The idea of progress has been central to the Left since its inception. But today faith in progress has been severely diminished. In this issue, we provide a nuanced picture of where progress has been made in both technological and social terms, how and why it has been reversed, and how socialists can revive the Left’s tradition of progress for the struggles of the present.

This very timely edition looks back at the Biden years and the failures of American liberalism.

At over 150 pages, “Trumpism” features incredible design and outstanding new writing by Anton Jäger, Liza Featherstone, Amos Barshad, Doug Henwood, David Broder, Owen Hatherley, Juliet Jacques, and many others.

“Town & Country,” examines the class politics of rural America, showing that it is neither monolithic nor a backward-looking residue of the past. What do socialists have to offer to rural America? What organizing traditions can we draw on? And if ever fewer Americans are tilling the fields, what does that mean for a vision of a worker-farmer alliance?

The spread of capitalism across the globe has led to colossal social upheavals. But religion remains a powerful force. Should socialists combat religious ways of thinking? Or should we make the case that a rich spiritual life first requires the practical work of building the society of abundance that religion so often envisions?

We describe challenges to existing welfare states, debate the value of generational analysis, and discuss what kind of society the elderly deserve after a lifetime of hard work.

The invasion of Iraq was a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster premised on lies from the highest levels of American power. It led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and unleashed decades of violent instability that left the country in ruins. In this issue, we look back at the context of the invasion, the various fabrications that elites used to justify it, and the vast human cost of the occupation for the people of Iraq and beyond.

From political assassinations to coups to the systematic cover-up of big business malfeasance and all manner of deep state criminality, American history is full of bizarre stories about the hidden forces of power in society. But how much do conspiracy theories really explain about the brute facts of political and economic power that structure our everyday lives? Are they useful for political action, or are they a symptom of depoliticization?

While we live in an age of globalization, the nation-state remains the locus of the conflicts that structure most aspects of everyday life. In this issue, we review how nationalism, an ideology meant to generate identification with the goals of national ruling classes, has reemerged in response to the crisis of neoliberal globalization — and how the Left can fight for an alternative.