Opinion

U.S. and Israeli officials have twisted and distorted the facts beyond all recognition to justify the war on Gaza. January 5, 2009

Some predictions for international highlights of the new year...if justice were to prevail in the world. January 2, 2009

The plan to balance New York City's budget includes closing 19 community centers in public housing projects in all five boroughs. December 19, 2008

He thought he'd be welcomed as a liberator, but Bush is despised to the point where a man throwing shoes at him is an instant national hero. December 19, 2008

Wiretaps implicating Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich provide a window into the way government really works in the "world's greatest democracy." December 18, 2008

Having campaigned on the slogan of "Change you can believe in," President-elect Barack Obama's message is different now. December 15, 2008

Barack Obama's foreign policy appointees illustrate the gap between his campaign rhetoric about "change" and the reality of "more of the same." December 12, 2008

Is there a bigger irony than the British Foreign Office celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? December 3, 2008

The Obama administration is filling up fast with recycled Clintonites and Republican holdovers, but don't expect a rerun of Bill Clinton's presidency. December 2, 2008

In an act of mass kidnapping, the British government expelled the entire population of the Chagos Archipelago so Diego Garcia could be given to the U.S. December 1, 2008

As Barack Obama fills his White House with veterans of Bill Clinton's administration, the question is: Will this be a rerun of the Clinton years? November 25, 2008

No matter how far society moves from the "traditional" family, some people still seem determined to impose it on all history. November 20, 2008

Barack Obama's election has burst the dam on expectations erected during 30 years of conservative dominance. But this is only the first stage of the struggle. November 19, 2008

Now that Barack Obama has won, Republican leaders claim to be reveling in "this great and truly memorable moment." November 14, 2008

Obama's election is historic, a symbol of great change. But will he bring the kind of change his supporters are hoping for? November 13, 2008

Despite everything that Election 2008 showed, there's no shortage of pundits insisting that the U.S. is too conservative to embrace real change. November 12, 2008

I should be happy that Chicago police torturer Jon Burge was finally arrested and indicted, but my happiness is overshadowed by disappointments. November 11, 2008

The historic election of Barack Obama was possible because of the actions of those who are usually denied a place in history. November 11, 2008

The sweeping victory of Barack Obama shows that change is coming--but what kind, and in whose interest, depends on how working people organize. November 7, 2008

In the dense crowd on 125th Street celebrating Barack Obama's election, I heard three words repeated, like a mantra, "WE did this! WE did this!" November 6, 2008

All organizations that want to see political change have to answer the question: Is supporting the Democrats a step toward their goals or not? November 4, 2008

An epic scandal of racism, injustice and brutality in Australia is being covered up in the manner of apartheid South Africa. November 3, 2008

The right thinks he's a socialist. But many supporters have a parallel belief--that Barack Obama will reveal his true progressive nature in the White House. October 31, 2008

One way of measuring the start of a recession is when the government first insists there are lots of jobs, but the unemployed need to be more flexible. October 30, 2008

Barack Obama's job is to present a benign face that will revive America's democratic pretensions, while ensuring nothing of substance changes. October 28, 2008

Barack Obama seems certain to win the presidency, marking the end to a period of conservative dominance. But will he meet the expectations of his supporters? October 24, 2008

Liberal supporters of Obama are taking a two-pronged approach--ignore Obama's gestures toward the right and accentuate any difference with McCain. October 24, 2008

In states across the country, voters will have an important opportunity to cast a ballot against right wing-sponsored ballot measures. October 22, 2008

The Republicans may be galvanizing a hard-core racist base, but the attacks on Barack Obama are causing a backlash among wider numbers of people. October 21, 2008

None of the bankers' and politicians' comments on why the crisis happened admit that their system isn't designed to fulfill society's needs. October 20, 2008

The Democratic candidate's latest proposal to create jobs is centered on business tax breaks--the kind of policy championed for years by Republicans. October 16, 2008

If there's one aspect of modern society that sums up the contempt with which the mass of humanity is held by thieving, sociopathic executives, it's the call center. October 15, 2008

