archive

Matters for the Left

Kevin K. Banda (Texas Tech), Lilliana Mason (Maryland), John Cluverius (UMass), and Hans Noel (Georgetown): A Distinction with a Difference? Investigating the Difference Between Liberals and Progressives. From New York, a special issue on socialism. The Democratic Party isn’t as left-wing as you think. Memo to the media: Stop asking dumb questions about “socialism”. How Pramila Jayapal’s inside-outside strategy is changing the future of progressive politics (and more). AOC, Sanders, and Warren are the real centrists because they speak for most Americans. A very British lesson for the American Left. Caught between Trump and the left, Democratic candidates seek to avoid the socialism squeeze. Should leftists go on FOX?

When freedom > privilege – oppression: Rethinking identity politics, Left unity, and the Sanders’ revolution. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants the country to think big. The Democrats’ irrational love of the filibuster could doom their agenda (and more). Finding the future in radical rural America: It’s time to rewrite the narrative of “Trump Country” — rural places weren’t always red, and many are turning increasingly blue. “Socialism” has lost all meaning in American politics. 2020 matters for the Left — here’s why 2022 matters much more. Stacey Abrams’s new essay on identity politics reveals why she’s a rising star. Progressives, beware centrists’ attempts to co-opt your platform.

Nancy LeTourneau on the real divide that threatens Democrats. Two paths for the Left: The dueling visions of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn. Progressives in Congress could be the tea party of the Left — but do they want to be? Trump is making “socialism” sound pretty good. People used to joke about “Democrats in disarray” — they’re not joking now: Henry Farrell interviews Sam Rosenfeld, author of The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era. American socialism is nothing to be afraid about. The lies underpinning the centrist pushback against Ocasio-Cortez. Will 2020 Democrats help Trump by destroying each other?

The sensible politics of soaking the rich: Democrats are avoiding questions about how to pay for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal — the answer is quite simple. The debate Democrats need to have and the one they need to avoid. The economic rationale for the Democrats’ aggressive agenda: There are good reasons to expand government programs right now. Alex Shepard on the overdue death of Democratic “pragmatism”. The city of dreams: Nathan Robinson writes in defense of the utopian impulse (and more). Centrism and moderation? No thanks — in times of moral crisis, everyone picks a side, even those proclaiming neutrality.

A Clinton-era centrist Democrat explains why it’s time to give democratic socialists a chance.