Ban Private Equity
The relationship between private equity firms and workers is zero sum: when they thrive, working-class communities suffer.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
Into the Void
Over the past 40 years, working-class parties have slid rightward toward neoliberalism and workers have increasingly dropped out of the political process.
Brandon Johnson Should Meet the Threat From Private Capital Head On
Working-class reformer Brandon Johnson will soon be inaugurated Chicago’s next mayor, and already businesses are threatening to undermine his agenda. Johnson and the movement behind him should challenge those threats directly by asserting public control of capital.
Italy’s “National Unity” Government Is the Cutting Edge of Post-Democratic Governance
Mario Draghi's new Italian government has been hailed for uniting all political forces from the center-left to the hard-right Lega. Yet the adulation of the former European Central Bank chief as a "national savior" continues a trend elevating technocratic economic decisions above democratic choice — and it's working-class Italians who'll suffer.
Communism in Words
A brief history of Esperanto, the language intimately tied to the common destiny of the working class.
The Dutch Left Lacks a Project — and the Will to Fight
Ahead of last week’s Dutch elections, the center-left called on voters to stop far-right leader Geert Wilders — but he won easily anyway. The Left needs to give working-class people a hopeful project to rally behind, not just rhetoric about defending democracy.
Andrew Cuomo Was Bad at Being Governor
Disgraced New York governor Andrew Cuomo has finally left office. We look back at his emperor-has-no-clothes record, in which flashy infrastructure projects took the place of real improvements to the lives of working-class New Yorkers.
Mitt Romney Is Not Your Friend
Mitt Romney and a host of anti-Trump Republicans are rebranding themselves. But don’t be fooled by the rhetoric — they still hate the poor and working class as much as ever.
AOC Has Some Advice For Parents
Speaking to constituents in Queens, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged public school parents to think big on education — and to fight attempts to divide working class constituencies.
A New Louisville Ordinance Aims to Block Public Funds From Aiding Gentrification
Across the United States, housing developers are receiving huge amounts of public money to spur displacement of longtime working-class residents. A proposed Louisville, Kentucky, ordinance would stop that.
Canada Needs to Get Serious About Taxing the Rich
Like their counterparts everywhere, Canada’s superrich cream off wealth from the working class while resisting paying taxes. In the age of COVID-19, this state of affairs is more obscene — and more unpopular — than ever. It’s time to tax Canada's rich.
Never Forget the Victims of Grenfell
On June 14, 2017, 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire in London. Peter Apps’s Show Me the Bodies is the best account of the tragedy and an unsparing indictment of the disregard for working-class lives that made it possible.
Becoming Labor Secretary Might Not Be the Best Way for Bernie to Aid Workers
As Secretary of Labor, Bernie Sanders could do a lot to empower American workers. But the working class might be better served with Bernie pushing for pro-labor legislation outside the Biden administration rather than inside it.
Andrew Cuomo Is the Sexist Boss Too Many of Us Have Dealt With
With sexist dress codes and personal harassment from the New York governor himself, women in Andrew Cuomo’s office found themselves facing one of the most pervasive forms of exploitation in the lives of working-class women: the boss’s attempt to control their bodies.
“Our Task Is to Defeat Bolsonarism and Put an End to His Authoritarian Project”
Housing organizer and socialist Guilherme Boulos recently shocked Brazil by forcing a runoff for mayor in the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, São Paolo. In an interview, he lays out his vision for the position, how to embed the Brazilian left in the country’s working class, and how to “place the periphery in the center.”
The Legacy of Barbara Madeloni
Barbara Madeloni's presidency of the Massachusetts Teachers Association has come to an end. Her tenure offers lessons for reformers who want their unions to fight for the entire working class.
Canada’s Liberals Expect the Working Class to Bear the Brunt of the Economic Downturn
Other than suspending student loan interest, Canada’s fall economic statement promises next to nothing for workers. Bloodless technocratic tinkering is never enough, but during times of crisis, leaving structural change off the table is indefensible.
Ken Loach Will Be Remembered Long After His Detractors Are Forgotten
Socialist filmmaker Ken Loach has released his final movie, about Syrian refugees finding their feet in an English working-class community. It makes it all the more grotesque that Loach’s political foes are trying to present him as a dangerous bigot.
The German Army Toppled a Pioneering Radical Government and Opened the Way for Nazism
In 1923, with Germany gripped by hyperinflation and far-right insurgents, Social Democrats and Communists formed a joint government in Saxony. It was a pioneering experiment in working-class democracy — before the military overthrew it.
Biden’s State of the Union Showcased a President in Denial
Look past the theatrics of a feisty, bellowing president and reactionary hecklers. Joe Biden’s State of the Union address didn’t offer working-class people a clear economic alternative or signal real opposition to Israel’s brutal war in Gaza.