The next president will inherit a devastating economic crisis. So what impact would that have on the agenda of a future Obama administration? October 9, 2008

When all else fails, there's always bigotry. That sums up the direction of the McCain-Palin campaign as the final month of Election 2008 begins. October 8, 2008

The bankers will soon begin collecting their $700 billion ransom. And they can thank Barack Obama for helping them get away with it. October 7, 2008

Thabo Mbeki's downfall is no more than the downfall of a failed economic system that enriched the few and dumped the poor. October 7, 2008

Maybe we should let all the world's stockbrokers go bankrupt, and see if we can manage to carry on without them. October 6, 2008

Henry Paulson wants to hand the banks $700 billion to cover their bad bets. Why shouldn't the federal government take over the banks instead? October 1, 2008

Party political conferences took place in Britain last month, and there was deafening silence about the war crimes committed by Britain's rulers. October 1, 2008

A rebellion in the House of Representatives derailed the $700 billion giveaway of taxpayers' money to Wall Street--but for how long? September 30, 2008

Despite being the best-paid section of society by a vast margin, no one can explain a single thing Britain's bankers do that's of any value at all. September 30, 2008

One of the critiques of Barack Obama's debate performance against John McCain was that Obama was--yet again--way too kind. Why is this the case? September 29, 2008

A bipartisan agreement to bail out the richest banks and firms on Wall Street--at our expense--collapsed amid a White House shouting match. September 26, 2008

The financial crisis that has already brought down a host of blue-chip Wall Street firms is the responsibility of both mainstream parties. September 26, 2008

It has become a media mantra media: the surge of 30,000 U.S. troops to Iraq helped stabilize the country. But is it true? September 26, 2008

Federally orchestrated bailouts always signal a steep drop down the economic ladder for those who actually work for their income. September 25, 2008

After decades of railing about "personal responsibility," U.S. officials are seeking $700 billion for a handout--er, sorry, a "bailout" for Wall Street. September 23, 2008

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is demanding $700 billion in taxpayers' money and total control to save Wall Street from the disaster it caused itself. September 22, 2008

The earthquake that struck the Wall Street financial system this week is an indictment of capitalism and the irrational free-market system. September 19, 2008

Liked spoiled children, the bankers are running to the government for a handout to save themselves from a crisis they created. September 18, 2008

A conversation in a taxicab became a lesson in the misery that the U.S. is inflicting on Africa--and the hopes that Obama might bring change. September 18, 2008

The latest chaos on Wall Street highlights not just the scale of the world financial crisis, but the needless destruction built into the capitalist system. September 16, 2008

John McCain regularly exploits his history as a prisoner during the Vietnam War, but he wouldn't be alive today if not for a Vietnamese man who saved him. September 15, 2008

The British media is ignoring the reality of life for ordinary Iraqis and Afghans as it bolsters the official reasons for the wars. September 12, 2008

Despite new evidence of atrocities carried out by U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan, the two U.S. ruling parties are escalating the war. September 11, 2008

Barack Obama's convention speech says a lot about how he sees the current political situation, and what he proposes to do about it. September 11, 2008

An argument in the Labour Party used to be about the meaning of socialism. Now it's a posh version of a power struggle among prison inmates. September 11, 2008

Sneering at Barack Obama and snarling about the "liberal" media, the Christian Right has made a triumphant return to the spotlight in the Republican Party. September 10, 2008

The battle between Barack Obama and the Clintons ended in Denver with fountains of mutual praise. But to what end are these top Democrats united? August 29, 2008

The expectation of a Democratic sweep hasn't changed since the campaign got underway last year--yet polls show the presidential race is unexpectedly close. August 28, 2008

The Democrats should be poised for a landslide victory, but Barack Obama is barely ahead of John McCain going into the Democratic convention. Why? August 26, 2008

If John McCain is right in his views on when life begins, then millions of women have had multiple abortions--because they used birth control pills. August 26, 2008

