The Many Lives of François Mitterrand
Before Alexis Tsipras, Europe battered François Mitterrand's reformist ambitions into a sweeping neoliberal program.
499 Search Results for: germany
There Was an Iron Wall in Gaza
Addicted to territorial aggrandizement and encircled by enemies of its own making, Israel has freed itself of all moral constraints.
Friedrich Pollock Is a Crucial Guide to the Rise of Automation
Friedrich Pollock isn’t as well-known as other members of the Frankfurt School like Walter Benjamin and Herbert Marcuse. But Pollock’s impressive work includes a brilliant, pioneering analysis of automation under capitalism that appears highly prescient today.
A Son of His Class
Executed by the Nazis on this day in 1944, the life of German Communist Ernst Thälmann was as contradictory and tragic as the movement he led.
Brooks Brothers Riot
Blame elites for the far right's rise.
The Specter of Fascism Is Haunting Europe as It Marks VE Day
Eighty years ago today, Europe celebrated the defeat of fascism after a titanic struggle. Yet as historian Enzo Traverso points out, the latest anniversary of VE Day comes at a moment when the far right is stronger than at any point since 1945.
Inside Die Linke’s Resurgence
After years of decline and internal strife, Germany’s left-wing party is finding new life. Grace Blakeley talks to the organizers behind Die Linke’s surprising growth.
May Day, Bloody May Day
On Berlin’s May Day 1929, the latent hostility between Social Democrats and Communists finally spilled over into bloodshed. A day meant to demonstrate workers’ unity instead showed tragic divisions in the face of rising Nazism.
“Never Again” Is Right Now in Palestine
When Zionists use the trauma of the Holocaust to defend Israeli apartheid, they are betraying the spirit of “never again” that was supposed to ensure the world would never stand by as human rights atrocities were committed.
Tipped Workers Don’t Need Tax Relief. They Need Real Wages.
Donald Trump’s No Tax on Tips policy is a major part of his appeal to working-class Americans. But tipping is itself a strange and flawed system invented to preserve inequality. Critics worry Trump’s policy will only intensify tipping culture.
Why Migrant Farm Workers Are Living Four to a Caravan in a Time of Social Distancing
Even as governments halt nonessential travel, thousands of workers are being flown from Eastern Europe to pick farm produce in Britain. Housed several workers to a caravan and often paid below minimum wage, their experience shows how “flexible” seasonal hiring allows bosses to flout the most basic workers’ rights.
The British Camps
Though it reached its horrific heights at Auschwitz and Buchenwald, the British, not the Nazis, pioneered the concentration camp.
Baghdad in France
Today's reactionaries don't seem to be interested in a new world war, but in a clash between North and South, rich and poor.
Yes, Politics Do Belong in Sports
FC St. Pauli isn't Germany's best football club, but its resistance to commercialization has earned it a mass following around the world. Resisting the call to "keep politics out of sports," its fans insist that what sports really need protecting from is the pervasive power of money.
The Soviets Abroad
Throughout its existence, the Soviet Union played the role of both liberator and oppressor.
Europe’s Greek Moment
For European elites, Greece is a convenient scapegoat.
Fassbinder and the Red Army Faction
As his fellow West German radicals began to embrace violence in the 1970s, legendary filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder decided to celebrate another path for emancipation: class struggle in the workplace.
The Pandemic Has Given Us the Opportunity to Transform Europe
In response to COVID-19, EU member states have agreed to policies that once seemed inconceivable. The EU recovery fund falls well short of what’s needed, but there’s now an opening for the European left to demand more radical forms of economic redistribution.
Friends In High Places
When the state offers unions a seat at the table, it can make their members politically passive. Is the trade-off worth it?
The European Union Still Can’t Shake the Austerity Habit
European leaders have been looking for ways to loosen budgetary rules so they can increase military budgets. But the new policy regime won’t create more room for the social and ecological investment Europe desperately needs after years of austerity.