The Rank and File Strategy
The labor movement is the critical institution for the Left. Socialists should root themselves in it — not as supporters from afar or paid staff, but as rank-and-file workers.
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Materialism Is Essential for Socialist Politics
The socialist tradition was long associated with materialism, a view that has come under fire in recent decades. But materialism is both a legitimate and necessary foundation for left-wing politics.
Yes, You Should Worry About Inflation
For a generation, the Left dismissed any concerns about inflation as elite fearmongering. But now inflation is here. And it’s hurting workers more than anyone.
How Bernie Sanders, an Open Socialist, Won Burlington’s Mayoral Election
On this day in 1981, Bernie Sanders became Burlington’s first socialist mayor by a margin of just ten votes. Here’s a definitive history of how Bernie beat the political establishment with a working-class coalition behind him and how we can do the same today.
Defending the Labor Theory of Value
The labor theory of value is one of Marxism’s most contested ideas. Both critics and supporters of socialism have labeled it inconsistent and outdated. In an interview with Jacobin, economist Duncan Foley offers a full-throated defense.
Ecological Politics for the Working Class
Solving the ecological crisis requires a mass movement to take on hugely powerful industries. Yet environmentalism’s base in the professional-managerial class and focus on consumption has little chance of attracting working-class support.
How the Left has Won
Or, why is there still socialism in the United States?
China’s Economy Dodged Neoliberal Shock Therapy — and Boomed
In the 1980s, as China sought to introduce markets into its economy, an internal debate roiled over whether to liberalize prices gradually or all at once. It rejected the free-market shock therapy option, and challenged neoliberal orthodoxy in the process.
Bernie Sanders’s Five-Year War
How he lost and where we go from here.
Six Takeaways From India Walton’s Historic Victory in Buffalo
Here is a data-driven look at how democratic socialist India Walton won Buffalo’s mayoral primary, and what her coalition really looks like.
Feminist Trade Unionists Have Long Fought for Universal Health Care
The battle for universal health care provision in the US has a long history, closely integrated with feminist demands. As far back as World War I, militant unions like the International Ladies’ Garment Workers radicalized the campaign for health care — and came within an inch of victory.
Nothing Short of Medicare for All in 2020
Bernie Sanders would be the only 2020 presidential candidate who’s taken on health care profiteers in the name of the working class and worked to pass Medicare for All through social movement pressure, not compromise.
Edutopia
Education is not a design problem with a technical solution. It’s a social and political project neoliberals want to innovate away.
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.
Under Capitalism, Democracy Stops at the Economy
In Escape From Capitalism, economist Clara Mattei offers an uncompromising defense of a Marxist account of society and makes the case for democratic control of the economy.
Assessing Obama
With Donald Trump set to enter the Oval Office, we look back on what Barack Obama's presidency meant for the Left.
Bipartisan Austerity Logic Set the Stage for the GOP Budget
Donald Trump’s budget is a particularly cruel manifestation of the bipartisan consensus of the preceding decades that has refused to treat health care and other basic necessities for a dignified life as public goods.
A Historian of Economic Crisis on the Fire This Time
Economic crises have reshaped the modern world. Economic historian Adam Tooze tells Jacobin how the coronavirus pandemic will upend global politics and commerce for decades to come.
The Left Should Stand for a Democratically Run BBC
Threatened with further cuts to its funding, the BBC has become ever less willing to hold the Tories to account. But while BBC news coverage has done little to enamor it to the Left, we should defend the principle of public broadcasting.
“Bidenomics” Won’t Reverse Working-Class Decline
The Biden administration has made some prolabor gestures and moves toward more state direction of investment. But the policies, emphasizing subsidies to business, will do little to reverse working-class disorganization or meaningfully address climate change.