Americans Are Abandoning the Communal Meal
Consuming food all by oneself is an anomaly in the history of human civilization, a deviation from millennia of tradition. And more and more Americans are doing it.
410 Article(s) by: Meagan Day
Meagan Day is a senior editor at Jacobin.
Patriotism Against Authoritarianism
Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies featured millions of Americans claiming patriotic imagery against authoritarianism and toward progressive ends. That’s a good thing.
Sylvan Esso on Why They Pulled Their Music From Spotify
The band Sylvan Esso has removed its music from Spotify in protest of the company’s exploitative practices. In an exclusive interview with Jacobin, they explain their reasoning — and why the move feels so good even though it’s financially risky.
America’s Split-Screen Economy
The top 10% are responsible for nearly half of the consumer spending that’s keeping the economy afloat. There’s something disturbing about a tiny number of people having so much money that it effectively masks how poor everyone else is.
The Right Is Using Charlie Kirk’s Murder to Attack Free Speech
Over the past week since the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk, we’ve watched conservatives unabashedly take ownership of “cancel culture” and crack down on free speech right before our eyes.
Charlie Kirk’s Murder Is a Tragedy and a Disaster
The assassination of Charlie Kirk threatens to embolden the far right and provide Donald Trump with a pretext for crushing dissent. Escalating political violence corrodes democratic norms and poses a unique threat to the Left.
Multilevel Marketing Scams Are Capitalism in Microcosm
Multilevel marketing companies promise that everyone can become a boss and get rich if they hustle hard enough. But they’re actually fraudulent pyramid schemes that, like capitalism writ large, require mass exploitation to enrich the few at the top.
When It Comes to Clean Water, Trump Is Betraying MAHA
The Make America Healthy Again movement is rightly concerned with the contamination of our drinking water. To clean it up, we need enhanced corporate regulation and massive public investment to overhaul our water systems. Donald Trump won’t do any of that.
The Trump-Era Gender Wars, Brought to You By Neoliberalism
We’re seeing an alarming revival of archaic gender role ideas, from the manosphere’s remasculinization crusade to trad wives’ rejection of public life. Veteran historian of gender roles Stephanie Coontz explains the moment’s deep economic undercurrents.
A Society Governed by Whiny Rich People Throwing Tantrums
Every time we want to change society to benefit average people, we have to deal with ultrawealthy crybabies. We’re held hostage by those who already have it all. It doesn’t have to be like this.
Halting Evictions Is Good Child Welfare Policy
Evictions are uniquely destructive to children, undermining the social and institutional connections that provide kids with stability. A new study quantifies their extensive damage, from increasing child homelessness to decreasing high-school graduation rates.
Get Ready for Citizens United 2.0
Is it possible for American democracy to be further degraded by the influence of billionaires? Thanks to champion of the working class J. D. Vance and his right-wing friends, including “dark money kingpin” Leonard Leo, we may soon find out.
A Left Response to the Birth Rate Crisis
The Right uses falling birth rates to pose as defenders of family and future against demographic suicide. The Left can’t keep declining to comment. Instead, we should reframe the conversation to emphasize security and freedom over scarcity and coercion.
Andrew Cuomo Thought He Could Bend a Passive Party to His Will
Zohran Mamdani’s stunning upset over Andrew Cuomo reveals how the Democratic Party’s hollowness and passivity cuts both ways — first enabling Cuomo’s absurd candidacy, then failing to insulate him from a left-wing challenger.
Silicon Valley Was Woke. Now They Want Blood.
The Big Data firm Palantir spent years developing lethal military tech. Now it’s leading a transformation in Silicon Valley, with tech giants abandoning their progressive posturing to join the battle for American military supremacy.
Democrats Are Throwing In the Towel on Rural America
Since 2016, Democrats have operationally withdrawn from rural America. No party can win nationally without rural voters, and progressive economics have plenty to offer, if only the party would embrace them.
Donald Trump Manufactured the Crisis in Los Angeles
The Trump administration claims to be fighting an existential battle against insurrectionary forces in Los Angeles. In truth, it created this cynical spectacle itself, deploying troops and inflaming tensions to distract from its policy failures.
With Trump vs. Musk, Capitalist Democracy Reaches a New Low
Two billionaires, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, are squabbling over the federal government’s spoils. It seems almost quaint to worry about a revolving door between the public and private sectors now that the whole facade’s been blown off.
Trump Mania Has Turned Democrats Into Confused Flip-Floppers
The irony of Democrats reducing their entire politics to reflexive opposition to Donald Trump is that, as a result, Trump now faces no credible opposition.
Democrats Are Going Extinct in Kentucky’s Coal Country
The last rural Democrat in Kentucky’s state senate just switched parties. Robin Webb is wrong that Republicans better represent her coal-country constituents, but she’s right that Democrats lost interest in them long ago.