
The Wire and the World
A decade ago, The Wire series finale aired. The show was a Marxist's idea of what TV drama should be.

A decade ago, The Wire series finale aired. The show was a Marxist's idea of what TV drama should be.

The first season of The Wire began 20 years ago this month. It remains one of this century's great television shows — both stylish and smart, with unforgettable characters woven into a striking portrait of the depredations of capitalism in one US city.
Gary Johnson spent his time as New Mexico's governor championing private prisons and austerity. He's not worth a protest vote.

Elizabeth Warren became a national force by being one of the only Democrats willing to speak out against the party’s Wall Street fealty — before adopting a more establishment-friendly posture. She may now be returning to her antiestablishment roots.

There are many good reasons to oppose Cory Booker’s bid for the presidency. One of the main ones is his long-standing drive to destroy public education.

Joe Biden and his top advisers believe that fear of a potential Trump presidency will be enough to secure the Democrats’ victory in this year’s election. Polling data does not support this view. If Biden does not change course, he’s likely to face defeat.

The story of the Congressional Black Caucus reflects the class contradictions of black politics in the post–civil rights era.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has only existed since 2003. There’s nothing extreme about the idea of disbanding the rogue agency.

The nation has watched as a labor dispute between railworkers and carriers escalated, prompting federal government intervention. The unions and bosses have a tentative agreement, but whether it’s strong enough for union members to ratify remains to be seen.

Setbacks for left-wing parties across Europe have led many analysts to declare the end of the “left-populist moment” which began after the financial crisis. But these defeats don’t have to be permanent — and populist strategies remain a vital means of mass mobilization.

Governor Gavin Newsom is siding with California’s billionaires against a proposed wealth tax to fund health care. Progressives like Ro Khanna are challenging him.

A universal basic income would shore up the market. We need ideas that shrink it.

Some right-wing populists are making a bid to outflank the Democrats on industrial policy as part of their attempt to make the Republicans into a “workers’ party.” The best way to defeat them is to make the Green New Deal the centerpiece of progressive twenty-first-century industrial policy.

Pining for the high marginal tax rates of the 1950s doesn't do us any good. The rich still avoided paying taxes in those days — and the taxes they did pay went to funding Cold War militarism, not domestic spending.

The Federal Reserve has signaled that it will further raise interest rates this month, increasing the chances of a recession that will hurt average people. In response, most of the Democratic Party establishment are twiddling their thumbs.

For decades, the Democratic establishment has been determined to avoid “another George McGovern.” They’ve been perfectly willing to risk another Walter Mondale.

It should be a matter of course that self-identified leftist and progressive members of Congress should vote down the annual bloated, dangerous, war-profiteer bonanza that is the military budget.

Israel’s attack on Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar was fueled by toxic anti-Palestinian rhetoric in the US. And it’s not just Trump — Democrats and the corporate media are to blame too.
Betsy DeVos has spent a fortune to influence education policy. If she is confirmed as education secretary, for the first time, she can do it for free.

For months, the Democratic Party leadership knew the Supreme Court was preparing to gut Roe v. Wade. When it happened, they sprang into action and immediately did nothing.