Trusted, impartial and independent? Or largely unaccountable and part of the Establishment? Sociologist Tom Mills considers the evidence on the enormously influential British Broadcasting Corporation or BBC, which is much revered by progressives in the United States and elsewhere. Resources: Tom Mills, The BBC: Myth of a Public Service Verso, 2020
After the disaster of Donald Trump, many are hoping that Biden will usher in a new day. But when it comes to U.S. policy in Latin America, Biden represents more continuity than rupture. Historian Kevin Young discusses U.S. power and neoliberal capitalism south of the border. Resources: Kevin A. Young, “Smarter Empire” Sidecar, March 8, … Continued
White-collar professionals dominate the liberal left. They’re a convenient target of the right, which demonizes its opponents as privileged Prius-driving, latte-sipping coastal elites. But Catherine Liu argues that such professionals, as a class, impede genuinely radical social change. She posits that the class biases of the Professional Managerial Class often influence progressive politics away from … Continued
Cultural and media workers have a disproportionate impact on how other workers see themselves and the world they live in, whether it’s by selling them something or presenting them with dissenting views. As historian Shannan Clark argues, there was a time when a great many cultural workers saw consumption itself as a political act. Such … Continued
In a society that devalues ideas, perhaps it’s not surprising that the thought processes of children receive little interest. Yet, as psychologist Susan Engel argues, children are constantly constructing ideas, often collaboratively, although this impulse is frequently dampened by the wider world. And she suggests that we ignore the mental processes of children at our … Continued
People of color — whether welfare recipients or immigrants — are routinely characterized in the United States as shiftless, even parasitic, and not deserving of the social supports of the state. Ethnic Studies scholar Daniel Martinez HoSang argues that in recent years, as the social safety net has been chopped away, the right has branded … Continued
Most of us have a growing sense that something’s deeply wrong with the way that digital data is used to track and monitor us. But most of us don’t realize that the poorest among us are particularly vulnerable. Virginia Eubanks argues that such data is used to criminalize and turn the poor away from public … Continued
Many who are concerned with the unfolding climate emergency have pinned great hope on the election of Joe Biden and Democratic control of the Senate. But, as sociologist Richard Lachmann observes, progressive expectations of Democrat politicians have been regularly dashed. He argues that a different approach to forcing elites into action is more effective: combining … Continued
What are the origins of modern conservatism? The failed Goldwater campaign? Or the Cold War era discontent of midwestern small capitalists? Historian Kathryn Olmsted argues that it should be located even earlier, in the intense and massive labor unrest that took place in the fields of California in the 1930s. The response by growers and … Continued
It’s easy to view the last 250 or even 600 years as a period of an ascendant capitalism, conquering everything in its wake. But the work of historian Peter Linebaugh reminds us that resistance was present from the birth of capitalism and that working class movements for a better world have profoundly shaped our histories. … Continued
