JACOBIN

FEBRUARY 21. 2025

Zohran Mamdani: How Much Does NYU Langone Owe New York City?

A wealthy hospital system is caving to Donald Trump on LGBTQ and immigrant rights, writes socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — while receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks from the city.

FEBRUARY 20. 2025

The Communist International’s Failure Still Haunts the Left

Although it ended in tragic defeat, the Communist International was one of the most ambitious exercises in transnational political activism ever conceived. Its rise and fall gives us a crucial window into the history of the 20th century.

Tech Workers Can Still Fight Silicon Valley’s Overlords

Don’t let the AI of it all fool you — tech workers can still bring Silicon Valley to a halt.

Bob Dylan’s Newport Performance Was a Great Political Drama

Bob Dylan’s legendary 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival takes center stage in the new biopic A Complete Unknown. To really make sense of what happened at Newport, you need to understand the link between US folk music and left-wing politics.

Trump Is Ripping Off America and Calling It Anti-“Woke”

The Trump team has hit on what it thinks is a winning formula: every time it wants to rip Americans’ health care away or let a predatory corporation off the hook, it just says it’s fighting “wokeness” or “DEI. ” It’s lazy, cynical stuff.

Donald Trump Is Dismantling Liberal Internationalism

America’s belief that it can be militarily dominant in every major region appears to be wavering. But without challengers, the Republicans’ loss of conviction in liberal internationalism will harden into a more dangerous global authoritarianism.

A Mass Shooting Is Always Political

The February 4 school shooting in Örebro was the deadliest such attack in Swedish history. The killer didn’t leave a manifesto, and officials are reluctant to call this a “terrorist” attack. But this shooting was not apolitical.

FEBRUARY 19. 2025

In 1930s Melbourne, Communists Fought Police Repression

In 1933, a young Melbourne communist scaled a moving tram to distract police while his comrade locked himself in a steel cage below. Their protest sparked the “Battle for Phoenix Street, ” which resulted in the repeal of draconian anti-protest laws.

Why the Center Left Struggles to Escape Its Neoliberal Past

Despite now pushing for a more assertive economic agenda, center-left parties worldwide are on the defensive. Their vulnerability? They helped create the very neoliberal order they now claim to challenge.

Public Health Should Be Politicized

As America’s health crisis deepens, some experts are calling to “depoliticize” public health. But what we need isn’t less politics in health care — it’s a mass movement to transform our broken system into one that serves everyone.

This Camera Kills Fascists

In the 1960s, leftist filmmakers from France to Japan revolutionized the documentary. Anti-fascism was not just the heritage of past generations but a message carried forward by the avant-garde on-screen.

The NLRB Can’t Punish Employers Strongly Enough

The problem of case backlogs at the National Labor Relations Board goes deeper than budget shortfalls. Without serious penalties for employers who break the law, the board will continue to be hampered by a pileup of charges.

France’s Anti-Palestine Backlash Undermines Free Speech

In France, trade unionist Anasse Kazib faces prosecution for pro-Palestinian tweets. The overheated allegations of “apologia for terrorism” express a broader crackdown on civil liberties, today targeted at Palestine solidarity activists.

FEBRUARY 18. 2025

Young Snipers in Love Across The Gorge

Apple TV+’s The Gorge finds two attractive young snipers, Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, flirting across the abyss as they guard the gates of hell below. It’s a promising premise, but it never pays off.