Melissa Rakestraw, a postal worker in Schaumburg, Illinois, grew up in a tiny rural town and didn’t plan on becoming a radical. But “I guess the short version,” she says, “is, ‘I got a job at the post office and became a socialist.’”
The US Agriculture System Is a Disaster for Farmworkers and the Planet
US-style industrial farming has ravaged two of the world’s most fertile regions, California’s Central Valley and the Midwest’s corn belt. But we can build an agriculture system that delivers food in a sustainable way — and empowers farmworkers, too.
How Mass Incarceration Was Built in the United States — And How We Can Undo It
With an incarceration rate exceeding 700 people for every 100,000, Americans have built a prison monstrosity that has few parallels in history — destroying untold millions of lives and families in just a few decades. We need to study the economic origins of this mass incarceration system in order to dismantle it.
Scott Morrison’s Grudge Against China Is About Capitalist Competition
After riding the coattails of China’s boom for decades, Australian conservatives are now railing against China. They’re not just following a lead from Washington — the Liberal Party’s corporate backers are anxious to maintain Australian dominance in the South Pacific.
Authoritarianism Is on the Rise in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, have been implicated in egregious human rights violations against Tamils in the country, including accusations of crimes against humanity and genocide. Yet rather than being held accountable, the Rajapaksas are actually consolidating their ethno-nationalist agenda.
Nursing Homes That Were Unionized Saw Fewer COVID-19 Deaths
A new study finds that unionized nursing homes had 30 percent lower mortality rates than nonunion homes. Quite literally, unions save lives.
The “Scarlet Runners” Women Were at the Center of New Zealand’s Six-Month-Long Miners’ Strike
1912 saw one of the biggest battles in New Zealand labor history, a six-month-long miners’ strike that paved the way for the general strike a year later. But it couldn’t have lasted so long without the working-class women who organized to defend their community — the “Scarlet Runners” who fought the strikebreakers.
The US “War on Terror” Has Created at Least 37 Million Refugees
A new study finds that America’s “war on terror” has displaced at least 37 million people around the globe. The US left has a responsibility to push an internationalism that aids the victims of American imperialism — and acts in solidarity with workers no matter their country of origin.
Joe Biden Is Severely Hurting His Chances of Beating Donald Trump
As Joe Biden has ignored the Democratic base, polls now show he faces an enthusiasm gap. Progressive pressure is needed to force him to energize Democratic voters and defeat Donald Trump.
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How Eastern Bloc Architects Shaped Cities Across the Third World
In the era of decolonization, even nonsocialist states in Africa and Asia drew heavily on architects and planners from Eastern Bloc countries. Experts from the “Second World” adapted their work to local cultures and expectations — and often brought “Third World” lessons back with them.
The Only Thing You Need to Read About the Inane Cuties Controversy
The controversy over the new Netflix movie Cuties is so stupid, you never should’ve heard about it. But it’s gotten so hysterically overblown by this point, it can’t be ignored anymore.
This Vermont Gubernatorial Nominee Is Showing How Successful Third Parties Are Possible
The rules are rigged against third parties in the United States, but that doesn’t mean successful third-party activism is impossible everywhere. David Zuckerman, the lieutenant governor of Vermont and current gubernatorial nominee for both the Democratic and Progressive parties, tells Jacobin how the Progressive Party has figured out how to push left-wing politics in the state.
In South Dakota, a Young Labor Leader Wants to Rebuild a Culture of Solidarity
Kooper Caraway, the 29-year-old new president of South Dakota’s AFL-CIO, grew up in a working-class family and cut his teeth fighting ICE as a high schooler. Now his vision for labor includes union-run housing and childcare: “It’s all about building a working-class culture of solidarity.”