Ever since the PSOE and Unidas Podemos formed a governing coalition in January, Spain’s right-wing opposition has denied its democratic legitimacy. Calls for police mutiny and resistance against the COVID-19 lockdown show how the Spanish right is imitating its Latin American counterparts, seeking to create a climate of chaos that can bring down the government.
Our spring issue, “Pandemic Politics,” is out now. Get a discounted subscription today!
Expect More Military “Liberal Interventionism” Under a Joe Biden Presidency
The liberal establishment is desperate to return a centrist to the White House in November and reestablish the country’s more stable military dominance of the world order, disrupted only briefly by Donald Trump. Joe Biden’s terrible track record on foreign policy — including his championing of war in Iraq — suggests a return to Obama-style strong military interventions abroad.
When State Intervention Saves “the Economy,” but Not You
China’s response to the pandemic has sharply contrasted with Trump’s, with a far stronger public health response in China but little aid for the poorest. Both countries’ responses to the crisis show that a strong state doesn’t stand in contradiction with neoliberalism — rather, it’s a key element of it.
Argentina’s Dictatorship Was Not a “Dirty War.” It Was State Terrorism.
Argentina’s 1976–1983 military dictatorship relied on widespread torture and disappearances to eradicate all political opponents, real or imagined. Seeking to conceal the junta regime’s one-sided terror, the Right still refers to those years as a “dirty war.” But the only accurate way to describe the dictatorship is as a period of “state terrorism.”
The Pandemic Won’t Stop Climate Chaos — That Will Require Changing Our Economic System
The COVID-19 lockdown has resulted in a drastic short-term fall in carbon emissions. Without structural change, however, we’re still on a disastrous trajectory. To avoid calamity, we need to transform our economic system.
- Issue No. 37 out now!
- Spring 2020
Pandemic Politics
In this issue
No Act of God
Hurricanes, pandemics, and droughts are acts of God. Private markets in housing, health care, and food — and the resulting deaths — are not.
Political organizing is hard — political education shouldn’t have to be. We’re now offering our ABCs of Capitalism series as free ebooks.
Yes, Power Corrupts. That’s Why Socialists Want to Democratize Society
It’s a common refrain that socialists are naïve, unrealistic dreamers. But precisely the opposite is true: we know that power corrupts, so we want to democratize all spheres of society.
Mass Protests Have Forced Some Cities to Repeal Anti-Protester Curfews
After brutal police violence failed to stop huge protests against the murder of George Floyd, governments across the country imposed curfews in an attempt to curtail dissent. But protesters have defied the restrictions in mass numbers — and in some cities, forced elected leaders to repeal the curfews.
How We Should Remember D-Day and the Struggle Against Nazism
On the 76th anniversary of D-Day, to honor those who perished in the struggle against fascism, we could do little better than to combat imperial hubris wherever we find it, including at home.
A Chicago Bus Driver Says He Was Retaliated Against for His Opposition to Transporting Police to Protests
A Chicago bus driver alleges in a new lawsuit that when he tried to discuss opposing the transport of police to protests with his coworkers, the Chicago Transit Authority retaliated against him. If the allegations are true, they’re an attack on the First Amendment and the ability of workers to organize.
Longtime social movements scholar Frances Fox Piven on organizing the unemployed under coronavirus, where the Bernie Sanders movement goes from here, and why breaking rules and disrupting business as usual are central to making social change.
Why Bill de Blasio Is Such a Schmuck
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio claims he wants to change the most unjust policies of American life in the 21st century. The problem is, he is instinctively hostile to the protests and grassroots organizing necessary to win such change.
The Jobs Report Was Good, but the Economy Is Still Bad
The May jobs report showing a drop in the unemployment rate shouldn’t have been a surprise, with many states having lifted their shutdowns. But if Congress uses the report to excuse not passing another stimulus — especially one that includes relief for state and local governments — the economy could face a collapse.
We Must Defund the Police Now
The reforms that have been pushed by presidents and police chiefs, mayors and city councils in response to the horrifying, unending stream of blatant police brutality and police murder have failed and will continue failing. The police aren’t going to get any nicer — we must defund them, full stop.
Trump’s Plan to Use the Military to “Dominate” American Cities Must Be Stopped
Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians like Sen. Tom Cotton are beating the drums to ramp up the authoritarian brutality already on display all across the country by staging an actual military invasion of American cities. If we don’t stop them, the results will be dire.