I spent time in Cook County Jail and personally witnessed and experienced the routine human rights violations that are the subject of a federal report. August 25, 2008

After dragging out the process for weeks, Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden as vice president is the most conventional possible choice. August 25, 2008

People who have no interest in sports aren't just expressing a matter of taste, they're wrong, as much as someone who dismisses music or theater. August 21, 2008

The secrets of the crushing of Yugoslavia are emerging, telling us more about how the modern world is policed. August 20, 2008

A victory in the courts might send strikers at the Kingsbridge Heights Rehabilitation Center back to work. But one striker, Audrey Smith-Campbell, will never return to that nursing home or any other. August 19, 2008

The Olympic charter bans "political propaganda"--as if the decision to choose Beijing or any other city to host the Games has nothing to do with politics. August 15, 2008

Many leading progressives are going to great lengths to claim Obama as one of their own--despite all the evidence to the contrary. August 14, 2008

There's no shortage of reasons why George Bush and the Republicans are discredited and despised. Support for Barack Obama is one sign of the growing dissatisfaction among wider groups of people. August 13, 2008

The reason novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn appeared so contradictory is a question at the center of the second half of the 20th century. August 12, 2008

The lies told to justify the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are being repeated to justify new wars today. August 7, 2008

John McCain's latest strategy is to accuse Barack Obama of playing the "race card." But he's the one who's trying to exploit racist fears. August 5, 2008

The Bush administration, Nuri al-Maliki, and candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are beginning to reach a consensus on Iraq. August 1, 2008

Call it socialism, Wall Street style: Taxpayers get saddled with the risks and costs of the bailout, while private shareholders reap the gains. July 29, 2008

Those who think that Barack Obama "will be a huge improvement on Bush" demonstrate the same willful naiveté of those who supported Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. July 29, 2008

The campaign of Barack Obama has unleashed hope that may not be so easily controlled, in spite of the Democratic candidate's intentions. July 23, 2008

A SocialistWorker.org columnist examines Barack Obama's recent statement on Iraq, point by point, to show what the Democratic candidate is really saying. July 22, 2008

By shifting to the right on a range of issues, Obama is sending a signal to the ruling elite that he will be a loyal servant of their interests. July 18, 2008

The idea that Blacks need to focus on personal responsibility, echoed by Barack Obama, distracts from the question of social responsibility. July 18, 2008

Who needs evidence when you can identify suspects by the color of their skin? That seems to be the guiding principle of new FBI rules. July 17, 2008

The right-wing Sun newspaper in Britain has been exposed for fabricating stories that smear Muslims as hate-filled fanatics. July 16, 2008

Barack Obama is planning a visit to Iraq to help him "refine" the position on withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq that won him the Democratic nomination. July 15, 2008

The British military has created a wall of silence around its frequent resort to barbaric practices, including torture, and goes out of its way to avoid scrutiny. July 11, 2008

Since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama has moved so far and fast to the right that even the Wall Street Journal approves. July 9, 2008

A closer look at a "small school" success story in New York City reveals the need for more staff, more funding and higher teachers' salaries. July 9, 2008

Returning to his home in Gaza from a trip to Britain, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer was seized by Israel's security services and brutalized. July 4, 2008

Corporate America is celebrating the Supreme Court decision in the Exxon Valdez case that shields the world's most profitable company against its victims. July 3, 2008

The federal government's never-ending persecution of Sami Al-Arian reached a new low when Al-Arian was charged with two counts of criminal contempt. July 2, 2008

Western oil companies are putting the finishing touches on contracts that would allow them to operate in Iraq for the first time in more than three decades. July 1, 2008

Muslims are alone as they watch the British government carry out repression against them that it would never attempt against those of other faiths. July 1, 2008

Hunger is on the rise, but rather than take any real action, the world's leaders can only think about making a profit off misery. June 26, 2008

There is nothing in Obama's record to suggest that he plans any radical departures from the mainstream of the American foreign policy establishment. June 18, 2008

George Bush ratcheted up the pressure on Iran with his announcement while in Britain that the European Union had agreed to a new round of sanctions. June 18, 2008

