Politics
COVID-19 Requires More Democracy, Not Less
We must take very seriously the responsibility to judge our leaders’ policies. When they fail us, we must act as leaders ourselves.
Reclaiming Populism
A political appeal to “the people” is a central element of democratic societies. Can we imagine a revitalized, multiracial populist politics today?
Body Politics
What does solidarity look like when our bodies cannot come together, in public, to agitate for a better world?
Coronavirus and the Politics of Disposability
COVID-19 is having a disproportionate effect among vulnerable populations. As in all U.S. disasters, there will be a tale to tell of who mattered and who was sacrificed.
“Hello, We Are from Wisconsin, and We Are Your Future”
As Wisconsinites are forced to vote during a pandemic, it’s worth recalling the 2011 Wisconsin Uprising, and the valuable lessons that can be gleaned from labor organizing in the face of disaster.
Dying in Jerusalem
The city is running out of graves, and against the backdrop of the Israel–Palestine conflict, burial is often a political matter.
Eight Needed Steps in the Fight Against COVID-19
In addition to masks and ventilators, doctors demand a fundamental transformation of our health care system.
Meet the Bailout’s New Slush Fund
The battle over the bailout—set to be delivered through a once-obscure Treasury Department mechanism called the Exchange Stabilization Fund—has only just begun.
How to Mend Our Broken Electoral Process
We must institute a method of electing a president that is sensitive to the votes of Americans everywhere.
For Whom the Markets Toll
Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geithner, and Henry Paulson still have not reckoned with the failures of neoliberal planning in the wake of the financial crisis.
Designing Better Impeachments
How other countries’ constitutions protect against political free-for-alls.
Missing Zinn
Cornel West opens up about his friendship with Howard Zinn and what he would have made of the last decade.
Uncivil Disobedience in Hong Kong
The protests have been critiqued for their rejection of classic nonviolence—but that may help explain why they has been so successful.
Technology Can’t Fix Algorithmic Injustice
We need greater democratic oversight of AI not just from developers and designers, but from all members of society.
Rambo Politics from Reagan to Trump
Trump invokes a fantasy of poetic justice—positioning himself as Rambo, the avenger of American humiliation abroad.
Getting Counterinsurgency Wrong
Washington Post reporting exposed that U.S. operations in Afghanistan were horribly mismanaged, but even a well-run mission would have been doomed to fail.
Walks in the Park: On the Foreignness of the Socialist Past
December 22 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the overthrow of the Romanian socialist state of Nicolae Ceaușescu. In a work of memoir, Nachescu recalls growing up under communism and wonders about the world Romanians hoped would follow its fall.