Articles

French Theory in the Intellectual Cold War

French Theory in the Intellectual Cold War

by John Bellamy Foster

March 1, 2026

In 1966, Johns Hopkins hosted a seemingly innocuous international conference titled "The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man," featuring leading figures of what would later be known as "French Theory." However, John Bellamy Foster writes, far from a simple meeting of intellectuals, this represented a "politically motivated attempt to create a beachhead for French structuralism in the United States that would counter the radicalization then taking place."
Could Capitalism Have Thrived Without Colonialism?

Could Capitalism Have Thrived Without Colonialism?

by Vijay Prashad

March 1, 2026

Vijay Prashad critiques the argument that colonialism was, at most, ancillary to the transition between capitalism and feudalism in Western Europe. Instead, Prashad argues, "capitalism as it historically emerged—industrial, global, racialized, and imperial—was inseparable from colonial expropriation." This reality must fuel a Marxist conception of the global struggle for reparations for those who have been oppressed and exploited at the hands of empires past and present.
Global South Struggles for Socialism and the Workers’ Side of Marxism

Global South Struggles for Socialism and the Workers’ Side of Marxism

by Chris Gilbert

March 1, 2026

Karl Marx originally planned to complement Capital with an additional work exploring capitalism from the side of the workers, which he never completed. In this article, Chris Gilbert argues that this projected "workers' side of Marxism" has a special relevance to the processes of anti-imperialist struggle in the Global South, explaining why they often turn to socialism despite underdeveloped productive forces and the relative scarcity of a classical proletariat.
Trump’s Tariffs and the U.S. Multinational Firm

Trump’s Tariffs and the U.S. Multinational Firm

by Craig Medlen

March 1, 2026

Craig Medlen dissects the logic behind the Trump administration's efforts to impose tariffs as a way to counteract "unfair" U.S. trade deficits. Situating these deficits in the longer history of U.S. trade hegemony and its crumbling position in the global economy, Medlen uses incontrovertible data to illustrate how mainstream economic orthodoxy fails to acknowledge the effects of foreign inputs that integral to the workings of U.S. monopoly capital.
Repression in the Classroom

Repression in the Classroom

by Paul Buhle

March 1, 2026

In this dual review, Paul Buhle lends contemporary context to the histories of McCarthyism found in the recently published A Blacklist Education, by Jane S. Smith, and Operation Mind, by Natalie Zemon Davis and Elizabeth Donovan. In these two books, Buhle writes, readers can find parallels with the was that is today being waged against university professors and students for political activities—a stark reminder that political witch-hunts did not end with Joe McCarthy.
February 2026 (Volume 77, Number 9)

February 2026 (Volume 77, Number 9)

by The Editors

February 1, 2026

Frederick Engels's The Condition of the Working Class in England…has long been regarded by historians as the most systematic and thoroughgoing analysis of the deplorable conditions of the industrial working class in early Victorian England available from the times. Nevertheless, given the role that Engels's book played in the development of historical materialism, there have been continual attempts in the reigning ideology to prove his analysis wrong, all of which have failed dismally.
Western Marxism and the Myth of Capitalism’s Adamantine Chains

Western Marxism and the Myth of Capitalism’s Adamantine Chains

by John Bellamy Foster

February 1, 2026

In this talk from the inaugural conference of the Society for Peace, Internationalism, and Ecology, John Bellamy Foster relates the story of Prometheus, as presented in the plays of Aeschylus, to Western Marxism's "dialectic of defeat," in which capitalism is portrayed as an unbreakable bond for the working class. Instead, Foster says, we must recognize Prometheus as a subject who is freed from the seemingly inescapable fetters imposed upon him.
The Slave Trade and the Industrial Revolution Debate: A Look at the Numbers

The Slave Trade and the Industrial Revolution Debate: A Look at the Numbers

by Thomas E. Lambert

February 1, 2026

Using historical databases and quantitative analysis, Thomas E. Lambert calls into question the assertion that the trans-Atlantic slave trade can be considered a separate phenomenon from, rather than a major supporting factor in, the Industrial Revolution in England. Asserting otherwise, he writes, is a to deny "a horrifying and inhuman part of the global history of capitalism."
The Palestinian Question as a Framework for a Century of Tunisian Mobilization

The Palestinian Question as a Framework for a Century of Tunisian Mobilization

by Hèla Yousfi

February 1, 2026

In this illuminating article, Hèla Yousfi explores the history of solidarity of the Tunisian left and labor movements with the struggle for Palestinian liberation. Through this recounting, Yousfi is able to map out a history of how the brutal occupation of Palestine has influenced political consciousness not only in Tunisia, but throughout the Arab world.

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