Lessons From Chicago’s Left, Two Years in Power
With Zohran Mamdani on the cusp of victory in New York City, the Left should learn from the ups and downs of embattled Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson.
111 Article(s) by: Daniel Denvir
Page 1 of 6Next
Daniel Denvir is the author of All-American Nativism and the host of The Dig on Jacobin Radio.
How Socialism Won in NYC’s Mayoral Primary
Zohran Mamdani is a longtime member of New York City Democratic Socialists of America, and the organization played a key role in his victory. We spoke to NYC DSA’s cochairs about how it happened.
From Civil Wars to Neoliberalism in Central America
The end of the bloody, US-backed civil wars across Central America led to a brutal neoliberal economic restructuring near the turn of the century — which then helped produce the 21st-century authoritarianism of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele.
Oligarchy, Empire, and Revolution in Central America
There is a direct line in Central America stretching back more than a century from US-backed military intervention, to support of reactionary oligarchies, to devastating neoliberal restructuring, to the migration crisis now exploited in US politics.
Why Is the US Still Backing Israeli Genocide?
Over nine months since October 7, Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza continues — and the US is still aiding and abetting it. Jacobin spoke with two pro-Palestine activists about the movement for Palestine in the US and its prospects for changing American policy.
How Alabama Communists Organized in the Jim Crow South
In 1930s Alabama, Communist Party members fought brutal repression to organize black and white workers in the Jim Crow South. Their efforts remain a source of inspiration for those fighting racism and exploitation today.
Revisiting Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire
In The Eighteenth Brumaire, Karl Marx analyzes revolution and reaction in mid-19th-century France to blistering effect. His appraisals offer enduring lessons on revolution, class dynamics, and the perpetual tussle with the bonds of history.
Ayn Rand Had a Fragile Ego, Incoherent Ideas, and Bad Taste
Ayn Rand believed that the path to social harmony ran through the inferior masses’ acceptance of brutal rule by their natural superiors. Her perspective was wrong, and its implications were just as grim and nasty as her atrocious personality.
Why the Far Right Rules Modi’s India
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, the electoral arm of a Hindu nationalist movement, represents the largest and most organized far-right force on the planet. To understand its rise, we must look to India’s 20th-century history.
Germany and Israel
Germany’s anti-antisemitism has failed to achieve its purported aim. Instead it has given license to proxy Israeli nationalism, fueled a rise in xenophobia, and compounded the challenge of addressing genuine antisemitism.
How the West Remade the Middle East
Western media often characterizes the Middle East as a region eternally riven with sectarian conflicts. In an interview, historian Ussama Makdisi says this is wrong, starting with the fact that the region has a rich history of multiethnic coexistence.
The Iraq War Remade the World in Its Grisly Image
The 2003 invasion of Iraq has been swept to the margins of collective memory. We must refuse to forget it — and seek to understand what led to it, who benefited, who suffered, and how it transformed the world.
The Vatican’s History of Vicious Anti-Communism
Modern European history is sometimes told as a story of growing secularization. But the Catholic Church played a central role in 20th-century Europe as one of the main purveyors of anti-communism and a frequent ally of far-right reaction.
The Libertarians Who Dream of a World Without Democracy
The late 20th century saw the creation of special economic zones that free capitalists from the normal constraints of popular sovereignty. This went hand in hand with the rise of radical libertarian ideologies proposing to do away with democracy entirely.
America’s Origin Story Is a Myth
The foundational myths of the United States celebrate the conquest of the frontier as the creation of a nation founded on principles of equality. Nick Estes thinks it’s time Americans grappled with the truth.
How the Ruling Class Became Vulgar
Old-money WASPs once ruled America with an air of clannish exclusivity. Then the economic crises of the 1970s upended their world, opening the corporate floodgates to new-money barbarians — and replacing elite social norms with wanton money lust.
China’s Economy Dodged Neoliberal Shock Therapy — and Boomed
In the 1980s, as China sought to introduce markets into its economy, an internal debate roiled over whether to liberalize prices gradually or all at once. It rejected the free-market shock therapy option, and challenged neoliberal orthodoxy in the process.
What Yemen’s Houthis Want
In a wide-ranging interview, Yemen scholar Helen Lackner examines the Houthis’ politics, their support for Palestine, and the long history of a country torn by civil war.
Pro-Market Third Way Policies Caused Electoral Disaster
Sociologist Stephanie L. Mudge examines how and why center-left parties across the world swallowed the neoliberal gospel — only to demolish their own social base.
China Miéville on The Communist Manifesto’s Enduring Power
In an interview, author China Miéville explains why Marx and Engels’s Communist Manifesto is such a remarkable work, defending the book against its detractors and arguing that it remains urgently inspiring and deeply relevant.