Where’s Our Gorbachev?
The United States today isn’t on the verge of a Soviet-style disintegration — but neither is there any force at the top willing and able to reform our political system.
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Red Flags Over Germany
One hundred years ago today, radical sailors, soldiers, and workers in Germany rose up to put an end to the carnage of World War I. And the revolutionary upheaval had only just begun.
Neoliberals Oppose Market Intervention — Unless the Market Is Screwing US Corporations
In response to OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production to protect profits, the Biden administration is proposing market intervention. But when American oil companies acted similarly earlier this year, the White House was fine with it.
No, We Don’t Need Conscript Armies
The head of the British Army and Germany’s defense minister have each recently called for their countries to prepare to be on a war footing. Their call for mass mobilization is deeply unpopular — and at odds with the realities of modern warfare.
The Queen’s Gambit Created a Fictional Female Chess Grandmaster. The Soviet Union Created Dozens of Real Ones.
Soviet chess grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili has announced that she is suing Netflix for belittling her achievements in The Queen’s Gambit. Her career shows we don’t need fictional rags-to-riches stories but welfare states that allow us to realize our true potential.
This Pandemic Won’t Save the Climate From Big Oil
Global oil prices have plummeted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that doesn’t mean the giants of the industry are facing terminal decline: Big Oil could bounce back stronger than ever.
How US Sanctions Torpedoed Kamala Harris
The Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia didn’t just tank global markets; they also helped Kamala Harris lose the election. The Democrats’ fate was sealed by a Wall Street–fueled commodity frenzy that sent gas prices and grocery bills soaring.
The US Is Raising Tensions With North Korea
North Korea is taking an increasingly hostile posture toward the US. It’s the predictable result of the United States’ aggressive maneuvering in the region in its great power rivalry with China.
Liberal Delusions Won’t Save Ukraine
For some liberals, Donald Trump’s decision to humiliate Volodymyr Zelensky showed that he’s a Russian stooge. But Trump’s crudeness is just a more striking illustration that Ukraine’s future is subject to US realpolitik.
The Casualties of the Drone War
Since the War on Terror began, the US military has used aerial bombing campaigns to avoid American combat losses. But they’ve led to a staggering number of civilian deaths.
Why the Uprising in Belarus Failed
It's six months since the fraudulent election in Belarus sparked mass protests against Alexander Lukashenko's authoritarian regime. The collapse of his statist model of capitalism has fed mass discontent with his rule — but the liberal opposition's own promises of change also drew skepticism among working-class Belarusians.
Extreme Free-Market “Shock Therapy” in Postcommunist Eastern Europe Was a Disaster
Free-market ideologues claimed that economic “shock therapy” would turn communist states into models of prosperity. Instead it triggered a recession deeper than the Great Depression and fostered the ultranationalist right in countries like Hungary and Poland.
Trump’s Plan to Restore US Financial Dominance
Behind the seeming chaos of Trump’s tariff policy, there’s a coherent plan to reboot what Peter Gowan dubbed the “Dollar–Wall Street Regime.” The goal is to strengthen US power around high-tech digital oligarchs, and it might yet succeed on its own terms.
Voting on Dictatorship
Tomorrow's referendum in Turkey is about one thing: Erdoğan's brazen bid for dictatorial power.
Storm the Ivies!
A modest proposal.
The Pentagon Seriously Contemplated Nuking China in 1958
Newly leaked documents show that US officials in 1958 cavalierly planned a nuclear strike on China over a handful of disputed islands. As Washington once more stokes tensions with China, it’s a reminder of the callous recklessness at the heart of US foreign policy.
Joe Biden Has Been Very Good for the Military-Industrial Complex
Joe Biden signed a record-breaking defense budget even as his domestic agenda is languishing. We’re getting all of the Pentagon spending and anti-China saber-rattling — and none of the supposedly transformative social programs.
A Tiny Cut in the Military Budget That Probably Won’t Happen Is Causing Panic in Washington
The bipartisan establishment is having a freak-out over the prospect of a modest cut to the defense budget. It’s not clear it will actually happen — but even if it did, the gargantuan US military budget would still be wasteful and counterproductive.
A New European Narrative
Syriza needs mobilized support to defeat its creditors — and the far right.
Making the World Safe for Big Business
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is about expanding US hegemony in East Asia.