Against the Grain

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Lobbying group, aggressive litigator, political power broker, and media campaigner: the US Chamber of Commerce is all that and more. Yet its tremendous influence does not get the attention it merits, promoting corporate interests on behalf of anonymous donor companies. Journalist Alyssa Katz reflects on the immense power of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — … Continued


Against the Grain

Capitalist Development in the San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area is a key site of capital accumulation in the U.S. — and the world — for reasons that are historically and geographically specific. Marxist geographer Richard Walker reflects on what the Bay Area tells us about capitalist development, housing, suburban sprawl, inequality, libertarian ideology, and capitalism itself. He discusses booms … Continued


Against the Grain

Globalization’s Impact on Ideology

According to Manfred Steger, globalization is destabilizing traditional political ideologies like liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. Steger proposes a framework for understanding and describing the changing ideological landscape, one that places major ideological systems and tendencies into categories like “market globalism,” “religious globalism,” and “justice globalism.” For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org.