Art After Occupy
"The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or slavery."
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
How Texas Populists Almost Destroyed the Two-Party System
The Populists of the 1890s rose up against both capitalism and white supremacy in the heart of the Lone Star State. Their apparent defeat at the ballot box was rooted in nothing less than an all-out campaign of terror and white supremacist violence.
The UAW Heads South
The South has long remained a nearly impenetrable citadel for labor. Fresh off the success of its Big Three strike, the United Auto Workers wants to storm the castle.
Anwar Shaikh Shows Us How Capitalism Works and How It Fails
Throughout his prolific career as a left-wing economist, Anwar Shaikh has kept asking the right questions about the dynamics of capitalism. Shaikh has given us a powerful framework for understanding the system and its fundamental flaws.
Trump’s Tariffs and Canadian Unions’ Identity Crisis
Canadian unions are forming alliances with industry to fight Donald Trump’s tariffs — at a time when they should be prioritizing deeper problems facing workers like austerity, increasing automation, and wage suppression.
Donald Trump’s Anti-Union Offensive and How We Stop It
Donald Trump is rolling out a blitz of attacks on workers in hopes of paralyzing organized labor’s energy to fight back. But unions can only survive this onslaught by fighting, not by burying their heads in the sand.
The GOP Is Making Headway in Shutting Down Climate Groups
With Democrats’ help, Republicans have taken a big step toward giving Trump the power to wipe out enemy nonprofits — and they already have a blueprint for how to defund clean energy groups.
Corporations Want Government-Funded Lobbyists
Republican lawmakers are pushing two anti-ESG bills designed to combat “woke” investing that would install taxpayer-funded corporate lobbyists in the SEC. Critics say it’s a conservative wish list “straight out of the Project 2025 playbook.”
In Austria, Communists Could Get Back Into Parliament
Austria’s Communist Party hasn’t had an MP since 1959. But after years showing its worth in bread-and-butter local campaigns, the party has a realistic chance of a breakthrough in Sunday’s general election.
Ireland’s Tax Haven Economy Isn’t Delivering for Its People
The Irish establishment has built one of the world’s most successful tax havens. This economic model has produced spectacular headline figures for GDP growth, but most Irish workers aren’t seeing the benefits in terms of wages and living standards.
How European Integration Set the Stage for Viktor Orbán
Viktor Orbán has ruled Hungary for most of its post-1989 history. Far from just a weird outlier, his rule is a product of Hungary’s integration into globalized capitalism — and increasingly sets an example for other EU member-states.
Can John Rawls Save Democracy?
In Free and Equal, economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues that the ideas of John Rawls offer solutions to the crisis of liberal democracy. Jacobin spoke with Chandler to discuss how socialists should engage with Rawlsian politics.
How the “AFL-CIA” Undermined Labor Movements Abroad
For much of its history, the AFL-CIO has enthusiastically backed US foreign policy. During the Cold War, that included actively participating in efforts to suppress left-wing labor movements abroad.
Bernie’s Burlington Was an Experiment in Practical Socialism
When Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington, the spirit of socialism showed up in everything from snowplows to poetry. Writer Dan Chiasson tells the story of these years from the unique vantage point of his own experience growing up in Bernie’s Burlington.
Let’s Talk About South Carolina
Bernie Sanders didn’t lose because of the “black vote,” but winning places like South Carolina is crucial to building a left majority.
Japanese Pop’s Secret Utopians
Bright, ironic, and tuneful, Yellow Magic Orchestra provided the soundtrack to Japan’s bubble economy in the 1980s. But the band’s work also contained hidden depths and the memories of East Asia’s political struggles.
NYC’s Economic Development Corporation Can Build Public Options
The Left needs to show it can deliver bold, ambitious new public services. Zohran Mamdani can transform the Economic Development Corporation into an incubator for public goods that can meet the needs of all New Yorkers.
J. D. Vance Got His Faux Populism From Internet Weirdos
Vance’s political rebrand as a self-styled right-populist wasn’t an organic reaction to what he saw in deindustrialized Appalachia. He was radicalized by online discourse goblins.
Joseph Stiglitz and the Limits of Liberal Freedom
The economist Joseph Stiglitz has long criticized neoliberalism without embracing nationalism or chauvinism. His latest, The Road to Freedom, reclaims the concept for progressive forces but fails to adequately examine unfreedom in the workplace.