Should We Abolish Prisons?

America’s prisons are grossly dehumanizing and unjust. The eminent political philosopher Tommie Shelby debates prison abolition and what kind of radical change justice demands.

“Policing Is Fundamentally a Tool of Social Control to Facilitate Our Exploitation”

The brutality we have repeatedly seen meted out by American police all over the country isn’t a bug of our political-economic system — it’s a feature.

“Chicago Is Leading the Way in Advancing a Real Political Alternative”

Brandon Johnson was inaugurated as Chicago mayor today. What makes the Chicago working-class movement that elected him so remarkable is its willingness to wage audacious fights over protecting and expanding public goods that seem unwinnable.

Gun Control Alone Won’t Suppress the US’s Death Drive

Mass shootings are only the latest horrific chapter in the US’s long history of gun violence, which stretches from prerevolutionary slave patrols to our ongoing trade in military technology. Confronting this bloodlust will require more than just gun control.

The History of American Public Housing Shows It Didn’t Have to Decline

In order to put social housing back on the agenda in American politics, we first have to understand how public housing was destroyed — especially by Bill Clinton’s Hope VI program.

Trump’s Secret Police Are Waging a War on American Cities

Donald Trump's deployment of federal agents to American cities is a continuation of bipartisan police repression. But make no mistake: he's also tapping into some of the darkest corners of far-right authoritarianism, which seek to stamp out the radical "enemy from within."

Indonesia Still Hasn’t Escaped Suharto’s Genocidal Legacy

The US-backed Indonesian dictator Suharto was responsible for some of the twentieth century’s worst crimes. More than two decades after Suharto’s death, his regime’s brutal legacy is still holding back democracy in Indonesia.

Tomorrow, the Chilean Left Has to Do More Than Stop the Far Right

Despite the Right’s surprisingly strong showing in Chile’s first-round elections, socialist Gabriel Boric is still favored to win the presidency tomorrow. But the Left needs to be laser focused on a broad working-class agenda to fully roll back neoliberalism.

15 Salvadoran Military Officers Could Soon Go on Trial for the El Mozote Massacre

The 1981 El Mozote massacre was one of the most horrific crimes in the US-backed dirty war in El Salvador. Fifteen retired military officers could soon go on trial for the crime — spotlighting again the blood-drenched horrors of US imperialism in Central America.

The Crowded Room Is a Mystery Series With No Mystery

The highly hyped new crime series The Crowded Room could’ve been an unsparing take on extreme mental illness in a society that’s never been equipped to deal with it. Instead, it gives away its only source of suspense far too early.

Slavoj Žižek Responds to His Critics

When It Comes to Mishandling Classified Documents, the Powerful Are Treated With Kid Gloves

Mishandling classified documents, as both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are now accused of doing, is just one type of crime for which America increasingly has one justice system for the rich and powerful and another, far harsher system for everyone else.

We Must Get COVID-19 Vaccines to Prisoners Immediately

People behind bars have suffered enormously during the pandemic, with COVID-19 ripping through prisons. There’s no justification for not giving prisoners the vaccine immediately — both for their sake and for the broader society.

How the Media Whitewashes Israel’s Rampage

For over a year, the US and UK media have refused to identify Israel’s war as a genocide. Mainstream outlets are only willing to regurgitate their governments’ soft criticisms of Israel, which serve to mask the West’s complicity in the slaughter.

Battling Cartel and State

The movement in Mexico is fighting for an alternative to both drug cartels and neoliberalism.

Incarcerated People Must Be Heard

In Bernie Sanders, we finally have a presidential contender fighting for the restoration of incarcerated voters’ democratic rights — a long overdue, commonsense reform that could have far-reaching implications for American prisons, the American political system, and, at a time of pandemic, society as a whole.

Explaining El Salvador’s Violence

The grisly violence in El Salvador has social and political origins. It is neither inevitable nor insuperable.

Mohsen Mahdawi on His ICE Detention and Justice in Palestine

In April, Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi was held in detention by ICE for over two weeks despite not being charged with a crime. He speaks to Jacobin about his early life, his incarceration, and why he’s actually optimistic about the prospects for peace.

Kevin Johnson Was Murdered by a Racist Justice System

The St Louis County prosecutor pursued a death sentence for Kevin Johnson before calling for a retrial due to the “unconstitutional racial bias” in the case. But Missouri executed him anyway — killing a black man without even a semblance of due process.

Pro-Refugee Mayor Mimmo Lucano Is Being Jailed, But He Has Justice on His Side

Mimmo Lucano is famous as the Italian mayor who rejuvenated his long-abandoned town by allowing refugees to live in empty homes. Yesterday, he was sentenced to thirteen years in jail for the crime of helping human beings in need.