JACOBIN

SEPTEMBER 10. 2025

$1-a-Day Jobs and the Logic of the New Immigrant Crackdown

Immigration raids and detention aren’t just political theater — they supply corporations with cheap, captive labor and help roll back protections for all workers. Behind the language of border security lies coerced labor that echoes the convict lease era.

Labor’s Crisis Is Not a PR Problem

Union approval is at historic highs, yet density keeps falling. The problem isn’t messaging but the lack of strategy that can turn popularity into power.

The Case for America With Some Chinese Characteristics

China and the US are currently locked in a dangerous rivalry, but things don’t have to be this way. We spoke to Dan Wang, the author of a new book which argues the two nations should learn from one another.

This Genocide Belongs to Britain, Too

Not just Israel’s leaders are responsible for the genocide but also all those who support them. The Gaza Tribunal held in London last week heard evidence of direct British government involvement in Israel’s crimes.

SEPTEMBER 9. 2025

The World Is About to Have Trillionaires. Enough Already.

Elon Musk is poised to become the world’s first trillionaire. Still, liberals are hand-wringing about the potential pitfalls of wealth redistribution. In truth, we should have stopped the rise of the economic superelite long ago. Better late than never.

José Martí Inspired Cuba’s Fight for True Independence

José Martí spent much of his short life outside Cuba, preparing a struggle to liberate his country from Spanish colonialism. The ideas and example of Martí would inspire a second struggle against US neocolonial domination after his death.

Universities Are Selling Themselves Off Piece by Piece

American higher ed has become a mesh of corporate contracts and outsourced services. From dining halls to student records, private vendors now run many institutions’ most basic operations — atomizing workers and undermining the university’s public mission.

Volunteer Witnesses Are Key to Defending Immigrant Rights

Donald Trump is trying to criminalize the practice of volunteers accompanying immigrants to their court proceedings. Why? Because it works to prevent rights violations. The best way for citizens to show up for noncitizens is to literally show up.

What We Can Learn From Nordic Socialism

A new book by Danish MP Pelle Dragsted argues that socialists can start building economic democracy even before capitalism is fully overcome.

It’s Time for Emmanuel Macron’s Administration to End

Every few months, French president Emmanuel Macron appoints a new government, without his prime ministers ever winning a real base of support. The fundamental problem is the president himself and a dogmatic austerity agenda, which most French people reject.

SEPTEMBER 8. 2025

Trump’s Military Occupation of Chicago Won’t Bring Safety

Residents of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods need investment in their well-being, not humvees patrolling them like a military occupation, writes Chicago city council member Rossana Rodriguez.

Zohran Mamdani Takes Up Bernie Sanders’s Torch

Bernie Sanders clearly sees the future of his movement in Zohran Mamdani, who is now poised to become the next mayor of New York City. In inheriting Sanders’s movement, Mamdani inherits a daunting set of questions and challenges.

Chicago vs. Trump’s Takeover

Chicago is attempting to model resistance to Donald Trump’s looming authoritarian military occupation of its streets.

Zohran Mamdani: “New York City Is Not for Sale”

At a Brooklyn town hall with Bernie Sanders on Saturday, Zohran Mamdani recounted how Bernie “gave me the language of democratic socialism to describe my politics” and called on supporters to keep organizing after Election Day. We reproduce his speech here.