Social Movements Will Not Free Us (part two)
Does ‘strengthening (a) civil society’ of voluntary associations gradually improve liberal democracy ‘from below’? It is conventional wisdom. But mostly wrong.
Social Movements Will Not Free Us (part one)
Why did the Arab Spring lead to more brutal repression, instead of more democracy? Asef Bayat’s analysis provides some lessons for the left everywhere.
Where Will the Post-2008 Left Go Next?
Since 2008, many people are disillusioned with capitalism. Keir Milburn says workplace experiences are more critical to this than many realize. Is he right? What does it imply about how we should organize?
Is a ‘Social Movement Society’ the Way to Win Democracy?
The Right is attacking liberal democracy. The neoliberal Center is gutting it. What can the Left do about it? Donatella della Porta has an idea.
The Second Impeachment Has Mortally Wounded Trump
Donald Trump has been mortally wounded by the 2nd impeachment trial. But the danger to democracy persists. A 'new constitution' campaign might help fix that.
A Cold War Against China is a Bad Idea
Aggressively expanding NATO led Russians to embrace Putin. Is isolating and encircling China really such a good idea?
Will a Domestic Terrorism Law Prevent Future Capitol Invasions?
Many liberals echo the FBI’s call for a domestic terrorism law, to prevent another January 6. Be careful what you wish for.
Save Planet Earth with a Clean Energy Global Commons
Headlines everywhere trumpet the rapid expansion of clean energy. Joe Biden promises hundreds of thousands of green new jobs. Global warming will be averted after all, I guess. Except, as clean energy rises, carbon emissions continue to go up, way up, here there and everywhere. Why doesn’t an increase in clean energy cause a decrease in dirty energy? Andreas Malm explains why.
Trump’s First Impeachment: What Not To Repeat the Second Time
The first impeachment hearings failed to persuade TV viewers that Trump should be removed. To defend against a real threat to American democracy, Democrats could have barnstormed the country, but they feared being seen as agitators.
Could Jeremy Corbyn Have Beaten Boris the Actual Incompetent One?
Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn revived the hopes of many people who had given up much hope for real leftward change through electoral politics. On June 8 2017, the Corbyn-led British Labour Party defied the odds and won 40% of the vote, raising hopes for a Left breakthrough. On December 12 2019, Boris Johnson ‘s Conservatives crushed Corbyn and Labour with the slogan “Get Brexit Done”. Was Corbyn’s loss avoidable? Why did he lose?
How to Use Left Populism to Win a Post-Work Economy
Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams have published a must-read book, Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work (Verso, 2015, 2nd ed 2016) that makes new proposals for a long-haul strategy of building the preconditions for a postcapitalist social system.
Unite Around the Basics: Billy Graham’s Lesson for the Left
Can the Left learn from Billy Graham style evangelicals? The answer may be yes.
A Long Struggle for Democracy May Have to Precede Socialism
Gavin Kitching’s Rethinking Socialism: A Theory for a Better Practice (University Paperbacks – Methuen, London 1983) aims to tell uncomfortable truths about Marx, Left activist intellectuals, the working class and socialism in order to advance some bold proposals for rethinking and redirecting the socialist Left in his native Britain.
Has the Left Given Up on Ending Capitalism?
Is the age of left-wing revolutions over? Does this inevitably mean that the left has to accommodate itself to a capitalist economy and a capitalist world system? I firmly believe that the way forward to a more just society will be worked out incrementally by today’s left, especially by the left of that left who want to move society towards a new post-capitalist social system. But facts are facts, and right now the left is united around a set of sacrosanct principles that result in a refusal or incapacity to imagine practical ways of changing who is in power in society’s institutions.
