Taking Off the Straitjacket and Running the Asylum

Harry Leslie Smith (1923–2018)

The life of Harry Leslie Smith, a working-class rebel to the end, was a towering monument to socialist compassion, internationalism, and peace.

Liberalism in Theory and Practice

Contemporary liberals are temperamentally conservative — and what they want to conserve is a morally bankrupt political order.

Why the Differences Between Sanders and Warren Matter

Elizabeth Warren is no centrist. But Bernie Sanders would be the most progressive president in US history — and he'd have a movement to back him up.

Sinn Féin Is Having a Good Brexit

Thanks to the dogmatism of Northern Ireland’s Unionists, Sinn Féin gets to have it both ways: shielding its voters from a hard Irish border while boosting the chances of reunification.

The Tories Think Voting Is Too Easy

Unlike the voter-supressing US, Britain is a country where it’s easy to vote. Now the Tories are trying to change that.

Dead Center

The Labour Party defectors keep repeating the tired centrist refrain that the public is hungering for moderation. The whole history of the past generation shows otherwise.

Brexit: What Happens Now?

Theresa May’s EU debacle has forced Labour to pull the trigger on its final Brexit option: calling for a second referendum. Get ready for the chaos.

The “Best” of Karl Kautsky Isn’t Good Enough

Charlie Post cautions against recent defenses of Second-International Marxist Karl Kautsky.

The Reopening of the Irish Question

The historic prospect of Irish unification is now greater than it has been in decades. But it won’t succeed unless campaigners offer a clear and compelling picture of what a united Ireland will look like.

No, Sinn Féin Won’t Be Voting in Parliament

It’s the British media’s favorite fantasy: Sinn Féin breaking with a century of practice and riding to rescue a dramatically close vote in the House of Commons. It’s also an insult to Irish voters.

Theresa, EU’ve Done It Again

With Brexit bogged down and the Tories in meltdown, Labour looks set to tip the European Parliament elections to the center-left for the first time in a generation. Another own goal for Theresa May.

Democratize This

Labour’s plans to pursue democratic models of ownership are the most radical aspect of Corbyn’s program.

Remembering the Battle of Wood Green

Forty-two years ago today, antifascists beat back a violent, far-right mob that had descended on a diverse neighborhood of North London. Among the antifascist organizers was a young Labour councillor named Jeremy Corbyn.

How Australia’s Labor Party Lost an Un-Losable Election

Pundits are blaming the Australian Labor Party's left-wing turn for its shocking defeat in Saturday's election. But the failure lies in the fact that this leftist program came too little, too late.

Yanis Varoufakis: “Syriza Was a Bigger Blow to the Left Than Thatcher”

Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told Jacobin why he’s publishing his secret recordings of the critical Eurogroup meetings of 2015 — and why the Left around Europe is struggling to overcome Syriza’s disastrous legacy.

Naomi Klein on How to Rebuild From the Disaster of Neoliberalism

Longtime leftist writer and activist Naomi Klein discusses her work from No Logo to On Fire, connecting the fight against climate change to the fight for good jobs, and how COVID-19 is showing the utter failure of the neoliberal model.

The New Democratic Party Has to Be as Radical as the Times Demand

There was an energized left bloc at the 2021 convention of Canada’s New Democratic Party. Svend Robinson, a veteran leader of the NDP’s left wing, spoke to Jacobin about the role NDP members can play in challenging the party’s centrist timidity and popularizing socialist ideas.

Boris Johnson Has Many Enemies, but the Deep State Isn’t One of Them

The outgoing Conservative leader claims to be the victim of a nefarious deep state conspiracy. Britain does have a deep state, but Johnson is the very last person who would show up on its hit list.

Keir Starmer Opened the Political Gates for Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform party won a notable victory in last week’s local elections. Reform is feeding off popular disillusionment with Keir Starmer’s government, which has gone out of its way to disappoint hopes for positive change.