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Artificial Intelligence

Of Shoes and Men

Russia’s War Is a Failed Answer to Its Demographic Crisis

For decades, Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia is on the path to extinction. His war has killed untold numbers of people — but it’s also an attempt to force millions of people into Russian citizenship.

A 32-Hour Workweek Is Long Overdue

Bernie Sanders is calling for a reduction in the workweek to 32 hours, at full-time pay. He’s absolutely right. Gains in productivity should serve the working class.

How the Alternative für Deutschland Radicalized the German Right

Ten years since its creation, the Alternative für Deutschland has established itself as a constant presence in Germany’s parliament. Now, it’s challenging the Christian Democrats — and seeking to tear down the historic barriers to the far right.

Canada’s Largest-Ever Strike Against a Sole Employer Is Underway

Setting up 250 picket lines across the country, 155,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have gone on strike. The walkout, the country’s largest strike ever against a sole employer, is a fight against inflation eroding wages into a pay cut.

We Must Not Ignore the Ongoing Plight of International Students in Ukraine

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the EU granted asylum to millions of Ukrainian refugees. However, international students and other non-Ukrainians caught in the conflict have struggled to receive similar protection.

The Constitution Is a Plutocratic Document

There’s no reason to venerate the framers of the US Constitution. The document they created was explicitly designed to check the democratic will of ordinary people and protect the plutocratic interests of the propertied elite.

How a Marketing Agency Is Using Farmer Protests to Take Over Dutch Politics

The Farmer-Citizen Movement topped last month’s Dutch elections, claiming to stand up for overlooked rural populations. Yet the party is really a creation of a marketing agency — and its political agenda is a call to allow multinationals to go on polluting.

Spain’s Labor Minister, Yolanda Díaz, Is Working to Rebuild the Left

Spain’s labor minister, Yolanda Díaz, is a Communist — and her success restoring workplace protections has made her the country’s most popular politician. Now her new electoral platform Sumar is trying to use that popularity to revitalize the Spanish left.

Texas Was Once a Hotbed of Socialism

In the early 1900s heyday of the Socialist Party, Texas boasted a vibrant state party that attracted oppressed farmers in droves. The Texas Socialists promoted both land reform and labor rights — and forged a powerful farmer-labor bloc that reshaped US politics.

To Understand the Upcoming Republican Primary, Follow the Dark Money

The operative leading Ron DeSantis’s super PAC is closely associated with conservative activist Leonard Leo, the beneficiary of the largest dark money donation in US history. But Leo’s not putting all his eggs in one basket for the 2024 presidential election.

The Sources of Inflation Have Shifted. The Fed Needs to Take Note.

Over the past year, the sources of inflation have shifted dramatically: rather than rapid income growth, the main driver now is a lull in productivity growth — a problem the Fed’s interest rate hikes can’t do anything to solve and that is probably temporary anyway.

Republicans Have Named Their Price to Raise the Debt Ceiling

Tax leniency for the rich and austerity for workers and young people are standard Republican fare. What’s notable this time is using government default as leverage for those tax breaks and austerity. If the GOP pulls it off, it will set a frightening precedent.

In Chicago, Expect the Police to Make Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Life Very Difficult

When politicians threaten police power, police often take matters into their own hands, frequently causing social chaos by refusing to perform basic duties. That’s likely to occur in Chicago. In fact, it might be happening already.

Will a Socialist Lead Austria’s Social Democrats Again?

Austria’s Social Democrats are welcoming a wave of new members, after left-winger Andreas Babler announced his candidacy to become party leader. His declared goal: to make the Social Democrats a workers’ party again.

Plant Closures Are the Tip of the Auto Companies’ Anti-Worker Spear

Plant closures are one of automakers’ most brutal tools to discipline the workforce. The UAW’s new reform leadership will have to lead a fight against such closures to reverse the decades of concessions forced upon workers.

Donald Trump’s NFTs Are the Perfect Symbol of American Capitalism in 2023

I bet you thought you were done hearing about non-fungible tokens. Well, Trump is bringing them back. The former president has never met a scam he didn’t love, and what’s a better scam than NFTs?