Stephen R. Shalom criticizes the arguments against lesser-evil voting and makes the case for the Left both to support Biden and build the social movements.
Category: Left Politics
Pandemic, Polarization, and Resistance in the US; an Interview with Ashley Smith
This interview of Ashley Smith was conducted by Joseph Daher for the newspaper of the Swiss socialist party Solidarités, and the French leftwing website, Contretemps.
A Letter to the Progressive International
When a new “Progressive International” invited Syria’s Yassin al-Haj Saleh to join, he was happy to accept. When he then submitted this letter for their publication, they ceased contacting him without explanation.
The Me Too Movement in Iran: What Is New About It? What Can It Learn From Abolitionist Feminism in U.S.?
Thousands of women and some men have started to speak publicly on social media about their experiences of sexual harassment, abuse, assault and rape.
Presidential Election Amidst Conflagration and Coronavirus
Remarkably polls show that Trump core supporters—about 40 percent of voters—have not been moved by either his handling of the coronavirus or his remarks about the military. Independent voters, however, may be turning from Trump.
Presidential Candidates and Society Debate Protest and Violence
Protest, sometimes with conflict between anti-racist and rightwing groups, continues in various U.S. cities—Portland, Louisville, and Rochester—over 100 days since the killing of George Floyd. America has not seen such street fighting since the 1960s.
Subcomandante Marcos: The Last Global Ethical Hero?
If you want a handy little book of just 100 pages that reads like a long Wikipedia article, this is your book. If you want a discussion of Marcos’ ideas and his role in Mexican political life and in the global left, you will be disappointed.
Let Howie Debate!
Nearly 60% of Americans claim that they want a new major political party. With nearly 50% of voters not identifying as either Republican or Democrat, it’s time to get new voices on the national stage. Sign the petition to get more candidates who actually represent you in on the debates!
Revolution Means Taking Care of the Future
In their determination and radical nature, contemporary feminisms are initiating radical breaks – in our bodies, on the streets, in bed, and in the household. The slogan of the feminist movement in Argentina sums them up: “We want to change everything!”
Anti-Racism and Class Struggle
Making anti-racism front and center within a strategy of class-based resistance corresponds to the realities of the societies we live in and to the particular features of the present period.
On the 80th Anniversary of Trotsky’s Assassination—What If He Had Lived?
In my counter-historical novel Trotsky in Tijuana, being published on the anniversary of his assassination eighty years ago, I attempt to understand Trotsky the man and the political leader by projecting his life into a future he did not live to see.
Comrades and allies: An interview with Donna Murch
Sherry Wolf interviews Donna Murch, activist and author of “Living for the City: Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland,” about the Black Lives Matter uprising and questions of organization, solidarity, and strategy.
Why We Campaign to ‘Save the Middle Class’ and Shouldn’t
The centering of “saving the middle class” in presidential politics not only left open the possibility of direction of anger and misunderstanding towards the racialized poor, but encouraged it.
Protest Vote or Independent Political Action?
A bumper sticker displayed with increasing resonance these days reads: “2020, any responsible adult.” This is undoubtedly the mood of Democratic Party voters as was made abundantly clear by the abrupt collapse of the Sanders momentum.
No Justice, No Peace! Raising the Social Cost through Direct Action!
Growing numbers of individuals and growing social movements that have broken with the ideology that there is no alternative to neoliberalism (TINA) and acting on the belief that there is a liberatory alternative to racial capitalism is central to raising the social cost.
The Seeds of Revolution Have Sprouted: What is Now to be Done?
Turning points in history are very rare. We are now living in the midst of one, with the two months of virtually continuous protests against police abuse, the criminal injustice system, and for a human society that have swept the U.S. as well other parts of the world since the police murder of George Floyd on May 25.
Greece: Five Years After the Syriza Government and the Referendum
The wave of hope that emerged during those years was defeated by the retreat of workers’ struggle after the incredible climax of 2010-15 and the defeat of the left within the Syriza party by the coalition of forces united under the banner of staying in the Eurozone at any cost.
Why Leftists In Most States Should Vote Green
And Why In Some States We Shouldn't
My late comrade and esteemed New Politics editorial board member Joanne Landy steadfastly insisted she’d never vote for a Democratic Party candidate, preferring a protest vote for the Green Party. “But I’ll never join that party,” she insisted.
Portland Protests: A Chronology of Police Repression
Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and possibly other federal agencies are deployed in Portland as this article is being written. They are assisting the Portland Police Bureau to brutally squash the rebellion against business as usual.
The Debate in the Left on the Elections in the United States
The far left joined the progressives in supporting Senator Bernie Sanders, a liberal in the New Deal mold who ran as a “socialist” against the “billionaire class.” But since Sanders dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden, many on the far left have felt they have no candidate.
Imagining a Socialist Presidential Candidate Winning the African American Vote
If the activists that Bernie Sanders inspired are to continue to consider winning the presidency as a pivotal condition for transforming democratic power and the state, that achievement entails winning the African American vote in the Democratic primary.
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