Barack Obama's motive in criticizing Black men as irresponsible was to appeal to conservative white voters by validating racist stereotypes. June 17, 2008

Half a century after the Supreme Court ruled segregated schools unconstitutional, they still exist--not on the fringe, but as the normal, accepted mode in U.S. schools. June 17, 2008

Understanding what Barack Obama would do as president isn't possible without understanding the essentially unchanged system of U.S. power. June 16, 2008

When war crimes like Haditha see the light of day, the myth of U.S. "success" in Iraq is exposed, as is the real face of occupation. June 10, 2008

According to the report of one think tank, there's a "lost generation" that despises mathematics because of the way it's taught in school. June 10, 2008

The reaction to former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's memoir speaks volumes about the crisis of the Republican Party. June 6, 2008

The Clintons were the key architects of a thinly veiled race-based campaign strategy that escalated as Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations disintegrated. June 5, 2008

For the world's governments, the priorities of the "war on terror" come before speaking out for Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma. June 4, 2008

The Republicans have gotten help from two hated opponents: Hillary and Bill Clinton have set out the most effective ways to attack Barack Obama. June 3, 2008

New reports show how British politicians pad their expense claims--but they're so out of touch, they don't understand why ordinary people are aghast. June 3, 2008

Obama offers a "new" and apparently progressive face for the Democrats, but he is as one with McCain in supporting America’s corporate oligarchs. June 2, 2008

If you look more closely at what the U.S. has done in Afghanistan, it's clear the rhetoric about upholding democracy is--as in Iraq--a smokescreen. May 28, 2008

A court case currently underway against antiwar activists in Belfast seems to show plainly that nothing makes any sense. May 26, 2008

The parallels between South Africa’s white minority regime and the apartheid state of Israel were striking as Israel celebrated its 60th anniversary. May 22, 2008

Barack Obama's success shows the American population has become more progressive, but it won't mean the end of racism and discrimination. May 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was designed to rerun the battles of the 1990s rather than face today's different political environment. May 20, 2008

The film War, Inc. tells us more about Iraq and U.S. politics than anything on offer from the media, with its 24/7 barrage of abuse of our intelligence. May 20, 2008

The excitement in the British football season wasn't found in the top-level Premier League, where teams almost always finish in order of how rich they are. May 19, 2008

Britain's "New Labour" government is gutting one of the longstanding features of "communal decency"--the local post office. May 14, 2008

If you look beyond the battles among the candidates, Election 2008 is bringing into focus a political shift to the left that runs deeper than the presidential campaign. May 13, 2008

The debate about lethal injection and the death penalty won't be over as long as we have a government that is in the business of killing. May 13, 2008

A man who spent 14 years waiting to be Britain's prime minister doesn't seem to have any coherent reason for wanting the job. May 12, 2008

The media that praise a new generation of Rockefellers for promoting alternative energy are ignoring the cruel history of the robber-baron family. May 8, 2008

A SocialistWorker.org columnist examines the conventional wisdom about the Democratic campaign during an election night that may have finished Hillary Clinton. May 7, 2008

Barack Obama's decision to ditch his former pastor is part of a broader strategy of tilting right to appeal to supposedly conservative white voters. May 6, 2008

There was much more to the revolutionary year 1968 than the common appraisal today--that it was a frivolous episode involving a few hippies and students. May 5, 2008

A race for control of the planet's two polar regions is unfolding, with consequences that could hasten capitalism's destruction of the Earth. May 2, 2008

According to Judge Arthur Cooperman, the three New York City police officers who killed Sean Bell weren't guilty of anything. May 2, 2008

With the wholesale renovation of our Web site, Socialist Worker is entering a new era. May 1, 2008

The world's dominant power is waging a largely unreported war on another continent--Latin America. May 1, 2008

The energy wasted on campaign nonsense should lead us to ask the question the media avoid: Who are the candidates actually in touch with? April 25, 2008

Ordinary people, whether they live in Pennsylvania or not, have many reasons to be bitter about the condition of their lives and the world. April 25, 2008

