Within the left, debates rage over whether we should focus on race, class, or gender as the primary form of oppression today. Josh Fattal points to the writings of CLR James and Raya Dunaevskaya as a way out of the conundrum: they saw the struggles of one oppressed group acting as spores for spreading revolt … Continued
While inaction seems to be the order of the day, at some point those in power may take measures against global warming—and the ecological and social effects of those measures may be alarming. What should the left advocate and struggle for? Environmental historian Troy Vettese discusses the idea of rewilding half the earth by replacing … Continued
The experience of trans people has burst into the mainstream in the last decade, although the struggles of gender variant people are nothing new. Jack Halberstam talks about the politics of categorization, generational differences, radical vs. single-issue politics, and anti-trans feminism. Resources: Jack Halberstam, Trans* A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability UC Press, … Continued
The proponents of cultured meat — meat grown in a laboratory — argue that it not only will put an end of the suffering of animals, but could lead us into a world free of the global warming-effects of industrialized animal agriculture. Benjamin Wurgaft discusses how the hopes for cultured meat refract many competing visions … Continued
When we on the left talk about the plight of the Palestinians, we usually talk about land – and rightly so. The dispossession of the Palestinians of their land has been a central element of the project of Israeli settler colonialism. But often what is forgotten is the question of Palestinian labor, its fundamental role … Continued
Coca-Cola is the most ubiquitous of American brands, the symbol of American capitalism and culture internationally, for better and for worse. It’s been a stand-in for American modernity and a lightening rod for global opposition to US corporate and cultural hegemony. Amanda Ciafone discusses the material and immaterial products of Coca-Cola — and the resistance … Continued
If I asked you to picture a digital activist, I’d wager that you’d envision a progressive. But sociologist Jen Schradie says that’s misguided. In fact, the typical profile of an internet activist is a conservative. Schradie discusses the internet and the left and right. Resources: Jen Schradie, The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors … Continued
The struggle at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline brought international attention to the resistance of Native peoples against the destruction of the environment. But that resistance has been going on for centuries. Dina Gilio-Whitaker discusses why ecological struggles have been central to Native struggles — and the complicated relationship between the US environmental … Continued
Innovation, grit, creativity, flexibility, choice — these words are ubiquitous in US society and yet, according to John Patrick Leary, they’re not neutral. Leary weighs in on the language of 21st century capitalism and how certain keywords are a slippery way to avoid calling thing what they are. Resources: John Patrick Leary, Keywords: The New … Continued
What does Karl Marx’s masterwork Capital have in common with Dante’s Inferno? And more importantly, what can the book — which was partly written in debate with the socialist movements of its time — teach us today? William Clare Roberts reflects on Capital, Marx, and the importance of the idea of freedom for him. (Encore … Continued
