Failure Is an Option
Haunted by the specter of democracy, the Constitutionās framers blundered into a historic miscalculation. Weāre still living with the consequences.
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Issue No. 39ā|āFall 2020
Failure Is an Option
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We look at why the United States is such a dysfunctional mess for working-class people ā and why the institutional rot won't end when Trump is out of office.
Down and Out in Pittsburgh and Las Vegas
A slice of life from a country in crisis.
Donāt Blame Polarization
A discussion on American partisanship, political dysfunction, and why itās not our passions that are the problemĀ ā itās the Constitution itself.
The General Who Brought Down the American Empire
In 2002, the Pentagon staged a $250 million war game known as the āMillennium Challenge.ā It was supposed to be a fixed fight Ā ā until a retired Marine lieutenant general, playing the role of a Middle Eastern country, brought the US military to its knees.
America the Laggard
By virtually any measure, people in the United States are worse off than those in other rich countries. Thereās no disputing the impact of our weak entitlements and paltry labor protections.
The Great Divergence
It used to be better to be a low-wage worker in the United States than in France. That hasnāt been the case for a long while.
Mapping the Decline
How the neoliberal projectās very own fifty-state strategy left poverty and low wages in its wake.
Americaās Railroad to Nowhere
We know the US rail network is no match for trains in France or Japan. But Barack Obamaās plan for high-speed rail couldnāt even match that of Morocco or Uzbekistan.
Ending Federalism as We Know It
A new book shows how the fragmented American state arrests democracy. What we need is nothing short of a reconstruction.
A Very British Dystopia
A Very British Coup embraced the intrigues of class war, but its sequel falls prey to the mundanities of culture war.
The New American Exceptionalism
Effective states can enforce discipline on elites. The United States is not one of them.
American Capitalism Is WorkingĀ ā Thatās the Problem
The United States is not a failed stateĀ ā just ask any American capitalist. But we desperately need something better for everyone else.
Whereās Our Gorbachev?
The United States today isnāt on the verge of a Soviet-style disintegrationĀ ā but neither is there any force at the top willing and able to reform our political system.
Message in a Bottle
In the United States of 2020, millions are desperate for help, and theyāre forced to compete for scraps from Twitter philanthropists.
John Carpenter, Apocalyptic Filmmaker
John Carpenterās movies provide visions of societies falling apart. No wonder his work is resonating now more than ever.
From Your House to Our House
Americaās experiment with public housing was far less successful than EuropeāsĀ ā but this hasnāt made it any less influential.
The Collision of Self-Importance and Despair
In the United States today, as in 1990s Russia, for a lot of intellectuals, total nihilism seems more plausible than hope for even modest reform.
On Being a Mother in America
Within ten days of giving birth, a quarter of us are forced to return to work. If liberals truly want to support parentsā choices, they need to back the subsidies and employment legislation that are vital to child-rearing.
Stories for the End of the World
From the mutant animals of Chernobyl and Marie Antoinetteās perverted orgies, to QAnon and Russiagate, conspiracy theories flourish in times of crisis and collapse of political legitimacy.
Blue Order
In an increasingly unstable country, what if a ādeep police stateā threatens to undermine our electoral gains?
How Abraham Lincoln Fought the Supreme Court
It is not enough to question the decisions, the justices, or even the structure of the current courtĀ ā we need to challenge, as Abraham Lincoln did, the foundation of its power to determine the law.
Socialists Should Be Republicans
The first generation of the GOP triedĀ ā and failedĀ ā to build a modern republic. Socialists today wonāt get very far unless we finish their work.
Your Quarterly Horoscope
Real left strategy isnāt found in socialist magazines. Itās found in the stars.
Celebrating Ten Years of Jacobin
And our decades to come.