Why Class Matters
Erik Olin Wright on class, socialism, and the meaning of Marxism.
484 Search Result(s) for: “working class”
At Davos, Capitalists Are Trying to Solve the Problems They Themselves Create
At the World Economic Forum’s conference in Davos this week, elites will try to address problems from climate change to the threat of worldwide recession. But these elites’ endless thirst for profit created these problems — and will doom their efforts to fail.
Talking About Power
The Social Democrats have collapsed. Die Linke is divided. Will the German left ever be able to contend for power?
Struggle or Starve
In 1932, Ireland’s Catholic and Protestant workers united in a communist-led rebellion. That instant of radical solidarity holds lessons for Irish politics today.
Argentina’s Anticapitalist Feminism
A bill to legalize abortion narrowly failed in the Argentinian Senate. But feminist movements have already effected a social revolution in South America.
Eric Hobsbawm on How Workers Made May Day Theirs
The late Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm recounts the origins of International Workers' Day. "The priests have their festivals," announced a 1891 May Day broadsheet, "the Moderates have their festivals. The First of May is the Festival of the workers of the entire world."
The Rank-and-File Strategy and the Trade Union Bureaucracy
To understand the rank-and-file strategy for socialists in the labor movement, you have to understand the role and interests of the trade union bureaucracy.
Slavery Was Defeated Through Mass Politics
The overthrow of slavery in the United States wasn't a byproduct of capitalist development nor the triumph of an enlightened activist vanguard. It was a battle waged and won in the field of democratic mass politics — a battle that holds enormous lessons for radicals today.
So Far, Britain’s Employers Have Been Winning the Class War Over Inflation
Since inflation started rising, British capitalists have been raking in massive profits while workers have suffered a disastrous wage slump. Yet the Bank of England still wants to boost unemployment in case workers develop their fighting strength.
AMLO’s Presidency Has Been a Success
Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has achieved more than just policy victories during his five years in office. He has reshaped the national political field and established a new cycle of left-wing governance.
No One Ever Said It Would Be Easy
Labour lost this election not because it was too much of a working-class party, but because it was too little of one in too many places. Our cause endures — and now is the time to steel ourselves for the next fight.
Populism Belongs to the Left
In an interview, writer Thomas Frank discusses how populism brought together workers, farmers, and all those struggling against the wealthy for a more egalitarian society — and why that’s made it a dirty word for the elite, both in the 1890s and today.
Eugene Debs Believed in Socialism Because He Believed in Democracy
Eugene Debs’s unswerving commitment to democracy and internationalism was born out of his revulsion at the tyranny of industrial capitalism. We should carry forth that Debsian vision today — by recognizing that class struggle is the precondition for winning a more democratic world.
The Emancipatory Past and Future of Black Politics
Our conceptions of black politics today are often monolithic and juxtaposed as separate from or even against democratic-socialist politics. But 75 years ago, black leaders and activists shared a broad consensus around the importance of the labor movement and multiracial class organizing for black liberation.
Silk Stockings and Socialism
The hosiery workers of Philadelphia created a vibrant union by mixing Jazz Age culture with militant socialist politics.
It’s Time to Talk About Class in Canada
Canada has a long history of ignoring its class divide. In recent years, the divide has become a chasm and can no longer be ignored. Accepting that class division is central to the national makeup is the first step in bridging it.
The Passion of Bernie’s Base Is the Path to Victory
Bernie Sanders’s greatest advantage is his intensely invested support base. Mainstream pundits are trying to reframe that passion as a drawback, but nurturing it is how we win.
Nancy Fraser: “Cannibal Capitalism” Is on Our Horizon
Political theorist Nancy Fraser tells Jacobin that we face several crises at once: in the economy, in social reproduction, in the environment, and in politics. Without dramatic intervention, we may end up with “cannibal capitalism.”
We Can End Racial Segregation in America
For decades, government policy helped make segregation worse. But we can use the power of the government to reverse it in the twenty-first century.
The Left After Leave
Brexit offered the Left bad choices, and its aftermath has emboldened a racist right. What do we do now?