Inspired by Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York and building their own electoral powerhouse, LA’s socialists recently deliberated on whether to weigh in on their city’s mayoral race. The questions confronting the movement are a sign of its growing power.
Socialists Are Cornering Hochul on Taxing the Rich
The movement for taxes on the rich in New York just scored its first goal against Kathy Hochul. And they say they’re not stopping there.
Victor Serge Was One of the Great Revolutionary Writers
Victor Serge lived through a remarkable sequence of revolutionary upheavals before dying in Mexican exile at the age of 56. Serge’s life and work, caught between hope and despair, can help us understand Europe’s turbulent 20th century.
Dockworkers Against Russia’s and Israel’s Wars
In Sweden, workers boycotted Russian ships in response to the invasion of Ukraine, and then did the same for Israel’s arms trade. Their action shows the power of working-class solidarity against militarism.
Dance Marathons Were the Forerunners of Today’s Reality TV
The dance marathons of the Great Depression have gone down in legend as a way of turning desperate people into fodder for exploitative entertainment. The spirit of the marathons is alive and well in the contemporary world of reality TV.
Under capitalism, technological “progress” like AI systematically deskills workers, deepens managerial control, and turns the labor process into a site of conflict rather than liberation. This is by design.
Zohran Mamdani and the Left Made Kathy Hochul Tax the Rich
In New York City, a tax on superexpensive second homes is a victory for Zohran Mamdani and the socialist movement and should mark the beginning of a larger project of redistribution.
No, Western Marxism Wasn’t a CIA Plot
Gabriel Rockhill’s polemic against Western Marxism seeks to condemn a set of postwar left-wing intellectuals such as Herbert Marcuse. Heavy on innuendo but light on evidence, the result is more like a show trial than a serious political indictment.
The Hollow Crown of ChatGPT’s Head Honcho
Sam Altman may be the reigning king of the AI boom, but the story that matters isn’t his rise or fall. The sector will still demand scale, speed, and the right to run roughshod over the pesky public interest, no matter who wears the industry crown.
Outcome Is Jonah Hill’s Inept Hollywood Satire
Jonah Hill’s new Apple TV Hollywood satire, Outcome, wants to skewer celebrity culture. But even with the likable Keanu Reeves, its muddled script and self‑pitying subtext reveal more about the industry’s narcissism than the film ever intended.
Neoliberalism didn’t win an intellectual argument — it won power. Vivek Chibber unpacks how employers and political elites in the 1970s and ’80s turned economic turmoil into an opportunity to reshape society on their terms.
What Viktor Orbán’s Downfall Hasn’t Settled
In Hungary’s election, Péter Magyar rallied urban white-collar workers, business figures excluded from state patronage networks, intellectuals, and youth. It’s much less clear that his new government can satisfy all these groups’ expectations.
Why the Rich Should Get Free Public Childcare Too
Critics see Zohran Mamdani’s inclusion of the wealthy in his new free public childcare initiative as a flaw. It’s actually an integral part of the policy’s design, rooted in the fact that universal programs are far more enduring than means-tested ones.
Will More Warehouses Burn?
A California logistics worker allegedly burned down a 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse in anger over low pay. The billionaire class may have to learn the hard way: you can only pack so much pressure into a deeply unequal system before it blows.
Mexico Is Going All In for Universal Health Care
Mexico’s new national health system aims to provide universal care. At a moment when US taxpayer dollars are being harnessed to destroy health care infrastructure abroad, Mexico is attempting to make a constitutional right to care into a lived reality.