Don’t Settle for Opportunity
'Equality of opportunity' is meaningless. Lacking opportunity isn’t our problem — we just need equality.
441 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.
We Can Do Way Better Than These Guys
Beto, Buttigieg, and Biden all come from the same mold — they're empty suits and poll-tested brands. We can and should demand something better.
Art for the 99 Percent
Rich kids are way more likely to grow up to be artists. And that's because capitalism doesn't give us all the freedom to reach our creative potentials.
Remembering the Battle of Wood Green
Forty-two years ago today, antifascists beat back a violent, far-right mob that had descended on a diverse neighborhood of North London. Among the antifascist organizers was a young Labour councillor named Jeremy Corbyn.
Democratic Insiders Are Right to Be Afraid of Bernie Sanders
Party elites and big donors aren’t afraid of Bernie Sanders losing to Trump. They’re afraid he’ll win.
Democrats Are Failing Ilhan Omar
Trump is determined to vilify Ilhan Omar and Muslim Americans in general. Democrats have failed to unequivocally defend them.
The Diffidence of a Liberal
The arc of Paul Krugman’s thinking shows the paradox of liberal reformism constrained by a conservative understanding of the possible.
Liberalism’s Hollow Partisans
In 2016 we learned that for some liberals, the best time to push for fundamental change is never. In 2020, we can expect more of the same.
The Real Working Class Is Invisible to the Media
The media doesn’t talk much about working-class America. But when it does, it mainly has one thing to say about it: that it’s entirely white, male, and very right-wing. All those things are lies.
Canada in the Age of Working-Class Power
In the 1970s, Canada’s working class was at the height of its power, combining shop-floor militancy, political ambition, and intellectual confidence. Canada’s liberal elites, led by Pierre Trudeau, were determined to crush it.
With Beto O’Rourke, There’s No There There
The stakes are too high in 2020 for another charismatic, ideologically empty politician, standing for everything and nothing in particular, like Beto O'Rourke.
Abolish the Billionaire Class
Billionaires are the grotesque products of an exploitative, immoral economic system. We should get rid of them.
America Is an Oligarchy. It Doesn’t Have to Be.
Just three men have more wealth than 160 million Americans. We're ruled by a rigged system designed to exploit the many for the benefit of the few.
The Purgatory of Canadian Social Democracy
If Canada’s NDP is to have a future, it needs to rediscover its militancy.
Nancy Pelosi, Which Side Are You On?
Nancy Pelosi and the rest of institutional liberalism has to decide whether they're on the side of working people or health insurance companies.
The “Affordability” Hustle
Mainstream Democrats love to talk about making things like health care and education more affordable. They should be talking about making them free.
Wow, Another Centrist Maverick
Exciting news: burnt coffee magnate Howard Schultz wants to make an independent run for president. Americans may finally get the common-sense, bipartisan solutions they’ve been yearning for!
Aaron Sorkin’s Road to Nowhere
Aaron Sorkin wants to give Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advice. Yet The West Wing creator’s worldview remains a vision of liberalism at its hollowest and most ineffective.
Who Will Be the American Justin Trudeau?
With a restless Democratic base leaning left, party centrists are looking for their Justin Trudeau — a candidate who will seem progressive while preserving the status quo.
Privatizing Morality
Individual acts of holiday charity by the rich are a hustle. Real altruism is collective.