The Discreet Disenchantment of the Bourgeoisie

As the coronavirus pandemic rages and the economic crisis deepens around the world, capitalism finds itself confronted with a choice: “save the economy” or “save lives.” The measures governments are implementing reveal the contradictions and failures of a system based on exploitation and point to much worse outcomes ahead.

Will the Macron–Merkel Agreement Save the EU from a Debacle?

In the early hours of July 21, leaders of the European Union agreed to what the New York Times called a “landmark spending package to rescue their economies from the ravages of the pandemic.” This article is a thoroughgoing political economy analysis of the effort to save the European Union from the pandemic and the economic crisis that had already been forecast before the virus struck, originally published in French in May.

Red (State) Zone: Back to School in Trump Country

School boards are preparing to send teachers, students, and staff back to school even in states that are experiencing a daily rise in Covid-19 cases. A high school teacher in Tennessee explains how her school reopening plan ignores CDC safety guidelines and fails to provide PPE to staff, as well as the challenges of fighting back in a Right to Work state.

Racism Is Bipartisan

Bourgeois democracy and the two-party regime in the U.S. are key to sustaining racism.

“Calling Us Heroes While Trying to Eliminate Our Hazard Pay.” An Interview with a Grocery Worker

In our ongoing series of Workers’ Testimonials in the pandemic, Left Voice hears from Hank Kennedy, a young worker at a Detroit grocery store fighting for stronger safety measures and better pay on an essential job. 

How Would a Socialist System Deal with a Pandemic?

Capitalist governments around the world are taking unprecedented measures. Yet these remain fettered by the anarchy of the market. A socialist society could simply send everyone on stay-at-home, paid vacation for a month or two. 

The Money Has Always Been There: Coronavirus Response Reveals Capital’s Lies

In the past weeks, companies and governments alike have begrudgingly been forced to provide minimal relief to workers suffering under the coronavirus pandemic. These concessions are not enough to prevent the serious physical, emotional, and financial harms that people around the country (and the world) are facing, but they do reveal just how many policies that were previously called “not feasible” or “too expensive” could have been rapidly implemented in our workplaces and in our lives all along.

Organizing the Unemployed in the 1930s: Lessons for Today from U.S. Working Class History

The article below by Danny Lucia, from the now-defunct International Socialist Review, discusses how the Communist Party and other groups became involved in organizing the unemployed in the 1930s. This history can be instructive for socialists as unemployment soars amidst the current crisis.

The Working Class Needs Direct Help, Not Capitalist “Stimulus”

Confronted with an impending recession, the U.S. capitalist class and the politicians who serve it are working overtime to protect their profits and wealth and keep their system intact. But none of the “rescue” measures that are coming at us from every quarter are about protecting the interests of the vast majority of workers and other people who face the greatest economic threats from the coronavirus pandemic.

What a Bernie Sanders Presidency Would Really Look Like

As Sanders continues to outperform his rivals in the polls, it's increasingly possible that the senator from Vermont could actually win the Democratic Primary and even the general election. But what would a Sanders presidency look like? And what challenges and opportunities would it present for the revolutionary Left?