Forty-five years ago, under a cloak of secrecy, Operation Condor was officially launched: a global campaign of violent repression against the Latin American left by the region’s quasi-fascist military dictatorships. The US government not only knew about the program — it helped to engineer it.
Joe Biden’s Neera Tanden Pick Is Even Worse Than You Thought
Joe Biden’s likely nominee to head the powerful Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, called for cuts to Social Security, saying, “we need to put both entitlements on the table as well as taxes.”
How Unions Can Lay the Ground for the Next Upsurge
Smart union organizing tactics can produce incremental growth for unions at some points, or at least slow decline. But those tactics don’t lead to substantial increases in overall union density — those increases happen quickly, in moments of upsurge. Labor and the Left need to be ready for those moments.
Judith Jarvis Thomson (1929–2020)
Judith Jarvis Thomson was one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. Her justly famous essay in defense of abortion rights is a model for how to combine philosophical rigor with political engagement in the real world.
Australia’s Hospitality Workers Aren’t “Entitled” — They Just Know How Much Their Work Is Worth
In a widely publicized article, Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham, two self-styled “Hospo Gurus” from Sydney, derided Australia’s hospitality workers as “whining” and “self-entitled.” Hospitality workers invite these shock jocks to take a look in the mirror.
- Issue No. 39 out now!
- Fall 2020
Failure Is an Option
In this issue
American Capitalism Is Working — That’s the Problem
The United States is not a failed state — just ask any American capitalist. But we desperately need something better for everyone else.
Ontario’s Days of Action Offer a Lesson for Canadian Workers Today
In 1990s Ontario, austerity measures provoked a long series of strikes and demonstrations known as the Days of Action. The high points of that mobilization can serve as a model for struggles to come as we face post-pandemic cutbacks.
Washington’s Bullets Can’t Stamp Out the Hope of a Better World
Marxist historian Vijay Prashad talks about his new book Washington Bullets and the history of US-backed coups, from the post–World War II period to the recent successful right-wing coup in Bolivia.
A Rebirth of the Auto Industry?
Despite some promising signs, Canada’s auto industry is not experiencing a full rebirth. Any revitalization of the industry, and any transition to green manufacturing, will always be unstable under capitalism, because private auto corporations don’t make decisions with workers and the planet in mind.
Why Is Joe Biden Considering an Anti–Green New Dealer for Energy Secretary?
With Donald Trump’s defeat, the planet dodged a giant meteor. Now, it needs protection from Joe Biden, whose energy secretary short list includes fracking fanboy and enemy of the Green New Deal, Ernest Moniz.
Political organizing is hard — political education shouldn’t have to be. We’re now offering our ABCs of Capitalism series as free ebooks.
Diego Maradona Loved Naples — And It Loved Him Back
In the working-class districts of Naples, Diego Maradona was more than their local team’s star player. He was a son of the slums who wanted to “put six goals past the boss” — and stood up for the dignity of their city.
BREAKING: Potential Biden Officials’ Firm Is Promising Big Profits Off Administration Access
Former government officials Tony Blinken, Michele Flournoy, and Lloyd Austin may run Biden’s national security agencies — their firm is telling investors it expects to profit off ties to those officials.
Happy Birthday, Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was born 200 years ago today. We should thank him for helping out his friend Karl Marx — but also for the critique of capitalism he produced in his own right.
What Engels Gave To Marx and Marxism
Friedrich Engels was far more than Karl Marx’s benefactor, or the custodian of his intellectual legacy. When they met as young men in the 1840s, Engels was already an accomplished political writer, who first articulated some of the basic concepts of what became “Marxism.”