JACOBIN

JULY 3. 2025

How Canada Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dysfunction

Canada's democracy is in crisis but that Canadians don't seem to care. What looks like complacency, however, may actually be the result of decades of institutional drift and managed inertia.

Mexico Is Showing the World How to Stand Up to Donald Trump

Donald Trump loves to try to bully Mexico. But President Claudia Sheinbaum is showing the world how to stand up to the MAGA administration without playing into its hands.

JULY 2. 2025

Trump’s Deportation Threat Against Zohran Mamdani Is Shameful

In only half a year of Donald Trump’s presidency, he and his allies have turned deportation into an explicitly political threat against opponents and critics. The latest and most high-profile is Zohran Mamdani.

The Hidden History of Class Struggle in the Roman Empire

Ancient Rome was a rigidly hierarchical society where the ruling elite stigmatized everyone who had to work with their hands. Yet Roman workers still found ways to resist exploitation through strikes and other forms of collective action.

The OAS Caves to US Pressure Yet Again

Rosa María Payá has joined the Organization of American States’ human rights commission, despite backing US sanctions on Cuba, cozying up to far-right leaders, and lacking basic knowledge of international law.

Cautionary Tales From the New Left

In a new memoir, New Left leader Michael Ansara wants to impart lessons from his own time as a campus activist to today’s protesters. But his later role in a corruption scandal that set back Teamsters reform for decades offers its own cautionary lessons.

Amazon Workers Are Confronting Automation-Driven Speedup

Across the US, Amazon delivery stations are being outfitted with robots, allowing the company to hire fewer workers and speed up work for those that remain.

Europe’s Race to Remilitarize Isn’t Just About Trump

NATO’s European members have agreed to massively hike defense spending. The move conforms to Donald Trump’s demands — but also reflects a German-led bid to revive its economy through massive investment in the military.

JULY 1. 2025

Victoria’s Public Sector Union Is Facing a Reform Challenge

For 32 years, the same faction has held leadership in the Victorian branch of Australia’s public service union. The rank-and-file reform group A Voice for Members is now mounting a challenge, saying it wants a more democratic and militant union.

F1 Is a Big, Stupid Hit

Brad Pitt’s F1 is the big, dumb racing movie America’s been waiting for. If you can stomach the sports movie clichés, you’ll probably have a good time.

Philadelphia’s Blue-Collar Municipal Workforce Is on Strike

AFSCME District Council 33 represents the blue-collar city workers who make Philadelphia run. After sacrificing through the pandemic and years of bruising inflation, they say they’re on strike so they can afford to live in the city they serve.

In Memphis, Elon Musk Pilots a Corporate Takeover Strategy

To build Colossus, Elon Musk’s pollution-spewing AI data center in Memphis, Musk used gag orders to silence city officials and bypass input from residents, whose asthma rates have since soared. Now Musk wants to take this strategy national.

The Israel Lobby Keeps Falling Flat on Its Face

Zohran Mamdani’s win wasn’t the only race last week or even in the past few years where pro-Israel money and arguments failed. The Israel lobby’s power rests on appearing more fearsome than it actually is.

JUNE 30. 2025

The National Guard’s History of Violent Labor Repression

Donald Trump recently commandeered California’s National Guard to repress anti-ICE protests in LA. The National Guard has a long history of being deployed to break up protests and strikes, including violent repression of strikes by immigrant workers.