Socialists Are Winning in Astoria, Queens
Since Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign, the diverse working-class neighborhood of Astoria in Queens, New York has been the epicenter of the US revival of socialist electoral politics.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
Democrats May Have Won More Suburban Votes in the Midterms. That Doesn’t Bode Well.
If Democrats survived this week’s midterms because they increased their share of wealthier voters, it’s a bad omen for building a working-class coalition around left-wing politics. Something needs to change.
What’s Old for US Labor Is New Again
We’re in the midst of a twenty-first-century Gilded Age. To end it, we can turn to some of the radical policies designed to democratize the world of work, empower a multiracial working class, and reel in the worst excesses of robber barons nearly a century ago.
The First Woman to Lead a Political Party Was an Italian Communist
Born this day in 1889, Camilla Ravera led the Communist Party of Italy through its first difficult years under Fascist tyranny. Her story shows how a generation of women became political leaders — by tying their liberation to that of the working class as a whole.
Dismantling the School-to-Soldier Pipeline
Inside the fight against JROTC, a Pentagon program that targets working-class teenagers at public schools.
Sinn Féin’s Day Is Coming
Last Saturday's Irish election was a historic breakthrough for Sinn Féin, the most-voted party for the first time. An organizer for the party writes how austerity drove a working-class backlash — and how Sinn Féin plans to turn voter revolt into real change.
Bernie’s First Political Revolution
In 1981, Bernie Sanders achieved the unthinkable — dethroning a deeply entrenched city establishment in Burlington, Vermont, with an upset victory in the city’s mayoral race that no one saw coming. His methods were familiar: a populist, working-class message, door-to-door grassroots organization, and a dogged refusal to bow to elite pressure.
Rein in Sports-Betting Profiteers
Legalization has wrested control of sports betting from organized crime. But with few federal regulations in place and almost no public education on the newly sanctioned activity, many working-class people are now falling prey to another group of predators.
There Are Now Six Socialists in Albany Fighting for New Yorkers
Jabari Brisport is one of six socialists now in the New York State Legislature, the most in a century. We spoke to him about how he came to democratic socialism, how elected officials can help build working-class power, and why his top policy priority is to tax the rich.
Get on the Bus
Chile’s private bus companies tried to repress the working-class vote. It backfired.
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.
In Italy, a Once-Mighty Left Is Struggling to Make Its Mark
Polls for Italy’s September 25 general election suggest the far right is coasting to victory. Its center-left opposition is weak and divided — showing what happens to a Left that grows apart from its working-class base.
Mayor Bernie Sanders’s Trial by Fire
Faced with wall-to-wall obstruction from the Burlington, Vermont city establishment, a newly elected Mayor Bernie Sanders won a series of early fights that showed the country what a creative, pro–working-class socialist government could accomplish at the local level.
Revisiting On the Waterfront
Elia Kazan's betrayal of his former comrades is unforgivable. But On the Waterfront is working-class cinema at its best.
Jamie Foxx’s Day Shift Is Another Big-Budget Netflix Mediocrity
With a solid premise about working-class vampire hunters, Day Shift had real potential — but there’s no escaping the Netflix curse.
How a Working-Class Soldier and Platoon Leader in Iraq Turned Against Our “Forever Wars”
American foreign policy is often relegated to the margins of political consciousness in the US. But some of the most powerful voices against US intervention are those who have come from inside the military — and turned vehemently against it.
French Police’s Fast-Track Punishments Have Nothing to Do With Justice
Emmanuel Macron’s government is giving French police more powers to issue on-the-spot fines, without going to court. France’s justice system is less and less based on a presumption of innocence — and multicultural, working-class areas are being targeted most.
Bill Clinton’s Presidency Was a Disaster for Labor
Though Bill Clinton ran for president on promises of empowering workers, in office he gutted welfare and passed NAFTA, undermining organized labor and driving working-class voters away from the Democratic Party. We’re still living with the consequences.
Max Stirner’s Philosophy Is Actually Worth Reading
Max Stirner is mainly remembered as the “nihilist” thinker derided by Karl Marx. But, a newly translated article by German socialist Hermann Duncker argues, Stirner’s philosophy of self-liberation has important lessons for the working-class movement.
RIP to Gene Hackman, the Everyman Actor
Legendary actor Gene Hackman, who was found dead this week at 95, brought a tough, working-class attitude to his mesmerizing performances.