Feature Archives - Page 21 of 150

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First as Tragedy…?

The Labour Party’s sense of itself and its relationship to its own past has fractured and splintered

March 4, 2019 • by Emily Robinson

The defections of eight Labour MPs and three Conservatives (numbers accurate at the time of writing!) from their parties to an as yet undefined ‘Independent Group’ has inevitably drawn comparison with the foundation of the SDP in 1981. The backdrop of divisions over Europe, intra-party democracy and ideological polarization seemed very familiar. ...

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A Homage to the Victims of Germany’s Neo-Nazis

Author Esther Dischereit laments the deaths of Turkish immigrants murdered by a German terrorist cell

March 3, 2019 • by Emilia Otte

Between 2000 and 2007, a Neo-Nazi terrorist cell murdered ten people across Germany. Even though eight of the victims were Turkish immigrants, the state didn’t initially consider the deaths to be racially motivated. It wasn’t until 2011, when two of the members staged a failed bank robbery, that the police forces connected the ...

A Homage to the Victims of Germany’s Neo-Nazis

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Two Cheers for Ageism

Ten notes on the political, cultural and personal blessings and burdens of mortality, inspired by the greatest lecture I have ever heard

March 1, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

The lecture is Hans Jonas, “The Blessings and Burdens of Mortality”. 1. I don’t want Bernie Sanders to be President of the United States, and I also don’t want Joe Biden. I abhor Donald Trump, and I am not excited about a possible President Elizabeth Warren either. They’re all too old. 2. I ...

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Banned for Life – from Mississippi

Review of Brenda Travis, written with John Obee

February 28, 2019 • by Jo Freeman

At age 17 Brenda Travis was banned from the state of Mississippi, or so she was told. Forced to leave family and friends behind because she got involved in the civil rights movement she spent most of her life someplace else, but always felt like an exile. Brenda was just 16 ...

Blue Monday

Why AOC is Such a Terrific Member of Congress

Defeating Trump Politically, Part 5

February 28, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taken Washington, D.C by storm. She successfully ran an insurgent, grass-roots Congressional campaign. She is exceptionally bright. She is incredibly media savvy. She is hugely charismatic, because she is telegenic and photogenic, but also because she consistently seems to be a sincere, authentic, and truly nice and caring ...

Why AOC is Such a Terrific Member of Congress

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Policing the Womb 2.0

Why Hungary and Poland’s pro-natalist policies won’t work

February 28, 2019 • by Maria Bucur

Fifty years ago, neo-Malthusian demographers and politicians warned that overpopulation would wipe out all efforts to modernize the world, especially the postcolonial Global South. Rapid population growth in India, Nigeria, Brazil, and Iran were depicted as impediments to development. Republicans (Richard Nixon) and Democrats (Lyndon B. Johnson) worked with Planned ...

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What ‘Off The Rails’ Capitalism Really Means

Have we entered the final phase of our economy’s long unwind?

February 27, 2019 • by Robert Latham

In recent years, observers from the worlds of politics, the media, academia, finance, and think-tanks have described the current political and economic moment as unprecedented, marked by “broken guardrails” and a sense that things are “unhinged.” Recourse to these analogies has only intensified since November 2016, as the actions and statements associated with the Trump administration ...

What ‘Off The Rails’ Capitalism Really Means

Blue Monday

Kamala Harris Is Not a Red-Baiter, She’s Just Not a Socialist (Like Most Americans)

Defeating Trump Politically, Part 4

February 26, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

In recent columns I have celebrated the energy and ideas brought into the Democratic party by newly-elected young leftists, defended them from criticism, condemned the red-baiting of the left, and explained how and why “socialism” has played an important role in the history of American democracy, and ought not to ...

Kamala Harris Is Not a Red-Baiter, She’s Just Not a Socialist (Like Most Americans)

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Karl Lagerfeld, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Lee Radziwill

Past Present Episode 168

February 26, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the life and legacy of Karl Lagerfeld, controversies over the Pledge of Allegiance, and the death of Lee Radziwill. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most prolific designers of our era, has died. Natalia referred to ...

Karl Lagerfeld, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Lee Radziwill

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Why Does Patriarchy Persist?

A review of Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider’s book on the price of patriarchy

February 26, 2019 • by Ali Shames-Dawson

There are books that do what they set out to do: they make their points clearly, they argue something new, they uncover something for us. Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider’s new book, Why Does Patriarchy Persist?, does more than that. It is a spark. It is something like a book-length speech ...

Blue Monday

American Socialism Is Nothing to Be Afraid About

Defeating Trump Politically, Part 3

February 25, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Note: A shorter version of this piece was published yesterday at The Daily Beast here. Thanks to Michael Tomasky for his help. Socialism has captured the attention of American elites in a big way. On the right, it is clear that Donald Trump and his Republican followers are intent on using Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ...