Jacobin
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Jacobin offers socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture. Support our work and subscribe to our print magazine! jacobin.com/subscribe
Some critics of Yanis Varoufakis’s idea of overbearing “technofeudal” control argue that it idealizes past forms of capitalism. In a piece for Jacobin, he argues that this criticism is misplaced.
The Marxist Case for the Technofeudal Hypothesis
Yanis Varoufakis has called Big Tech’s overweening power to shape the modern economy “technofeudalism.” Writing for Jacobin, he argues that this isn’t a moral critique but one based in the dynamic of capital accumulation today.
jacobin.com
Centrist Democrats have two explanations for the Left's New York wins: gentrification and low turnout. But the machine's core voters aren’t the ones being displaced, and low turnout is a condition the machine itself created.
New York’s Socialist Victories Can't Be So Easily Dismissed
Centrist Democrats are writing off New York City socialist wins as a fluke reducible to gentrification and low turnout. But it was the Democratic Party machine itself that spent decades cultivating a depoliticized electorate.
jacobin.com
Past Mexican governments often proclaimed their sovereignty while kowtowing to Washington. Yet today the disastrous effects of Donald Trump’s wars are pushing Claudia Sheinbaum’s Mexican government to seek allies further south.
Mexican Sovereignty in the Era of the Donroe Doctrine
US governments have long relied on Mexico as a southern gendarme, even as it proudly declares its sovereignty. Faced with Trumpian imperialism, the challenge for Claudia Sheinbaum’s government is to make that independence more real.
jacobin.com
Yanis Varoufakis has called Big Tech’s overweening power to shape the modern economy “technofeudalism.” Writing for Jacobin, he argues that this isn’t a moral critique but one based in the dynamic of capital accumulation today.
The Marxist Case for the Technofeudal Hypothesis
Yanis Varoufakis has called Big Tech’s overweening power to shape the modern economy “technofeudalism.” Writing for Jacobin, he argues that this isn’t a moral critique but one based in the dynamic of capital accumulation today.
jacobin.com
Centrist Democrats are writing off New York City socialist wins as a fluke reducible to gentrification and low turnout. But it was the Democratic Party machine itself that spent decades cultivating a depoliticized electorate.
New York’s Socialist Victories Can't Be So Easily Dismissed
Centrist Democrats are writing off New York City socialist wins as a fluke reducible to gentrification and low turnout. But it was the Democratic Party machine itself that spent decades cultivating a depoliticized electorate.
jacobin.com
US governments have long relied on Mexico as a southern gendarme, even as it proudly declares its sovereignty. Faced with Trumpian imperialism, the challenge for Claudia Sheinbaum’s government is to make that independence more real.
Mexican Sovereignty in the Era of the Donroe Doctrine
US governments have long relied on Mexico as a southern gendarme, even as it proudly declares its sovereignty. Faced with Trumpian imperialism, the challenge for Claudia Sheinbaum’s government is to make that independence more real.
jacobin.com
The bodies of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner were found on this day in 1964. The trio was murdered by white supremacists in Mississippi.
Liberals struggle to connect with blue-collar workers. How about offering them high-paying jobs with the fringe benefit of fighting climate change?
The Class Divide Haunting Climate Politics
New research confirms that policy messages on climate favored by college-educated liberals often fall flat with working-class Americans. The good news? Workers are favorable to pro-climate policies that speak directly to their everyday material concerns.
jacobin.com
Much Democratic establishment whining about socialists accuses the Left of dark, underhanded methods. The opposite is true: socialists are winning because of a commitment to democratic organizing that centrists are unwilling or unable to do.
Socialists Are Out-Organizing the Democratic Establishment
The Democratic establishment’s hysteria over the Democratic Socialists of America’s organizing methods has it exactly backward: the Democratic Party has almost no ability to democratically organize voters, while DSA is reviving grassroots campaigning.
jacobin.com
The centrist Dem Searchlight Institute’s new health care proposal is far to the right of not just what Bernie Sanders ran on in 2020 but also what Pete Buttigieg ran on in 2020.
Centrist Democrats Keep Making Awful Health Reform Proposals
The centrist Searchlight Institute has released a health care policy proposal with the hope that Democratic candidates will adopt it. The grab bag of policies is internally contradictory and cruel in places — and fails to insure everyone.
jacobin.com
Five union-backed, working-class candidates going by the name of the Blue Collar Brigade are on the ballot in November. Even one or two wins would set a significant precedent, proving that the Bernie Sanders model can work in swing districts.
The Blue Collar Brigade Has the Right Messengers
A slate of union-backed working-class Democratic candidates is running on an economic-populist platform in swing districts. If the Blue Collar Brigade proves successful, their strategy could set a precedent for winning working-class votes.
jacobin.com
Mahmoud Khalil: “When you're wrong on Palestine, that exposes how rotten your politics are. To miss that very clear principle says a lot about who you are and how you would represent your own people.”
Mahmoud Khalil Is Suing the Trump Administration
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was detained and threatened with deportation by the Trump administration for protesting Israel’s genocide. He spoke to Jacobin about why he is now suing the administration.
jacobin.com
If you love movies, this endless parade of superhero movies is exhausting and depressing because it sucks up all the money, talent, energy, and press coverage in the industry. That said, the new “Spider-Man” is fun.
The New Spider-Man Is Pure Fun
The record-breaking Spider-Man: Brand New Day is gleeful, undemanding fun that doesn’t pretend to be anything more. In a superhero monoculture that keeps draining Hollywood of money, talent, and ambition, that’s about the best you can hope for.
jacobin.com
In an interview with Jacobin, former Minister of Culture of Cuba Abel Prieto takes stock of the cultural legacy of the Cuban Revolution.
The Cuban Revolution Was a Revolution in Art and Culture
The Cuban Revolution was not just a transformation of the county’s political-economic order. It was a revolution in culture as well, bringing literacy to the masses and inspiring diverse artistic and intellectual ferment.
jacobin.com
Hardening border controls doesn’t get rid of people’s reasons to migrate. It just makes them more vulnerable, more stigmatized, and more easily blackmailed into accepting poor working conditions.
The Border in Ceuta, Spain, Is Anything but Permissive
When 50,000 people briefly crossed into Ceuta in North Africa, many pundits damned the lax Spanish line on migration. In truth, the hardening of the border around Ceuta since the 1990s has made such desperate attempts to storm the barrier more common.
jacobin.com
New research confirms that policy messages on climate favored by college-educated liberals often fall flat with working-class Americans. The good news? Workers are favorable to pro-climate policies that speak directly to their everyday material concerns.
The Class Divide Haunting Climate Politics
New research confirms that policy messages on climate favored by college-educated liberals often fall flat with working-class Americans. The good news? Workers are favorable to pro-climate policies that speak directly to their everyday material concerns.
jacobin.com
The Democratic establishment’s hysteria over the Democratic Socialists of America’s organizing methods has it exactly backward: the Democratic Party has almost no ability to democratically organize voters, while DSA is reviving grassroots campaigning.
Socialists Are Out-Organizing the Democratic Establishment
The Democratic establishment’s hysteria over the Democratic Socialists of America’s organizing methods has it exactly backward: the Democratic Party has almost no ability to democratically organize voters, while DSA is reviving grassroots campaigning.
jacobin.com
The centrist Searchlight Institute has released a health care policy proposal with the hope that Democratic candidates will adopt it. The grab bag of policies is internally contradictory and cruel in places — and fails to insure everyone.
Centrist Democrats Keep Making Awful Health Reform Proposals
The centrist Searchlight Institute has released a health care policy proposal with the hope that Democratic candidates will adopt it. The grab bag of policies is internally contradictory and cruel in places — and fails to insure everyone.
jacobin.com
A slate of union-backed working-class Democratic candidates is running on an economic-populist platform in swing districts. If the Blue Collar Brigade proves successful, their strategy could set a precedent for winning working-class votes.
The Blue Collar Brigade Has the Right Messengers
A slate of union-backed working-class Democratic candidates is running on an economic-populist platform in swing districts. If the Blue Collar Brigade proves successful, their strategy could set a precedent for winning working-class votes.
jacobin.com
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was detained and threatened with deportation by the Trump administration for protesting Israel’s genocide. He spoke to Jacobin about why he is now suing the administration.
