish socialist and labor leader Jim Larkin, born 150 years ago this week, was an evangelist for the workers’ movement who preached a divine mission of discontent — and sought a final reckoning with the capitalist class.
Socialists Should Take the Right Lessons From the Russian Revolution
Socialists have rightly taken inspiration from the Russian Revolution for generations, but many of the lessons drawn from it are wrong for our own time. To make change today, we need to take democratic socialism seriously as a theory and practice.
Revolutions Look Different According to Authoritarian or Democratic Conditions
The Russian Revolution led to revolutionary upheaval in countries far beyond Russia. Looking at Russia’s imperial borderlands like Finland suggests that socialist struggle can look wildly different in autocratic versus parliamentary conditions.
How the Daughters of a Nazi General Became Communist Spies
As Hitler rose to power, two daughters of Germany’s top general became spies for the Communist Party. A new biography tells the story of how hatred for fascism and its aristocratic collaborators led them to become class traitors.
The American Ruling Class Has Never Let Us Build Back Better
The nation’s original failure to “build back better” was Reconstruction, the attempt to radically remake society in the wake of the Civil War. Then as now, the most powerful people in the country went out of their way to maintain the status quo.
“Pro-Worker Conservatism” Has Only Empty Gestures for Workers
The “pro-worker” conservatism of Sohrab Ahmari has a critique of neoliberalism. But for all its ridiculing of the establishment, it has no real solutions to decades of attacks on labor.
The Best Books We Read in 2022
Jacobin staffers and contributors reflect on the best books we read this year.