The 2019 Jacobin Mixtape
We covered the good, the bad, and the ugly all year, from Bernie Sanders's presidential run to the violent coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia. Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights).
Search Result(s) for: “Los Angeles”
In Defense of Kenny G
Our first piece of 2020: a defense of the great Kenny G.
Elon Musk Is Planning for Climate Apocalypse
Tech CEOs like Musk sell themselves as visionaries of a liberated future. They are, of course, only looking out for themselves.
We Shouldn’t Be Nostalgic for Jimmy Hoffa
At a time of historic working-class weakness, it’s tempting to watch the portrayal of Jimmy Hoffa in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and long for similar labor leadership today. But while Hoffa negotiated contracts that improved the lives of millions, his corruption and autocratic leadership also paved the way for the Teamsters’ decline.
“We Deserve to Not Only Survive, but to Thrive”
Jackie Fielder is a democratic socialist running for state senate in California. In an interview, she explains how her activism for public banking, affordable housing, and indigenous rights led her to run for office, and how she found a political home in the Democratic Socialists of America.
A Megachurch for the Glamorous
Blessed with celebrity congregants, the evangelical Hillsong Church was poised to take America by storm before it fell prey to sex scandals. Now megachurch America is following its blue-state blueprint.
What a Socialist Approach to Gun Violence Should Look Like
We’re thankfully beginning to see mass organizing and protest against the epidemic of gun violence in the United States. But we can’t let billionaires like Michael Bloomberg and solutions that further criminalize the poor and increase police power dominate the debate — we need a socialist approach to ending gun violence.
When Capital Threatens to Strike in Your City
With a resurgent left-labor movement and a new crop of progressive and socialist city council members, nervous Chicago real estate developers are hinting they’ll pull their investments in the city. To stop capitalists from undercutting left agendas around the country, we need to recognize when they’re bluffing — and how to stop them when they’re serious.
Mass Incarceration Is a Rural Problem, Too
Mass incarceration is commonly thought of as a big-city problem. But as small-town economies have declined, county jails have expanded — and rural incarceration rates have jumped dramatically.
Workers at Tartine Bakery Are Unionizing
The San Francisco Bay Area’s Tartine Bakery is world-famous for its award-winning baked goods. But fame and awards don’t pay workers’ bills or give them a say on the job — which is why those workers say they want a union.
Hoarding Toilet Paper Won’t Help Us Fight Coronavirus
We all deserve a functioning state that can provide for everyone, and a society that values solidarity above all. That’s the only thing that can get us through the coronavirus pandemic.
Bernie Sanders Is the Pro-Union Candidate
Many national unions still haven’t endorsed in the presidential race. But no other candidate has the same history of walking the picket lines, fighting for worker rights, and fostering union organizing that Bernie Sanders does.
Canvassing for Bernie in Suburbia
Knocking on doors is a key part of a grassroots campaign, and can be extremely satisfying work for those involved. But as more gates and security systems transform the fabric of American cities, voters are increasingly out of reach.
Bernie Sanders Can Still Win the Nomination and the Presidency
There is no use in sugarcoating the scale of last night’s defeat. But there is still a pathway to victory for Bernie Sanders.
Austerity Is the Patient Zero of Coronavirus
The coronavirus is already exposing the profound damage a decade of Tory austerity has wrought on British society. And it’s about to get a lot worse.
Why Bernie Won the California Primary
Bernie Sanders didn’t win California because it’s a liberal bastion and he's “extremely liberal.” He won it because the state’s working class is tired of the bipartisan, pro-corporate agenda that threatens to transform California into a social dystopia — and they’re ready to fight back.
Joe Biden Can’t Cure Cancer
Once again, Joe Biden has pledged to cure cancer. At the same time, his campaign is being bankrolled by the very industries that profit from keeping treatment prohibitively expensive.
Empty the Jails Now
Jails and prisons will inevitably prolong the COVID–19 outbreak and increase the rate of infection. Any rational response to the crisis must include a coordinated national effort to get as many people out of jail as possible — fast.
Joe Biden is Wrong About Single-Payer and Coronavirus
The ranks of the uninsured are growing, and people are already dying from a lack of coverage. Yet Joe Biden says coronavirus has nothing to do with Medicare for All. He’s wrong: its time has come.
Naomi Klein on How to Rebuild From the Disaster of Neoliberalism
Longtime leftist writer and activist Naomi Klein discusses her work from No Logo to On Fire, connecting the fight against climate change to the fight for good jobs, and how COVID-19 is showing the utter failure of the neoliberal model.