23. December '24

Can Cuba Survive “Maximum Economic Pressure”?

We speak to Cuba’s deputy minister of foreign affairs about bilateral relations with Washington and what remains of Cuban socialism in a period of scarcity and unrest.

Finnish Right-Wingers Are Defunding Culture

In a land of 5. 5 million people, Finnish-language culture is vulnerable to the overwhelming dominance of English. The right-wing government’s plans to slash arts spending risk further stifling Finland’s distinct culture.

22. December '24

Making Sense of the Second Ku Klux Klan

Understanding the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan in the early twentieth century gives insight into the roots of today’s reactionary activists and policymakers.

Capitalism Is Draining the Life From Our Culture Industries

Culture industries are dominated by a few big corporations that prefer to keep flogging old stories instead of taking a risk on something new. Creative workers can still produce fresh ideas, but they’re snuffed out before they get a chance to breathe.

How Progressive Civil Society Became Professional NGO Culture

The disintegration of working-class institutions and the rise of professionalized advocacy has severed the connections between progressive civil society and working-class communities. The Democratic Party alone can’t and won’t fix this.

21. December '24

Central America’s Last Comandante

Now in hiding, César Montes led rebel forces, including the Guerrilla Army of the Poor, against US-backed dictatorships across Central America. Jacobin visited him in the Guatemalan prison where he was serving a 175-year sentence prior to his October escape.

UnitedHealthcare’s Decades-Long Fight to Block Reform

UnitedHealthcare, the health insurer whose CEO was murdered earlier this month, has spent decades fighting and winning political battles to maintain the for-profit health system status quo and kill any attempts to reform it.

The Devastation in Mayotte Isn’t Just a Natural Disaster

After Cyclone Chido hit the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte, Emmanuel Macron told locals that they would be “10,000 times more in the shit” if they weren’t French-ruled. The mass casualties show how little France has actually done to protect the islanders.

20. December '24

Striking Amazon for the Holidays

Amazon workers at seven warehouses walked off the job starting yesterday, in a major escalation of the Teamsters’ efforts to organize the company. In New York, the strikers faced repression from the police.

The Great Whitexican Novel

A scion of the Mexican right, Nicolás Medina Mora promises a window into the country’s elite in his autofiction debut, América del Norte. Had it actually offered that, the book could have been fascinating. Instead it gets mired in musings on whiteness.

Political Repression Isn’t What It Used to Be

Despite the efforts of Donald Trump and the Right to bend the state in a more repressive, less free direction, society seems more and more resistant to these efforts.

“Erdoğan Wants to Bring All of Syria Under Turkish Control”

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has prompted a fresh power struggle in Syria. Îlham Ehmed, a foreign relations representative for the Kurdish-led autonomous region, spoke to Jacobin about Turkey’s bid to expand its control.

Elon Musk Is Inaugurating a New Era of Billionaire Rule

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, just used his political influence to shut down a bipartisan deal to keep the government open. It’s obscene — but so are the far more “normal” ways that billionaires dominate the political process.

How Justin Trudeau Alienated Canada’s Working Class

Canada, like the US and other countries, is grappling with acute political dealignment. Plummeting working-class support for center-left parties highlights the failure of liberal policies and the appeal of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s populism.