Non-human animals don't possess the attributes that would allow them to engage in activities we associate with "liberation" and "rights." October 26, 2009
When politicians gathered at the Capitol for the unveiling of a statue of Helen Keller, they left out an important fact--Keller was a socialist. October 19, 2009
One hundred and fifty years ago today, a band of men led by John Brown launched an armed attack they hoped would spark an uprising against slavery. October 16, 2009
China recently marked the 60th anniversary of a 1949 "peoples' revolution" that kicked out foreign powers--but workers there have never really held power. October 13, 2009
Capitalism depends for its survival on divisions created in the working class, so the struggle for a new society must challenge those divisions. October 9, 2009
The three victorious strikes that paved the way for the struggles to come in the 1930s were led by radicals dedicated to solidarity and rank-and-file democracy. October 6, 2009
The history of the Teamster Rebellion in Minneapolis is packed with lessons, especially the importance of mobilizing a militant rank and file. September 29, 2009
The San Francisco General Strike in July 1934 involved 200,000 workers up and down the West Coast, making it the largest general strike in U.S. history. September 21, 2009
The 1934 Auto-Lite strike in Toledo, Ohio showed how workers could unite, employed with unemployed, to defeat the power of the bosses. September 15, 2009
Marxists reject the idea that history is made by charismatic "great men." But that doesn't mean they view individuals as cogs in the machine. September 11, 2009
There's a misconception that Marxists believe history follows a predetermined course as a result of economic laws, which human beings can't affect. August 28, 2009
Long omitted from the history books, the Seattle General Strike of 1919 offers an inspiring view of what it would look like if workers took power in the U.S. August 27, 2009
The Industrial Workers of the World based itself on the idea of industrial unionism--of organizing all workers together, regardless of skills, craft, sex, nationality or race. August 20, 2009
Anti-imperialists don't pick and chose what countries to defend against the U.S., but we also should not allow ourselves to ignore the nature of regimes like that in Iran. August 18, 2009
The writer who helped create the fictional character that Chicago's Bud Billiken parade is named after was a militant fighter for civil rights. August 6, 2009
"Common sense" says that there isn't enough to go around, and this is what accounts for famines and poverty in the world. But common sense is wrong. August 3, 2009
Forty years ago, a police raid on a New York City gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, sparked nights of rioting--and the start of a new LGBT movement. June 25, 2009
A son remembers Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed at the height of the 1950s Red Scare for allegedly stealing atomic secrets. June 24, 2009
One frequent objection to socialism is the belief that any effort by workers to democratically control society invariably ends in dictatorship. June 23, 2009
