The Outrageous Optimism of Jean-Paul Sartre
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre died forty years ago today. Sartre’s philosophy and political values can still inspire struggles for freedom today.
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The Left Must Address a Historic Crisis of Representation
The defeats for Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn point to the Left’s difficulties in overcoming old party machines. Bottom-up labor organizing may sound like an attractive alternative — but it shouldn’t ignore the power of left populism in uniting people outside the workplace.
Marseille’s Conservative Establishment Is Using Crude Anticommunism to Demonize Its Opposition
In Sunday’s mayoral elections, a united slate of left-wingers and Greens is set to win France’s second-largest city for the first time in decades. Faced with this challenge, the conservative establishment has radicalized, accusing the broad left of planning a "Cuban-style putsch" on the streets of Marseille.
Lucio Urtubia, 1931–2020
The anarchist bricklayer Lucio Urtubia made his name robbing banks in order to fund clandestine revolutionaries in Franco’s Spain. He insisted that there was nothing criminal about his expropriations of firms like Citibank — arguing that “he who robs a thief is a thousand times forgiven.”
“There’s No Populist Instruction Manual for How You Nationalize Amazon”
From Podemos in Spain to Bernie Sanders’s bid for the nomination, recent left-populist campaigns inspired widespread hopes only to fall short. But overwhelming the fortresses of neoliberalism demands a long-term strategy — and mass mobilizations that last beyond the excitement of an election campaign.
The Triumph and Tragedy of Poland’s Solidarity Movement
Poland’s Solidarity trade union was one of the most impressive workers’ movements in postwar Europe. It rocked the foundations of an autocratic regime, but it took a wrong turn as the Eastern Bloc started to crumble.
The First Step on Vietnam’s Long Walk to Freedom
Seventy-five years ago today, Vietnam launched a bid for national freedom with its Declaration of Independence. The French colonial regime answered with brutal repression, kick-starting thirty years of destructive conflict.
How 1968 Marked a Shift for Rossana Rossanda’s Radical Politics
Sunday saw the passing of Rossana Rossanda, a lifelong communist, anti-fascist partisan, and cofounder of il manifesto newspaper. In this extract from her memoirs, she explains how the upheavals of 1968 marked a radical shift in her political engagement, as both the Prague Spring, and worker and student revolts in Italy drove an enduring split in Communist Party ranks.
Albert Camus and the Fantasies of Empire
The novelist Albert Camus is omnipresent in French cultural life, from TV shows to comic books, magazine covers and one-man shows. Camus-mania isn’t just a literary phenomenon: it draws on a deep well of political revisionism and colonial nostalgia.
How Jean-Paul Sartre and Les Temps Modernes Supported Algeria’s Struggle for Freedom
France waged a brutal colonial war in Algeria during the 1950s. But a group of writers clustered around Jean-Paul Sartre’s journal Les Temps modernes played a courageous role, exposing French war crimes and supporting the right of the Algerian people to self-determination.
Left Unity Can Stop France’s Rightward Drift
Next year's French presidential election looks set to be dominated by Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, with the Left struggling in the polls. We have to unite or face certain defeat.
The Rise and Fall of Poland’s Solidarity Movement
Four decades ago, Poland’s communist system faced the challenge of a powerful independent workers’ movement and eventually drove it underground. Understanding Solidarity’s fate during and after communism is essential for making sense of Polish politics today.
Emmanuel Macron Is Using the Pandemic to Massively Expand Police Powers
Emmanuel Macron’s administration has used the pandemic as a pretext to create police powers extending far beyond any rational response to COVID-19. It’s the latest in a long line of French governments using moments of national crisis to shred basic civil liberties.
We Can Only Go Beyond Communism by Coming to Terms With Its History
Thirty years ago today, the Soviet Union collapsed. Twentieth-century communism should be understood in all its complexity, as revolution and regime, a spur to anti-colonialism and an alternative form of social democracy.
Biden’s Escalation With Russia Over Ukraine Is a Terrible Idea
Western governments are being called on to send more weapons to Ukraine — an arms buildup that will only escalate a potentially disastrous conflict. What we really need is a comprehensive peace settlement for the region.
Crypto Won’t Solve Our Problems — We Need to Democratize Money
Bitcoin was not just a consequence of public disillusionment during the 2008 financial crisis — it was also a response to neoliberal monetary policies that saw money as somehow above politics. But questions about monetary policy are questions about democracy.
For Czechs, War in Ukraine Feels Near Their Doorstep
Czechs’ expressions of support for Ukraine have drawn on their country’s own history of foreign occupation. Yet their political response also marks a shift in the country, as a once pro-Putin president slams Moscow and a right-wing premier welcomes refugees.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s Anti-Imperialism Is Still Too Radical for France Today
Jean-Paul Sartre’s uncompromising opposition to the crimes of empire makes him a taboo figure in French culture. The French political mainstream is still in denial about the bloody history of colonialism.
For Enrico Berlinguer, Communism Meant the Fullest Spread of Democracy
Born 100 years ago today, Italian communist Enrico Berlinguer grew up under Fascist dictatorship. In postwar decades, he became leader of Europe’s biggest Communist Party — and an iconoclastic champion of a democratic path to socialism.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Is Popular Because He Confronts the Powerful
For years, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has faced endless accusations of “divisiveness” and “extremism.” Today, his left-wing movement is more popular than ever — and it’s because it didn’t shy away from taking on French elites.