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''Jacobin'' is an American political magazine based in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. It offers
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
perspectives on politics, economics and culture. As of 2021, the magazine reported a paid print circulation of 75,000 and over 3 million monthly visitors.


History and overview

The publication began as an online magazine released in September 2010, expanding into a print journal later that year. ''Jacobin'' founder
Bhaskar Sunkara Bhaskar Sunkara (born June 1989) is an American political writer. He is the founding editor of '' Jacobin,'' the president of ''The Nation,'' and publisher of ''Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy'' and London's ''Tribune''. He is a former ...
describes ''Jacobin'' as a
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
publication being "largely the product of a younger generation not quite as tied to the Cold War paradigms that sustained the old leftist intellectual milieux like ''
Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
'' or '' New Politics'', but still eager to confront, rather than table, the questions that arose from the experience of the left in the 20th century". In 2014, Sunkara said that the aim of the magazine was to create a publication which combined resolutely socialist politics with the accessibility of titles such as ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' and ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
''. Note: ''International Socialist Review'' commenced 1956; from the 1990s, continued as a publication of
Center for Economic Research and Social Change Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
; last issue produced in 2019.
He has also contrasted it to publications associated with small leftist groups, such as the
International Socialist Organization The International Socialist Organization (ISO) was a Trotskyist group active primarily on college campuses in the United States that was founded in 1976 and dissolved in 2019. The organization held Leninist positions on imperialism and the role ...
's ''
Socialist Worker ''Socialist Worker'' is the name of several far-left newspapers currently or formerly associated with the International Socialist Tendency (IST). It is a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United Kingdom since ...
'' and '' International Socialist Review'' which were oriented towards party members and other revolutionary socialists, seeking a broader audience than those works while still anchoring the magazine in a
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
perspective. In an interview he gave in 2018, Sunkara said that he intended for ''Jacobin'' to perform a similar role on the contemporary left to that undertaken by ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'' on the post-war right, i.e. "to cohere people around a set of ideas, and to interact with the mainstream of liberalism with that set of ideas". ''Jacobin''s popularity grew with the increasing attention on
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
ideas stimulated by
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
'
2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kir ...
, with subscriptions tripling from 10,000 in the summer of 2015 to 32,000 as of the first issue of 2017, with 16,000 of the new subscribers being added in the two months after
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's election. In late 2016, ''Jacobin''s editorial team unionized, including a total of seven full- and part-time members. An associate editor and co-chair of the union explained that ''Jacobin'' had only recently had enough full-time members to warrant unionization. In spring 2017, Jacobin launched a peer-reviewed journal, ''Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy'', which is today edited by
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
professor
Vivek Chibber Vivek Aslam Chibber (born 1965) is an American academic, social theorist, editor, and professor of sociology at New York University, who has published widely on development, social theory, and politics. Chibber is the author of three books, ''The ...
and a small editorial board. As of 2022, ''Catalyst'' claims a subscriber base of 7,500. In November 2018, the magazine's first foreign-language edition, ''Jacobin Italia'', was launched. Sunkara described it as "a classic franchise model", with the parent publication providing publishing and editorial advice and taking a small slice of revenue, but otherwise granting the Italian magazine autonomy. A Brazilian edition appeared in 2019, and a German version started publishing in 2020; the latter grew out of ''Ada'', an independent online magazine established in 2018 which primarily published translations of ''Jacobin'' articles. The first issue of the German edition featured interviews with
Kevin Kühnert Kevin Kühnert (born 1 July 1989) is a German politician and the General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 elections, representing Berlin-Tempelhof-Schöneb ...
and
Grace Blakeley Grace Blakeley (born 26 June 1993) is an English economics and politics commentator, columnist, journalist and author. She is a staff writer for ''Tribune'' and panelist on TalkTV. She was previously the economics commentator of the ''New State ...
. A Spanish-language version of ''Jacobin'', ''Jacobin América Latina'', was also launched in 2020. In April 2020, ''Jacobin'' launched its YouTube channel featuring the Weekends program with Michael Brooks and Ana Kasparian. Brooks died suddenly in July 2020. In May 2020, some time after Bernie Sanders suspended his 2020 presidential campaign, Sanders' former adviser and speechwriter
David Sirota David J. Sirota (born November 2, 1975) is an American journalist, columnist at ''The Guardian'', editor for ''Jacobin'', author, television writer, and screenwriter. He is also a political commentator and radio host based in Denver. He is a natio ...
joined ''Jacobin'' as editor-at-large. In 2020, Jacobin became an affiliated member of the
Progressive International The Progressive International is an international organization uniting and mobilizing progressive left-wing activists and organizations. Origins It was launched after the Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25) and The Sanders Institute announ ...
.


Title and logo

The name of the magazine derives from the 1938 book ''The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution'' by
C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, ''The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are in ...
in which James ascribes the Haitian revolutionists a greater purity in regards to their attachment to the ideals of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
than the French
Jacobins , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
. The conservative religious journal ''
First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religio ...
'' criticized ''Jacobins claim to represent
Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...
, pointing to Louverture's devout Catholicism, opposition to the massacres of former slave owners, and his actions to the former slaves of the colonies. According to creative director Remeike Forbes, the magazine's frequently used "Black Jacobin" logo was inspired by a scene in the movie ''
Burn! ''Burn!'' (original title: ''Queimada'') is a 1969 historical war drama film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. Set in the mid-19th century, the film stars Marlon Brando as a British ''agent provocateur'' sent to overthrow a Portuguese colony in the ...
'' referring to Nicaraguan national hero
José Dolores Estrada José Dolores Estrada Vado (1792–1869) is a Nicaraguan national hero famed for defeating a detachment of William Walker's filibuster army at Hacienda San Jacinto in 1856. Estrada was born in Nandaime on March 16, 1792, the son of Timoteo E ...
.


