Identity Crisis
The global left has moved away from social class as an organizing identity, allowing the Right to peddle a working-class identity politics untethered from the socialist vision.
249 Article(s) by: David Broder
David Broder is Jacobin’s Europe editor and a historian of French and Italian communism.
Marine Le Pen Sets the Agenda for France’s Government
In the name of constructive opposition, Marine Le Pen has issued her conditions for tolerating new prime minister Michel Barnier. Her party wants to show it’s ready for high office — but is vaguer about its stance on Barnier’s austerity plans.
The Damage Gerry Healy Wrought
Head of one of the biggest far-left groups in 1970s Britain, Gerry Healy was accused of rape and sexual abuse. A new biography reflects on the swamp from which he emerged — and how his group’s authoritarian model facilitated his crimes.
In Today’s Russia, Dissent Means Keeping Hope Alive
In Russia, signs of opposition to the war in Ukraine haven’t developed into a mass movement. State repression has closed off the avenues of mass politics, forcing dissidents into mainly symbolic protests.
Michel Barnier Is in Office, Marine Le Pen Will Hold Power
Emmanuel Macron has appointed Michel Barnier as France’s prime minister, after securing Marine Le Pen’s agreement. The creation of a government reliant on her blessing is another step in the far right’s march toward power.
Emmanuel Macron Is Refusing to Allow the Left to Govern
Emmanuel Macron has ruled out appointing a government led by the biggest force in parliament, the left-wing New Popular Front. His refusal confirms a case long made by the Left: it’s time to get rid of the French president’s monarchical powers.
We Who Plowed the Prairies
Pastoral visions of farmwork don’t square with the reality of what it means to live in rural areas today.
Emmanuel Macron Has Handed Victory to the Far Right
Marine Le Pen’s allies celebrated a major advance in the opening round of France’s elections. Emmanuel Macron’s snap election gamble was a miscalculation — but the far right’s rise is also a product of his whole presidency.
Europe’s Center Is Holding — by Integrating the Far Right
This weekend’s European elections saw a swing to the right, including big gains for anti-immigration parties. In most cases, far-right forces have abandoned calls to leave the EU — but they are increasingly able to set the bloc’s own agenda.
Spain’s Socialist Party Has Survived but Is Still in Danger
Spain’s Socialist Party is Europe’s strongest center-left force, easily winning last Sunday’s Catalan elections. But it’s gaining at the expense of its own coalition partners, whose weakness risks bringing Pedro Sánchez’s broad-left government to its knees.
Paul Mason, Please Stop It
British journalist Paul Mason has announced plans to run for election in Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency. It’s the culmination of Mason’s war with his former comrades — and it’s important that he is defeated.
First Water, Then Wine
Spiritual needs are more likely to be satiated if the basics — food, clothing, shelter, and employment — are met first.
“Debt Is to Capitalism What Hell Is to Christianity”
A new series with Yanis Varoufakis explains how elites used the financial crisis to terrorize Europe’s populations into submission. In an interview, he tells Jacobin why the anti-austerity movement failed and why the center is converging with the far right.
St Valentine’s Hometown Has Fallen Out of Love With the Left
Each February 14, tourists flock to Terni, Italy, hometown of third-century martyr Saint Valentine. Yet Terni’s “city of love” identity is itself rather new, as politicians seek tourist dollars to replace its once-mighty steelworks.
Italy’s Far-Right Government Is Relitigating World War II
Far-right Italian premier Giorgia Meloni likes to claim her party has “left fascism in the past.” Yet the announcement of a new museum honoring Italian victims of Yugoslav partisans represents a disturbing attempt to rewrite the history of World War II.
African Unity Can’t Take Place on France’s Terms
Last Sunday, the military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger quit West African economic union ECOWAS. It’s a major blow to the regional integration project — and a rebuke to Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to interfere in France’s former colonies.
France’s Tractor Protesters Have Reason to Be Angry
As protesting farmers drive their tractors toward Paris, many in the media speak of a rural revolt. But not all farmers are on the same side, as ordinary producers complain of being crushed by unequal subsidies and factory farms who skirt environmental rules.
France’s Change of Prime Minister Won’t Revive Emmanuel Macron’s Government
Emmanuel Macron has appointed 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as France’s new prime minister. The bid to give his government a new progressive face suffers one big problem: French people haven’t forgotten its deeply anti-social record.
Giorgia Meloni and Rishi Sunak’s Anti-Migrant Line Is the New Mainstream
Giorgia Meloni and Rishi Sunak’s extremist views on immigration are quickly finding foothold among European centrists, in a desperate, xenophobic attempt to create political blocs ahead of the European elections in June.
Marine Le Pen’s Far Right Is Netanyahu-Washing Its Antisemitism
Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National claims to be a “shield for Jews,” even though the party promotes antisemitic theories. Dividing Jews into “good” Israeli nationalists and “bad” cosmopolitans produces a modern revival of an old antisemitism.