Reflections on the Rank and File Strategy
Socialists have a key role to play in building the labor movement — if they can avoid the pitfalls of sectarianism and union bureaucracy.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
Where’s the “Gig Economy?”
The numbers don't show any growth in a gig economy. But that doesn't mean workers aren't poorly paid and insecure.
Jeremy Corbyn to Jacobin: Now Is Not the Time for Retreat
In an interview with Jacobin, Jeremy Corbyn talks about the need to rebuild the trade unions, internationalism, and why socialists can’t afford to be on the defensive.
Class Rules Everything Around Me
The socialist emphasis on the centrality of class isn't about ignoring racial inequalities, but about crafting a politics capable of ending them.
Joe Biden’s COVID Relief Bill is Rightfully Bringing Back Government Handouts
The newly passed COVID-19 relief bill will not solve every aspect of the crisis, and it won’t fundamentally reverse our massive wealth inequality. But the bill will make a substantial difference in people’s lives — and in the process create fertile terrain for the Left to organize.
Pro-Market Third Way Policies Caused Electoral Disaster
Sociologist Stephanie L. Mudge examines how and why center-left parties across the world swallowed the neoliberal gospel — only to demolish their own social base.
A Liberal “Moral Reckoning” Can’t Solve the Problems That Plague Black Americans
If we view the problems of poverty, health care, and criminal justice through a lens that filters out the political-economic underpinnings of these injustices — informed by the language of moral reckoning — we may just end up with modest reforms at best and symbolic gestures at worst, when what we need is fundamental structural change.
Why and How Class Still Matters
It’s fashionable to declare that Marxism doesn’t have much to say about complex, modern societies. But class and the material interests it generates are still the central features of capitalism.
There’s No Such Thing as “Right-Wing Marxism”
The National Review frets that “populist” paleoconservatives are vessels of Marxist influence on the Right. That’s nonsense.
A Socialist Wave in Chicago
Chicago socialists cleaned house in last night's municipal elections, winning as many as six socialist city council members. The city's left has a historic opportunity to push back years of gentrification, police brutality, and austerity.
John Hume (1937–2020)
A historic leader of moderate nationalism, John Hume is widely eulogized for helping end the war in Northern Ireland. But praise for his rejection of violence shouldn't be combined with amnesia about the deep injustices that fueled the conflict in the Six Counties.
Bernie and His Critics
Whether he wins tonight's Iowa caucuses, Bernie Sanders has provided an opening that we can't squander.
How to Understand the European Union
If we want to take on the European Union, we have to first understand its nature.
Robert Brenner’s Unprofitable Theory of Global Stagnation
Robert Brenner’s theory of the post-1973 global economy — which depicts a long era of “stagnation” caused by chronic industrial overcapacity — is logically dubious and doesn’t fit the facts. But the theory’s biggest problem is its politics.
Former Hotel Cleaner Rachel Keke Shows How Workers Can Take Over Parliament
Two years ago, housekeeper Rachel Keke and her colleagues won the longest hotel strike in French history. Now she’s a member of parliament — telling fellow MPs they have no right to impose poor working conditions they wouldn’t accept themselves.
Fighting French Fascism Means More Than “Anyone but Éric Zemmour”
Fascist TV pundit Éric Zemmour has announced his bid for the French presidency. His advance is part of a rising tide of Islamophobia and authoritarianism pushing France toward the far right.
Will Fascism Return to the Far Right?
Today's far right is little more than an incoherent collection of provocations. But if it grows and attains more power, it will employ the consistent ideology and clear goals of traditional fascism. That's the danger the Left has to combat today.
South Dakota Unions Against White Supremacy
The Sioux Falls, South Dakota AFL-CIO recently banned white supremacists from union leadership. President Kooper Caraway says that's because labor has a duty to fight the far right.
Walz’s Pick as VP Is an Opportunity for Unions
Democrats have a history of making and abandoning big promises for labor. But Kamala Harris’s pick of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate at least suggests the possibility of substantial pro-union legislating.
Long Waves Are Key to the Development of Capitalism
Belgian Marxist Ernest Mandel explained long waves as a key factor in capitalism's development. Mandel’s theory is one of the most sophisticated attempts to show why capitalism goes through extended periods of expansion and stagnation.