Jacobin

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“The robots are coming” need not be understood as heralding the apocalypse. An automated society in which states and worker-owned enterprises use technology to serve public ends while meeting individual needs is entirely consistent with the good life. jacobin.com/2026/05/robots…

The Scottish National Party won its 5th consecutive term in office last week. But the party’s tepid brand of centrism still looks worn out, and the only big advances came for Reform on the right and the Greens on the left. jacobin.com/2026/05/scotla…

A group of actors have made a film about antiwar protesters on trial in Russia. Long prison sentences, torture, and mysterious deaths in custody are all designed to intimidate dissenters and crush critical discussion of the attack on Ukraine. jacobin.com/2026/05/film-r…

It has become fashionable to talk about the rise of technofeudalism. But an Uber driver is not a peasant legally tied to a lord, but simply an insecure worker forced into an unbalanced commercial contract with an exploitative boss. jacobin.com/2026/05/review…

Israel and its boosters cry that critics of genocide are guilty of “blood libel” when those critics describe very real atrocities — atrocities that are either objectively true, later proven correct, or even freely admitted to by Israeli officials. jacobin.com/2026/05/gaza-i…

Fear and doomerism over new technology will only halt the real work of fighting for democratic control of it. The robots may be coming, but building a society in which automation serves the public good remains a distinctly human task. jacobin.com/2026/05/robots…

The Green surge in the Scottish Parliament election was extraordinary, with support for the party hitting a record high of 14% as it became the third-largest force. Many voters see the Greens as a left flank of the independence movement. jacobin.com/2026/05/scotla…

Even faced with a small antiwar movement, the Russian state is still determinedly crushing any sign of protest. For activists hauled before the courts, their trial is often their last opportunity to take a defiant stand against the war. jacobin.com/2026/05/film-r…

In "Mother of Capital," Marxist historian Matthew Costa offers a brilliant history of feudalism’s decline. The book is essential reading for anyone looking to understand how capitalism came about, and how it might be overcome. jacobin.com/2026/05/review…

From the start of the genocide in Gaza to today, pro-Israel forces have lazily screamed “blood libel” any time Israel has come under criticism for one or another bloodcurdling atrocity. jacobin.com/2026/05/gaza-i…

With concern over the rapid rise of AI, we’ve missed parallel advances in robotics. But the robots are on their way. If we can move past reflexive doomerism, we might still build a world in which automation serves the public good. jacobin.com/2026/05/robots…

After last week’s election, for the first time since the creation of the Scottish Parliament 27 years ago, it will play host to a sizable contingent of politicians from the extreme right of the political spectrum in the shape of Reform UK. jacobin.com/2026/05/scotla…

Over four years into Russia’s war in Ukraine, some of the Russians imprisoned in its early days are still in jail. Even people with no previous political activism have been landed with long prison sentences in order to crush dissent. jacobin.com/2026/05/film-r…

A new book defends a Marxist theory of the origins of capitalism. Along the way it shows why understanding the transition from feudalism can help us make sense of the present. jacobin.com/2026/05/review…

Genocide apologists have declared the New York Times’s Nicholas Kristof’s report on Israeli soldiers’ rape of Palestinians is “blood libel.” If that sounds familiar, it’s because they’ve said the same thing for three years about every Israeli war crime. jacobin.com/2026/05/gaza-i…

“The robots are coming” need not be understood as heralding the apocalypse. An automated society in which states and worker-owned enterprises use technology to serve public ends while meeting individual needs is entirely consistent with the good life. jacobin.com/2026/05/robots…

The Scottish National Party won its 5th consecutive term in office last week. But the party’s tepid brand of centrism still looks worn out, and the only big advances came for Reform on the right and the Greens on the left. jacobin.com/2026/05/scotla…

The pearl-clutching hysterics from Quebec’s chattering classes over a labor group’s decapitation of a papier-mâché dummy reveal less about political violence than about ruling-class fragility. jacobin.com/2026/05/montre…

Jack Thorne’s Netflix adaptation of “Lord of the Flies” drowns William Golding’s brutal clarity in arty excess, muddled psychology, and a strangely sentimental plea for sympathy for boys. jacobin.com/2026/05/lord-f…

Donald Trump and the Republicans are insisting the economy is great and unhappy Americans are deluded. Just like Democrats under Joe Biden, they’re lying to themselves and everyone else — and will eventually pay the price. jacobin.com/2026/05/trump-…