Centrists Aren’t Political Realists. Leftists Are.
Barack Obama’s call for Democrats to stay grounded in “reality” has it backward — it’s centrist liberals who are living in a fantasy world.
440 Article(s) by: Luke Savage
Luke Savage is the author of The Dead Center: Reflections on Liberalism and Democracy After the End of History and a writer on Substack.
Last Night’s Democratic Debate Was Really Bad
The Democratic presidential candidates’ debate last night was overcrowded, light on substance, and somehow both hyperpartisan and boring as hell. Is this what we have to keep suffering through for the rest of the primary?
The Corporate Media’s War Against Bernie Sanders Is Very Real
A new report offers hard evidence for what you already suspected: MSNBC is riding hard against Bernie.
Michael Bloomberg? Now They’re Just Fucking with Us
Michael Bloomberg’s rumored run for the Democratic nomination is about as cartoonish an indictment of America’s two-party system as can possibly be imagined.
There’s No Appeasing Bill Gates
Bill Gates has managed to craft a reputation as a billionaire with a social conscience. But his recent comments on proposals for a wealth tax leave no room for doubt about whose side he’s on.
Beto’s Fifteen Minutes Are Over. And Not a Moment Too Soon.
In less than six months, Beto O’Rourke made the journey from national celebrity to forgettable centrist. We won’t miss him, and neither should you.
Neoliberalism? Never Heard of It
The latest liberal parlor game is pretending there’s no such thing as neoliberalism. The game’s very popularity highlights neoliberalism’s enduring hegemony.
What Canada’s Social Democrats Can Do Now
Despite a disappointing result in Monday’s elections, the NDP has embraced its most socialist program in a generation. To recover and to win, it must continue to offer Canadians an alternative to neoliberalism.
The End of Trudeaumania
Justin Trudeau may be decisively rejected in today’s Canadian election. The race has been shaken up by a surge in support for Jagmeet Singh and his social-democratic NDP, whose left-wing program is what many Canadians thought they were getting when they voted for Trudeau four years ago.
The Mainstream Media’s Palace Guard
In theory, punditry is supposed to offer a forum for political analysis and debate from a range of perspectives. In practice, it’s little more than an exercise in defending the self-serving orthodoxies of a privileged few.
The US Economy Is a System of Plunder
Runaway inequality, regressive taxes, rampant labor exploitation. It’s often said the US economy “isn’t working,” but the truth is that capitalism is a class system that’s working exactly as intended.
Bernie Has Thrown Down the Gauntlet to the Billionaires
Bernie Sanders says billionaires shouldn’t exist — and his unprecedented plan for a wealth tax on the superrich will go a long way toward making that happen.
The Kids Still Love Bernie
Despite the hostility of the pundits, Bernie Sanders still has the most donors, the biggest reach, and the most young people supporting him.
“Polarization” Is a Fact — Get Used to It
Pete Buttigieg is just the latest Democrat to denounce “polarization.” But American society is already divided — and anyone claiming we don’t need to pick a side is already siding with the status quo.
The Red-Tory Philosopher of Canadian Nationalism
George Grant’s eclectic thought made him an unlikely figure in Canadian intellectual life: a Tory philosopher who exerted a profound influence on the 1960s socialist left.
Bernie Sanders Has a Plan — But He’s Also Building a Movement
Bernie Sanders probably does have a plan for that. But he also has something more important: a willingness to name the enemy and mobilize a mass movement to get those plans through.
America Needs a Nonvoter Revolution
Tens of millions of Americans don't vote because they are underrepresented by US political institutions. To get those voters to the polls, we need a politics that puts the needs of the many before the wealth and power of the few.
It’s 2016 All Over Again
Joe Biden is pitching himself as an electable moderate who can beat Donald Trump. We’ve seen this movie before — and we know exactly how it ends.
When Bernie Sanders Did the Joe Rogan Show
Bernie Sanders’s viral appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast — terra incognita for liberal politicians — showcased his unique ability to communicate left-wing values across the ideological divide.
Bernie Against the Beltway
The mainstream media likes to cast Bernie Sanders as a fringe candidate. Yet the data on individual donors don’t lie: across the country, he generates more enthusiasm than any other candidate — at least, outside the Beltway.