Which Way to Socialism?
Is there a democratic road to socialism? And if so, what does it mean for socialists today?
Search Result(s) for: “russia”
The Cunning of Unreason
Critics of populism lament the rise of “emotion-driven” politics. But instead of asking why politics has become so “irrational,” we should ask why people are so angry in the first place.
The “Best” of Karl Kautsky Isn’t Good Enough
Charlie Post cautions against recent defenses of Second-International Marxist Karl Kautsky.
E-Votes for the Far Right
The far-right EKRE party tripled its vote in this month’s Estonian elections. It could soon be in coalition government — and Estonia might start looking like Viktor Orbán's Hungary.
Ideologues Playing Battleship
The British Navy’s seizure of an Iranian oil tanker has sparked diplomatic crisis and a tit-for-tat action by Iran. Post-Brexit Britain wants to reassert itself as a global power — but it’s suffering from a serious case of imperial overreach.
Discontent Is Brewing In Erdoğan’s Turkey
Turkey's autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is rushing to shore up the economy ahead of this month's elections. But the economy's woes are deeper than any macroeconomic tweak can fix.
Stopping Climate Change Will Never Be “Good Business”
Climate activist and writer Bill McKibben's new book is an excellent account of how urgent the climate crisis in front of us is. But it stumbles in trying to prescribe green capitalist solutions to a problem that requires systematic change.
Who Is Ayn Rand?
An upsurge in business activism joined with libertarians and conservatives to usher in neoliberalism's dominance by the 1980s election of Ronald Reagan. A key piece of that dominance: Ayn Rand’s philosophy of optimistic cruelty, nearly perfect in its immorality.
Lawfare: The Technocrats’ War on Democracy
The jailing of former Brazilian president Lula shows the power of “lawfare,” the use of spurious legal action for political ends. Former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and France Insoumise’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon discuss how legal harassment has become a key weapon against the Left around the world.
The Chinese Revolution at Seventy
The Chinese revolution turned seventy this week. If you were looking for reflection on the meaning of that revolution today, you wouldn't find it in mainstream media coverage.
One Side Fought for Freedom at Stalingrad
This June brought the first English translation of Vasily Grossman’s Stalingrad. Movingly illustrating the tragedies of wartime Soviet society, Grossman’s epic novel is a nonetheless powerful rebuke to those who equate Nazism and those who fought against it.
The US Double Standard in Venezuela vs. Honduras
If you want evidence that the US government doesn't actually care about drug trafficking, violation of democratic norms, violation of human rights, or widespread corruption, just look at how the Trump administration has treated Honduras versus how it has treated Venezuela.
Even Donald Trump Couldn’t Ruin the World Cup
Donald Trump and his ally, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, have plumbed new depths with their political antics before and during the World Cup. But as David Goldblatt insists, they still couldn’t destroy the moments of collective joy it gives us.
100 Years of American Communism
The Communist Party USA, which turned 100 this year, has left behind a complicated legacy, filled with great victories and terrible blunders.
The Worst People of 2019
Before 2019 comes to a close, let’s take one last look at the most obnoxious, appalling, and insidious personalities of the past twelve months. These are eight auld acquaintances we’d desperately like to forget — here’s hoping we’ve heard the last of them.
How to Revive the Antiwar Movement
The headlong rush toward war with Iran seems to have slowed down. But we shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security — we urgently need a mass antiwar movement that isn’t tied to the Democratic Party.
What a Bernie Sanders Presidency Would Look Like
Bernie Sanders often argues, “Beating Trump is not good enough.” This is an understatement. The world quite literally depends on us winning a political revolution. Only Bernie has a plan for that.
What Democratic Socialists Should Think About Anti-Communism
A deep commitment to democracy is at the heart of the socialist project. Anticommunists have historically claimed they oppose states like the Soviet Union out of a concern for democracy. But those anticommunists’ real project has nothing to do with democracy — and everything to do with smashing the Left.
Who’s Afraid of Karl Marx?
Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro stokes his base’s fears by warning of the “communist threat” posed by “cultural Marxism.” But if you don’t make a living off exploiting workers, there’s no reason to be afraid of Karl Marx and his friends.
War Is an Enormous Threat to the Rising Movement Against Climate Change
US wars have historically been used to beat back and repress exactly the kind of Left movements that we need to tackle the climate crisis. We can’t just focus on fighting climate change or US imperialism — we have to stop both.