Weekly Sisyphus #1
Unpredictable transformations are taking place within the Chinese labor movement. How will US workers respond?
Search Result(s) for: “China”
Austerity Unbroken
Syriza was elected a year ago today, only to retreat in the face of European pressure. Is there a way forward for the Greek left?
Unearthing the Fraught History of Chinese Communism
The editors of a new collection of essays argue that we can’t ignore the Chinese Revolution and its impact on the world.
Expect More Military “Liberal Interventionism” Under a Joe Biden Presidency
The liberal establishment is desperate to return a centrist to the White House in November and reestablish the country’s more stable military dominance of the world order, disrupted only briefly by Donald Trump. Joe Biden’s terrible track record on foreign policy — including his championing of war in Iraq — suggests a return to Obama-style strong military interventions abroad.
Expanding the Umbrella Revolution
Workers must play a decisive role in Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution if movement demands are to go beyond political rights.
Imperialism’s Junior Partners
The response to the Brazilian coup shows that the BRICS powers are not a real alternative to US imperialism.
The New Cold War Will Be Powered by AI
When the White House reportedly pressed Anthropic to pull a new model over the weekend, it looked like a clash between Washington and Silicon Valley. Instead, the episode revealed a growing consensus: AI is now a tool for great power competition.
Abe’s Japan Is a Racist, Patriarchal Dream
Shinzō Abe and Japanese ultra-nationalism can only be countered with a transnational movement of solidarity.
Collusion Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Russiagate looks less like a righteous crusade for truth and justice and more like the typical shenanigans for which the FBI and US security state have long been known: prosecutorial overreach, entrapment, and the criminalization of foreign policy dissent.
Nixon and the Cambodian Genocide
The genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge began forty years ago this month. Their rise to power was inseparable from US intervention.
When the State Steps in to Save Profit
Faced with another global recession, many governments are responding with even stronger state interventions than they did in the 2008 financial crisis. But stimulus packages to prop up businesses must also pose the question of public control — not just bailing out corporations, but repurposing their operations to confront the disasters ahead of us.
The Pressure Cooker in El Salvador
El Salvador president Nayib Bukele has been in office eight months, and his post-ideological pretenses on the campaign trail have quickly veered to the right. In an interview, Salvadoran economist Julia Evelin Martínez assesses Bukele’s first eight months in office, the sad state of the Salvadoran left, and why she’s fervently hoping for a Bernie Sanders presidency.
The Global Race to the Bottom
The acute hardship European workers are facing is part of an international process of impoverishment.
American Factory Stops Short of Class Conflict
'American Factory' gives us some glimpses of a union-busting campaign in real time. But it shortchanges this story of class conflict for an apolitical one about a “clash of cultures.”
Rebuilding the Bolivarian Revolution
The Right's recent success in Venezuela shows how vital it is to reclaim and democratize Hugo Chávez's project.
Trump’s “Maximum Pressure” on Iran Is Making COVID-19 Worse
Even as Iran’s coronavirus death toll nears 5,000, US sanctions continue to bear down on the country’s health care system.
The Right Has Power in Latin America, but No Plan
Across Latin America, the Right has swept to power. But its achievements pale in comparison to the Pink Tide — and it has no compelling vision for how to address the region’s challenges.
In Japan, the Pandemic Has Shattered Abe Shinzō’s Great Power Dream
Abe Shinzo’s government was slow to respond to COVID-19, lagging behind neighbors like South Korea. The public health crisis has been worsened by the recklessness of Abe’s foreign policy, which relies upon an erratic US sponsor whose bases are a vector for spreading the disease.
Slow Train Coming
Cuba has a new president. No one knows how he plans to change Cuba — but it’s clear he’s got his work cut out for him.