Franco’s Hometown Struggles With an Inglorious Past
Fifty years after Francisco Franco’s death, Spain is still reckoning with the legacy of dictatorship. Few places are more iconic of its struggle over identity than Franco’s hometown of Ferrol.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
What Joe Biden’s “Rent Cap” Really Does
Joe Biden just announced a proposal to force big landlords to choose between capping rent increases at 5% annually or losing access to a coveted tax write-off. It’s not a real rent cap — but it potentially opens the door to bolder federal action.
How the Right Hijacked Antonio Gramsci
Inspired by a misreading of Antonio Gramsci, far-right activists have spent decades attempting to shape intellectual and cultural spaces. But their version of Gramsci’s ideas leaves out a crucial element: class struggle.
Building Municipal Socialism in New York With DSA
Socialists’ path to supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani will build on the strategy that socialists there have developed over the past decade, writes NYC Democratic Socialists of America cochair Grace Mausser.
The Your Party Conference Was for the Few, Not the Many
The launch of a new party was meant to reenergize the British left. But Your Party’s founding conference showed a Left that had forgotten the outward-facing mass politics of the Corbyn-era Labour Party.
Next Sohee Is Korean Cinema at Its Bleak and Brilliant Best
Behind South Korea’s economic growth, there’s a system that grinds workers to the bone at every stage of the life cycle, from high school students to retirees. The film Next Sohee dramatizes the impact of that system to devastating effect.
The Art of Being Wrong
Wyndham Lewis was perhaps the most talented English painter and novelist of the first half of the twentieth century. How did he become best known as a fascist?
Socialists Are Out-Organizing the Democratic Establishment
The Democratic establishment’s hysteria over the Democratic Socialists of America’s organizing methods has it exactly backward: the Democratic Party has almost no ability to democratically organize voters, while DSA is reviving grassroots campaigning.
The Rise and Fall of the Elite University
Twilight of the Dons, historian Colin Kidd’s dazzling study of Britain’s elite universities, opens a window into a lost world in which, for a brief period, mass democracy combined with the idea of scholarship as a vocation open to anyone.
Giorgia Meloni’s Geopolitics Start to Unravel
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has paired economics with migration policy in her grand plan for strengthening Italian ties to Africa. It’s won the backing of European right-wingers — but a series of scandals show the plan is weaker than it might seem.
We Don’t Live in Weimar Germany
Liberals say that socialists who don’t support Joe Biden are “like the German Communists who refused to fight Hitler.” The analogy doesn’t hold up — and it’s also historically illiterate.
The Corporate Thriller Lied to Us
Criterion Channel is hosting a retrospective on Hollywood’s “corporate thrillers” from the 1980s through the early 2000s. If anything, their message about the capitalist rot in America’s institutions looks far too tame for how the last couple of decades turned out.
Zohran Mamdani Is Right About the Warmth of Collectivism
The Right had a spectacular meltdown about Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration speech rejecting “rugged individualism” in favor of what he called the “warmth of collectivism.” But Mamdani is right that community is a value worth extolling.
AI-Led Growth Conceals an Economy Built on Debt and Inequality
Despite rising inequality, poor job numbers, and Donald Trump’s mass deportations, the economy grew by a remarkable 4.3% last year, mostly thanks to the AI industry. This success masks an economy highly dependent on debt and state subsidies.
There’s No Hope for a Party That Hates Its Own Base
Democratic Party leaders want the benefits of an engaged activist base like the one currently challenging Donald Trump without actually having to listen to or engage with it.
The Promised Land Is One of the Great Films About Capitalism
Fifty years ago, Polish director Andrzej Wajda produced one of the most astonishing films about the rise of capitalism ever made. The Promised Land is an unforgettable picture of early industrial exploitation that still feels contemporary.
Steve Bannon Was Much Closer to Epstein Than You Realize
Steve Bannon’s whole pitch is that he’s leading a movement against a decadent, borderless elite. Except according to newly released messages and emails, that movement has been heavily reliant on the most decadent, borderless elite of all: Jeffrey Epstein.
Zohran Mamdani’s Field Director on Knocking 3 Million Doors
The Zohran Mamdani campaign didn’t just have a charismatic candidate with slick videos. It built a grassroots army of over 100,000 volunteers knocking on 3 million doors. We spoke to the campaign’s field director, Tascha Van Auken, about how they did it.
Now Is the Time to Tax the Rich in New York, Kathy Hochul
New York governor Kathy Hochul is trying to dodge taxing the rich to please her wealthy donors, argue New York City Democratic Socialists of America’s cochairs Grace Mausser and Gustavo Gordillo.