Failure Is an Option

Haunted by the specter of democracy, the Constitution’s framers blundered into a historic miscalculation. We’re still living with the consequences.

The Victory to Come

Bernie critics seem to think they dodged a bullet. They haven’t — the bullet is still on its way.

If Neoliberalism Were to End, How Would We Know?

What will decide the fate of neoliberalism today is not the extent of the economic damage the virus wreaks — it is the extent to which the virus transforms popular expectations.

A Study Last Week Claimed to Prove That Bernie Is Unelectable. It Turns Out the Study Is Bunk.

A big new study came out last week arguing that Bernie Sanders's electability could be a “mirage.” There's just one problem: the report is nonsense.

The Cosmic Irony of Bernie Sanders’s Rise

What makes Bernie Sanders so threatening to the Democratic establishment is that he stands for what millions of Democrats thought their party stood for all along.

You Absolutely Don’t “Gotta Hand It to Them”

Last night’s UK elections results point to a deep problem in world politics today: the gravitational pull of privileging cultural over economic combat — an outcome that consistently divides the Left and hands victory to the Right.

Fear of a Populist Planet

“Populism” is today employed as a bogeyman by liberals and centrists alike. Is there anything worth salvaging in the concept?

Why Bernie Sanders Matters

The rationale for Bernie Sanders’s brand of politics has always been that it’s better to aim at shifting the basic parameters of American politics — however difficult that may be — than accepting those parameters and trying to maneuver within them.

What Bernie Sees in the New Deal

Bernie Sanders’s embrace of the New Deal legacy is an opportunity to dispel some pernicious historical myths about the New Deal’s relationship with socialism and its attitude toward the struggle for racial equality.

Why Bernie Talks About the New Deal

The pundits are puzzled that Bernie Sanders sees socialist values in the New Deal. They shouldn’t be. That’s how socialists around the world — and their enemies — saw it at the time.

Ilhan Omar Is Not Antisemitic

The rush to condemn Ilhan Omar says more about the vacuousness of our political discourse than the supposed bigotry of her comments.

Don’t Call It a Comeback

As 2020 approaches, we indulge in some crass Sunday morning horse-race punditry.

Taking Off the Straitjacket and Running the Asylum

Let’s Take Elizabeth Warren Literally, But Not Seriously

Elizabeth Warren’s so-called Accountable Capitalism Act is a ruse. But it creates an unexpected opening for the Left.

Democrats and Their Promises

Of course Democratic candidates will claim to support progressive policies. Don't assume they're telling the truth.

Which Side Are They On?

A titanic struggle is brewing in California between Silicon Valley capitalists and workers. Democratic Party elites will have to pick a side.

Could Henry Kissinger Possess the Pee Tape?

Many suspect Putin is blackmailing Trump. But could there be a different culprit? A plausible theory of mind-boggling confusion.

A New Party of a New Type

The Democratic Party is hopelessly corporate, but election law is stacked against third parties. The Left needs an independent organization that can stay flexible about running as Democrats but behaves with the discipline of a real party.

The Jerry Lewis of International Diplomacy

Is Trump’s foreign policy the work of an incompetent ignoramus or a strategic genius? The answer may surprise you.

Russiagate Can’t End Well for the Left

Liberals are using Russiagate to gin up nationalist fervor and anti-Russian paranoia. It'll only backfire.