Editor's note: A Spanish translation of this article is available here. Introduction Our understanding of the state lies at the heart of our struggle to create a new society and fundamentally eliminate the oppression, exploitation, war, and environmental destruction...
Capital’s path to “Janus v. AFSCME:” An obstacle struggle will overcome
Series Introduction: Beginning with overturning Roe v. Wade, the ultra right-wing Supreme Court continues attacking hard-won and elementary democratic rights in the United States, from affirmative action to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The following article is the...
The “Powell Memo” and the Supreme Court: A counteroffensive against the many
Beginning with overturning Roe v. Wade, the ultra right-wing Supreme Court continues to attack hard-won and elementary democratic rights in the United States. The following article is the fourth in our “Crimes of the Supreme Court” series. While other entries focus on...
Corporate personhood, monopoly capital, and the precedent that wasn’t: The 1886 “Santa Clara” case
Editor’s note: Beginning with overturning Roe v. Wade, the ultra right-wing Supreme Court continues to attack hard-won and elementary democratic rights in the United States, from affirmative action to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The following article is the third in...
“Shelby County v. Holder:” How the Supreme Court attacked Black voting rights
Editor’s note: Beginning with overturning Roe v. Wade, the ultra right-wing Supreme Court continues to attack hard-won and elementary democratic rights in the United States, from affirmative action to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The following article is the second...
Haunted by the ghost of “Marbury v. Madison:” Judicial review and abolishing the Supreme Court
Editor’s note: Beginning with overturning Roe v. Wade, the ultra right-wing Supreme Court continues to attack hard-won and elementary democratic rights in the United States, from affirmative action to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The following article is the first in...
Of, by, and for the elite: The class character of the U.S. Constitution
Contrary to the mythology we learn in school, the founding fathers feared and hated the concept of democracy—which they derisively referred to as "tyranny of the majority." The constitution that they wrote reflects this, and seeks to restrict and prohibit involvement...
The U.S. state and the U.S. revolution
It is no exaggeration to say that the principal disputes between activists, organizations and political trends in U.S. social movements have hinged on different understandings of, and attitudes toward, the state. What distinguishes a revolutionary communist...
The Supreme Court: Last line of defense for the ruling class
This article was originally published as Chapter 6 in Democracy and Class Society," a book produced by the PSL in 2008, and is being republished in response to the recent news that the Supreme Court has decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. "I give you, gentlemen, the...