We Built the Golden Age
The culture of British trade union militancy in auto plants like Austin Longbridge wasn’t the “natural” result of a Golden Age of capitalism — it came from organizing.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
From Class to Special Interest
Why are US unions less powerful than their Canadian counterparts?
Dumb Money, the New Movie About the 2021 GameStop Short Squeeze, Is Very Funny
Director Craig Gillespie’s new film Dumb Money transforms the 2021 GameStop short squeeze into a rousing comedy about everyday Americans turning the tables against the financial elite. It’s the best “COVID movie” so far.
Stop Trying to Make Right-Wing Social Democracy Happen. It’s Not Going to Happen.
The new magazine Compact claims to fight for a “strong social democratic state” that also defends “familial and religious” community against “libertine” corruption. That combination of right-wing morals and left-wing economics is never going to happen — and it shouldn’t.
John Rawls Was Wrong to Think We Could Have a Just Capitalism
The ideas of John Rawls, perhaps the greatest political philosopher of the 20th century, have much to teach the Left. But Rawls’s theory of justice failed to grapple adequately with the fundamental obstacles capitalism imposes to realizing a just society.
Bernie and AOC, Put Your Platform on the Ballot
Bernie and AOC have a national platform, an energized base, and the infrastructure to gather small donations. Now they need winnable policies to back. It seems impossible in the MAGA-controlled government — unless they turn to state ballot initiatives.
Build It Now
Creating institutions where people exercise control over their lives is important in itself as a goal of socialist politics.
Simone Weil Was a Saint of the Socialist Movement
Simone Weil combined a passionate commitment to socialism and anti-fascism with a heroic, Christian spirit of self-sacrifice. Her legacy continues to pose ethical and philosophical questions for the Left today.
The People of Kashmir Must Decide Their Own Future
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s violent clampdown is the latest episode in a long saga of repression and resistance in Kashmir. The people of Kashmir deserve the chance to determine their own future, free of repression or outside interference.
Socialists Will Not Be Driven Out of the Labour Party
Alan Gibbons, secretary of Liverpool Walton Constituency Labour Party, was suspended from the party this week as part of its mass suspensions throughout the UK. He has a simple message: socialists will not be driven out of Labour. "We’re here to stay."
Don’t Let Beto O’Rourke Kill Medicare for All
After flip-flopping on health reform for years, Beto O'Rourke claims his public-option bill is a path to Medicare for All. It isn't — the bill's means-tested approach will pit working people against each another, keep private insurance companies afloat, and stop M4A's momentum.
Against Afro-Pessimism
Afro-pessimism has become a highly influential school of thought. This is unfortunate: Afro-pessimism flattens blackness and insists overcoming racism is impossible. Socialists offer a stronger interpretation of where racism comes from — and how to defeat it.
Pandemic Movies Reflect Our Age of Late Capitalist Despair
Movies depicting the spread of disease have become a well-established genre and helped frame our understanding of the real-life COVID-19 pandemic. The spirit of these films increasingly reflects the despair and atomization of neoliberal capitalism.
How Mysticism and Pseudoscience Became Central to Nazism
Supernatural ideas were widespread at the turn of the 20th century, especially in Germany. But in the social crisis following World War I, esoteric and border-science ideas became a powerful tool of Nazi mobilization, directed at demonizing Jews and the Left.
The Teachers’ Strike Wave Comes to Charter Schools
Chicago charter school educators are poised to strike. Their unionization and militant organizing show how teachers around the country can fight corporate education reform.
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?
Jane McAlevey Believed Workers Can Win Everything
The late labor strategist Jane McAlevey’s horizons were never limited to winning particular campaigns or even to revitalizing unions. What she wanted above all, and what she believed was possible if our side got “serious,” was for workers to take power.
A Majority in the Making
Chile's reinvigorated left is ready to finally vanquish Pinochet's legacy and reclaim democracy for the many.
Is Corbyn the Future of the Left?
Jeremy Corbyn’s ascent has given hope to the global Left. But the Corbyn model’s success will hinge on how it copes with roiling conflicts over national identity.
Ireland’s National Conflict Is About Imperialism as Well as Sectarianism
Journalism on national conflicts from Belfast to the Balkans often speaks of ancient hatreds and ancestral sectarianism. But a closer look at the Irish conflict shows that questions of nationhood and identity are very modern phenomena — and have to be integrated into any serious analysis of class.