His history as a radical antiwar activist is the real heart of the "Are you now or have you ever been a dinner guest of Bill Ayers?" attack. April 25, 2008

For the 3 billion people who survive on less than $2 a day, the upward spiral in food prices has meant a struggle for the most basic of human rights. April 11, 2008

John McCain is proposing warmed-over supply-side economics--and there's less to the Democrats' criticisms of business than meets the eye. April 11, 2008

Whoever the Democratic nominee is will take a huge fundraising and business endorsement advantage into the November election. April 11, 2008

The crackup of the storied Wall Street firm Bear Stearns has provided an object lesson in the double standards of American capitalism. April 4, 2008

Despite the presence of hundreds of antiwar veterans telling their story, the U.S. corporate media chose to ignore Winter Soldier. April 4, 2008

The crackup of Bear Stearns ended with a bailout for Wall Street. But millions of homeowners will pay for the crisis Wall Street made. March 28, 2008

Barack Obama's speech has put the issue of racism back in the center of mainstream U.S. politics for the first time in decades. March 28, 2008

If Rev. Jeremiah Wright used angry rhetoric, perhaps it's because there's still a lot in American society to be angry about. March 28, 2008

The priority of government is to defend the interests of the rich and powerful in society, and that is why corruption and hypocrisy is endemic. March 21, 2008

The halls of Congress are filling up again with proposed legislation that scapegoats immigrants. March 21, 2008

A specter is haunting the Democrats in 2008--the specter of the party's 1968 convention. At least that's how some pundits are putting it. March 14, 2008

ExxonMobil's management team has cornered the market on corporate corruption while paying a minimum in compensation to its many victims. March 14, 2008

The media and political establishment are reselling the Iraq war, but a majority of people still want to see U.S. troops out. March 14, 2008

The "greatest democracy on Earth" undertook a secret operation to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Palestinians. March 14, 2008

Despite Hillary Clinton's March 4 wins, it's better-than-even money that her presidential bid is lost. But the same can't be said for Clintonism. March 7, 2008

The Bush administration's calls for Turkey to end its incursion into northern Iraq show the contradiction facing Washington in the region. March 7, 2008

Suddenly, the two Democrats vying for the party's presidential nomination are talking like hardened class warriors. February 22, 2008

Just because an organization has "democratic" in its name doesn't mean it functions according to the barest concepts of democracy. February 22, 2008

Over the coming couple months, Socialist Worker has some major changes planned for our paper and our Internet editions. February 22, 2008

Barack Obama has tapped into mass discontent with the status quo and the desire for a genuine and fundamental alternative. February 15, 2008

If current projections hold, 2008 has the potential of being equivalent for the Democrats what 1980 was for the Republicans. February 8, 2008

George Bush claims that the U.S. has never been doing better in Iraq. But the view is very different among Iraqis. February 8, 2008

With the vote so close between Clinton and Obama, attention is finally being paid to the Democratic Party's superdelegates. February 8, 2008

The media guesswork about what will happen on Super Tuesday hides the bigger picture--what Election 2008 so far says about U.S. politics. February 1, 2008

The dueling of the candidates masks the awkward truth that the two Democratic frontrunners agree on much more than they disagree on. January 25, 2008

A collection of liberal antiwar groups has retreated from a campaign to get Congress to cut funding for the U.S. war on Iraq. January 25, 2008

The U.S. war on Iraq is grinding on--and yet the antiwar movement seems to have ground to a halt. January 18, 2008

Some writers on the left are sliding down the slippery slope of single-issue voting in their support for right-wing Republican Ron Paul. January 18, 2008

The image of George Bush as a peacemaker that was promoted in the media has little to do with the real purpose of his Middle East trip. January 18, 2008

After all the optimism that followed its 2006 election win, the new Democratic-controlled Congress failed to block the Bush agenda in any way. January 11, 2008

When you look beyond his inspirational rhetoric and profile as a candidate of "change," what does Barack Obama actually stand for? January 11, 2008