Signs of a French Spring
A wave of strikes and a student revolt has shaken France in recent days — but can it provide the first real challenge to Macron’s agenda?
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
Stop Trying to Shame Socialists Into Voting for Joe Biden. It’s Not Going to Work.
The New York Times attack yesterday on socialists who won’t endorse Joe Biden isn’t actually about convincing socialists to vote for him — it’s about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching.
No, We Don’t Want a “War Economy” to Deal With the Pandemic
Many pundits have likened the massive government interventions in response to COVID-19 to states' resource mobilization during the World Wars. But this “war socialism” has never been the same thing as serving human need — and today it’s being used as a means of propping up private capital.
Darwin’s Mistake
How, in an age in which “the fast eat the slow,” has Thomas Friedman not been gobbled up?
Cory Booker Hates Public Schools
There are many good reasons to oppose Cory Booker’s bid for the presidency. One of the main ones is his long-standing drive to destroy public education.
“Bolivia’s Postcoup Regime Did Nothing to Stop the Virus”
Six months after the coup in Bolivia, Luis Arce is presidential candidate for Evo Morales's MAS. Oliver Vargas interviewed him about the postcoup regime, its handling of coronavirus, and what the delayed election means for the Left's chances of returning to power.
Why Social Distancing “Doesn’t Apply” to Germany’s Migrant Farmworkers
The German state emphasizes the need for social distancing — except for the Romanian migrants working in its farms. The EU’s neoliberal order has deepened the continent’s labor market inequalities, making a mockery of the rhetoric of European solidarity.
Domestic Workers Are Paying Dearly for the Coronavirus Crisis
Domestic workers have always been among the hardest hit by recessions. Fear of contagion may make the coronavirus crisis the worst yet — a catastrophe for millions of the most economically vulnerable workers.
How the “Stranger Danger” Panic of the 1980s Helped Give Rise to Mass Incarceration
The 1980s saw the spread of a nationwide panic about “stranger danger,” a supposed epidemic of child kidnappings and murders. Under the guise of protecting children, the media-driven hysteria helped spur mass incarceration.
The Coronavirus Wouldn’t Be Decimating Meatpacking Plants If Company Bosses Hadn’t Busted the Unions
COVID-19 is ravaging the country’s meatpacking plants, turning packinghouse workers into sacrificial lambs. But none of this was inevitable — it’s the result of companies’ decades-long assault on meatpacking unions, which destroyed workers’ ability to have a say over their working conditions.
There Is No Writer Quite Like Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy has a tendency to rile India’s media and political elites like no one else on the subcontinent. Perhaps that’s because no writer today, in India or anywhere in the world, writes with the kind of beautiful, piercing prose in defense of the wretched of the earth that Roy does.
The Humanity of American Communism
Communist Party members are often stereotyped as mindless zombies that blindly took orders from Moscow. But for many in the CPUSA, the party allowed them to recognize their own capacity to change the world.
Unions Still Haven’t Rebounded
Despite a string of encouraging strikes and labor victories, the latest numbers show that union density fell to a new low last year.
Florida Republicans Want to Ban Workplace Heat Protections
Florida business groups and their GOP allies are pushing legislation that would prevent communities from establishing workplace heat-exposure standards or compelling employers to abide by them, even as dangerously hot days increase in frequency.
Why Britain Is in an Uproar Over a Tory Lockdown Scofflaw
The UK’s Boris Johnson had been coasting through the COVID-19 crisis — but that was before his aide Dominic Cummings’s flouting of social-distancing rules set off a nationwide furor. It’s reminded the country of everything they hate about the Tories: their privileged obliviousness and their belief that normal rules don’t apply to them.
Free Speech Is a Left-Wing Value
Early American socialists like Eugene Debs fought for free speech rights as a bulwark against state tyranny and employer despotism. We should take up their radical struggle for civil liberties today.
In France, Just Like the United States, We Can’t Breathe
Cities across France are seeing a historic wave of protest against racism and the killing of young black people. The French revolt was sparked by the demonstrations in the United States — but it’s fueled by police brutality at home.
A Million in South Korea’s Streets
South Korea's unions and civil society have taken to the streets to demand conservative president Park Geun-hye step down.
Surprise “Air Ambulance” Bills Are the Latest Nightmare in Private Health Insurance
On top of skyrocketing medical costs, many Americans face staggering surprise bills for “air ambulances.” What’s no surprise is that the private equity industry is deeply implicated in this nightmare — and spending heavily to make sure no one puts a stop to it.
COP22’s Imperialist Environmentalism
In Morocco, where COP22 talks began this week, and around the world, climate change is inherently tied to the history of colonialism.