In the 1940s, the gradual unraveling of colonialism offered hope to Puerto Ricans demanding independence. But the archipelago was of military importance to the US — so Washington used economic threats and repression to retain it.
Yakov Kronrod played a major role in debates about how to reform the Soviet economy during the 1960s. His vision of a genuinely democratic economic system was too radical for Soviet leaders to accept because it threatened their authority.
In Colombia, the Left has learned to win elections but has yet to break entrenched elite rule. Will the progressive forces behind Iván Cepeda get another chance, or will a resurgent reactionary bloc transform Colombia into a permanent US military outpost?
New York congressional candidate Claire Valdez just announced an ambitious pro-labor policy agenda, including labor law reform, ending at-will employment, and a federal jobs guarantee. Everyone who is hoping to revive labor’s fortunes should take note.
Molly Crabapple’s new book, Here Where We Live Is Our Country, recovers the story of the Jewish Labor Bund — a socialist movement that opposed both assimilation and Zionism, and whose warnings about ethnonationalism have not lost their urgency.
Artificial intelligence has a history of making poor regulatory decisions with disastrous effects on people’s lives. Newly released documents show the Trump administration sought to deploy a powerful AI tool to accelerate its deregulation spree.
When historians of the French Revolution discuss Jean-Paul Marat, they usually focus on his bloodthirsty rhetoric. But Marat also had an uncanny ability to anticipate major events thanks to his grasp of the social forces the Revolution had set loose.
The war in Iran has cut off access to a large share of global helium resources, which are needed for lifesaving medical procedures and semiconductor production. This crisis could have been avoided if the US hadn’t sold off its stockpile to private companies.
During the Reagan administration, John Roberts was known for denouncing judicial overreach. Today he has adopted an assertive use of judicial power, using the Supreme Court’s shadow docket to fast-track corporate wins on climate and federal policy.
Pope Leo XIV is making it impossible to reconcile MAGA politics with Catholic faith.
Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traoré, has styled himself as the political heir of Thomas Sankara. However, the substance of Traoré’s record since taking power in 2022 is much less ambitious than Sankara’s agenda as president in the 1980s.
Before they faced fierce repression from the US government at the outbreak of the Cold War, early 20th-century Communist labor organizers helped build the New York hotel workers’ union into one of the city’s most militant unions.