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?

Abortions Don’t Drain Hospital Resources

A doctor’s case against COVID-19 abortion bans.

COVID-19 and the Revival of the “Welfare Queen” Myth

Conservatives have long been sounding the alarm about “undeserving” people receiving public assistance.

An End to Totalitarianism

On the role government should play in times of crisis.

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.

Taxing the Superrich

For the sake of justice and democracy, we need a progressive wealth tax.

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.

Debtors of the World, Unite!

Debt’s ubiq­uity is a burden, but also an opportunity.

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.

Taxing the Superrich

For the sake of justice and democracy, we need a progressive wealth tax.

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.

How Not to Do Activism

The calculus of power isn’t defined by hits or clicks or tweets. It is measured in relationships and meaningful reactions over time.

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