Mahmoud Khalil Is Suing the Trump Administration
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was detained and threatened with deportation by the Trump administration for protesting Israel’s genocide. He spoke to Jacobin about why he is now suing the administration.
jacobin.com
The record-breaking Spider-Man: Brand New Day is gleeful, undemanding fun that doesn’t pretend to be anything more. In a superhero monoculture that keeps draining Hollywood of money, talent, and ambition, that’s about the best you can hope for.
The New Spider-Man Is Pure Fun
The record-breaking Spider-Man: Brand New Day is gleeful, undemanding fun that doesn’t pretend to be anything more. In a superhero monoculture that keeps draining Hollywood of money, talent, and ambition, that’s about the best you can hope for.
jacobin.com
The Cuban Revolution was not just a transformation of the county’s political-economic order. It was a revolution in culture as well, bringing literacy to the masses and inspiring diverse artistic and intellectual ferment.
The Cuban Revolution Was a Revolution in Art and Culture
The Cuban Revolution was not just a transformation of the county’s political-economic order. It was a revolution in culture as well, bringing literacy to the masses and inspiring diverse artistic and intellectual ferment.
jacobin.com
The areas of Kashmir under Pakistani administration are supposed to have political autonomy, but that has long been a sham. The Pakistani authorities have responded to popular protests demanding real democracy with brutal repression.
Pakistani-Ruled Kashmir Is Facing a Brutal State Crackdown
The areas of Kashmir under Pakistani administration are supposed to have political autonomy, but that has long been a sham. The Pakistani authorities have responded to popular protests demanding real democracy with brutal repression.
jacobin.com
When 50,000 people briefly crossed into Ceuta in North Africa, many pundits damned the lax Spanish line on migration. In truth, the hardening of the border around Ceuta since the 1990s has made such desperate attempts to storm the barrier more common.
The Border in Ceuta, Spain, Is Anything but Permissive
When 50,000 people briefly crossed into Ceuta in North Africa, many pundits damned the lax Spanish line on migration. In truth, the hardening of the border around Ceuta since the 1990s has made such desperate attempts to storm the barrier more common.
jacobin.com
James Baldwin was born on this day in 1924. Baldwin was many things: a brilliant writer, a trenchant social critic, a dogged activist. He was also an unapologetic radical.
The areas of Kashmir under Pakistani administration are supposed to have political autonomy, but that has long been a sham. The Pakistani authorities have responded to popular protests demanding real democracy with brutal repression.
Pakistani-Ruled Kashmir Is Facing a Brutal State Crackdown
The areas of Kashmir under Pakistani administration are supposed to have political autonomy, but that has long been a sham. The Pakistani authorities have responded to popular protests demanding real democracy with brutal repression.
jacobin.com
Peru has been home to the world’s most ambitious experiments in participatory democracy. American progressive and democratic socialist mayors should look to them for both inspiration and warning.
Mamdani-Style Mayors Should Study Peru’s Democracy Experiment
Peru has been home to the world’s most ambitious experiments in participatory democracy. American progressive and democratic socialist mayors should look to them for both inspiration and warning.
jacobin.com
Once respectable opinion fretted about distinguishing the “deserving” poor from the “undeserving.” Today, as sentiment against the ultrarich surges, the Economist argues that it is in fact billionaires who deserve our gratitude, sympathy, and protection.
Take a Moment to Feel the Pain of the Rich
Once respectable opinion fretted about distinguishing the “deserving” poor from the “undeserving.” Today, as sentiment against the ultrarich surges, the Economist argues that it is in fact billionaires who deserve our gratitude, sympathy, and protection.
jacobin.com
Critics of Zohran Mamdani’s publicly subsidized grocery store program have lost the plot on what should be the whole point of food policy: to make good food affordable to all.
Zohran Mamdani’s Public Grocery Plan Is a Serious One
A grocery industry expert argues that as our food supply becomes increasingly consolidated, expensive, and even dangerous, socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s publicly subsidized grocery plan takes bold steps to provide good, affordable food.
jacobin.com
The 200,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers, representing USPS workers, has its national convention in Los Angeles next week. Letter carriers angry with the current president seem likely to elect new leadership.
US Mail Carriers Are Poised to Elect New Union Leadership
At next week’s convention for the National Association of Letter Carriers, a 200,000-strong union of US Postal Service mail carriers, a whole ecosystem of reform groups, slates, and podcasters are pushing for a change in leadership.
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