Dismantle Racial Capitalism
The COVID crisis has cast into stark relief what has always been true: the wealth and prosperity of the U.S. economy rests on the labor, and the lives, of black and brown people.
Spring 2025
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The Pre-emption Racket
Conservative state governments are rolling back local public health initiatives, intentionally putting their citizens in harm’s way.
Bring Back Health Planning
We need a health system where the distribution of infrastructure and resources is not left to the dictates of the market, but rationally planned according to the needs of communities—and the certainty of future disasters.
Conservative Incoherence
The conservative response to COVID-19 has been defined by its heterogeneity: a blur of contradictory recriminations, confirmation biases, and conspiracy peddling.
Low Pay and High Risk at the Nail Salon
Salon technicians are struggling to balance safety precautions with the inherently intimate nature of their work.
Authoritarian Governance Is Like a Virus
The COVID-19 crisis has given autocrats an excuse to expand and deepen their power—while making the spread of the pandemic worse.
The Dignity of Labor
Despite the outpouring of praise for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, their own interests continue to come second to the broader public’s need for cheap and reliable labor.
Europe: Will This Crisis Be Different?
As the 2008 financial crisis made clear, without major change at the European level, social democratic responses to the coronavirus crisis will be out of reach for many countries across the continent.
Chipotle Workers Protest “Black Lives Matter Hypocrisy”
While the company boasted that it would donate $1 million to fight racism, workers argue it is perpetuating racial injustice by mistreating its many Black and Latinx workers.
Apocalypse Again
For many people, the world has ended again and again.
Guest Workers Get Shut Out
The White House recently announced plans to restrict migrant work programs. J-1 visa holders already working without labor protections now face an even more precarious future.
The Return of the Labor Question
Absent a sufficient level of density to carry the swing states, unions are seeking to turn out not just their own members but sympathetic communities as well.
Turn Mutual Aid Into Meaningful Work
Community care as formal employment seems necessary in the face of a disaster-prone future. It could also feel a lot better than any large-scale employment on the table now.
Street Vendors’ Long Road to Recovery
Recent policy changes in New York City promise to reduce police harassment of vendors, but they are struggling months into the pandemic.
Deep Problems
The center may lack imagination and moral vision, but it has one weighty advantage: we all live in the world it built.