Contributors

Notable ''Jacobin'' contributors have included
Kristen Ghodsee Kristen Rogheh Ghodsee (born April 26, 1970) is an American ethnographer and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is primarily known for her ethnographic work on post-Communist Bulgaria as well as ...
,
Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
,
Yanis Varoufakis Ioannis "Yanis" Varoufakis ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωργίου "Γιάνης" Βαρουφάκης, Ioánnis Georgíou "Giánis" Varoufákis, ; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. A former academic, he served as the Gree ...
,
Hilary Wainwright Hilary Wainwright (born 1949) is a British sociologist, political activist and socialist feminist, best known for being a co-editor of ''Red Pepper (magazine), Red Pepper'' magazine. Early life and education Wainwright's father was the Libera ...
,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...
,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
,
Pablo Iglesias Turrión Pablo Iglesias Turrión (; born 17 October 1978) is a Spanish political scientist and former politician. During his political career, he served as Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Ministry of Social Aff ...
and
Jon Trickett Jon Hedley Trickett (born 2 July 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire since a 1996 by-election. He was Shadow Lord President of the Council from 2016 to 2020 and s ...
. Sunkara has said he feels that "all of our writers fit within a broad socialist tradition", noting that the magazine does sometimes publish articles by liberals and
social democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, but that such pieces are written from a perspective that is consistent with the magazine's editorial vision, saying that "we might publish a piece by a liberal advocating single-payer healthcare, because they’re calling for the decommodification of a sector; and since we believe in the decommodification of the whole economy, it fits in". In terms of the sociological background of contributors, Sunkara acknowledged that they were mostly under the age of 35 and stated that "there are a lot of grad students, young adjunct professors or tenured professors. We also have quite a few organizers and union researchers involved ..and people working in NGOs or around housing rights, that kind of thing".


Ideology and reception

''Jacobin'' has been variously described as
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
,
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
. Writing for the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' in November 2013, Max Strasser suggested that ''Jacobin'' claims to "take the mantle of Marxist thought of
Ralph Miliband Ralph Miliband (born Adolphe Miliband; 7 January 1924 – 21 May 1994) was a British sociologist. He has been described as "one of the best known academic Marxists of his generation", in this manner being compared with E. P. Thompson, Eric Ho ...
and a similar vein of democratic socialism". According to an article published in September 2014 by the
Nieman Journalism Lab The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ' ...
, ''Jacobin'' is a journal of "democratic socialist thought". In January 2013, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ran a profile of Bhaskar Sunkara, commenting on the publication's unexpected success and engagement with mainstream liberalism. In an October 2013 article for ''
Tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...
'',
Michelle Goldberg Michelle Goldberg (born 1975)"Michelle Goldberg". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2016. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, January 28, 2017. is an American journalist and author, and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Tim ...
discussed ''Jacobin'' as part of a revival of interest in Marxism among young intellectuals. In February 2016, Jake Blumgart, who contributed to the magazine in its early years, stated that it "found an audience by mixing data-driven analysis and Marxist commentary with an irreverent and accessible style". In a 2014 interview published in ''
New Left Review The ''New Left Review'' is a British bimonthly journal covering world politics, economy, and culture, which was established in 1960. History Background As part of the British "New Left" a number of new journals emerged to carry commentary on m ...
'', Sunkara named a number of ideological influences on the magazine, including
Michael Harrington Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was perhaps best known as the author of ''The Other America''. Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, professo ...
, whom he described as "very underrated as a popularizer of Marxist thought";
Ralph Miliband Ralph Miliband (born Adolphe Miliband; 7 January 1924 – 21 May 1994) was a British sociologist. He has been described as "one of the best known academic Marxists of his generation", in this manner being compared with E. P. Thompson, Eric Ho ...
and others such as
Leo Panitch Leo Victor Panitch (3 May 1945 – 19 December 2020) was a distinguished research professor of political science and a Canada Research Chair in comparative political economy at York University. From 1985 until the 2021 edition, he served as co-ed ...
who were influenced by
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
without fully embracing it; theorists working in the
Eurocommunist Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rele ...
tradition; and "
Second International The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued th ...
radicals" including
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
and
Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theorist. Kautsky was one of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in ...
. In April 2016,
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
called the magazine "a bright light in dark times". In a March 2018 article published in the ''
Weekly Worker The ''Weekly Worker'' is a newspaper published by the Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee) (CPGB-PCC). The paper is known on the left for its polemical articles, and for its close attention to Marxist theory and the po ...
'', Jim Creegan highlighted the association of a number of the magazine's editors and writers with the
Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...
(DSA), describing ''Jacobin'' as "the closest thing to a flagship publication of the DSA left" whilst also stressing the political diversity of contributors, incorporating "everyone from social democratic liberals to avowed revolutionaries". He also noted several features of the publication's editorial stance, namely its rejection of
anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
; its skepticism regarding the possibility of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
being transformed into a
social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
movement through internal pressure, advocating instead the formation of a mass-based independent labor party; criticism of the parties of the
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
, which they argue have been responsible for imposing
neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
policies; and a conviction that the
Nordic model The Nordic model comprises the economic and social policies as well as typical cultural practices common to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). This includes a comprehensive welfare state and multi-level coll ...
of social democracy is ultimately not viable and that the only alternative to capitalism would be for militant labor and socialist movements to struggle to replace capitalism with socialism.


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Jacobin YouTube channel
*
Weekends with Michael Brooks and Ana Kasparian
*
Stay at Home
* {{American socialism navbox 2010 establishments in New York City
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
Magazines published in New York City Marxist magazines Political magazines published in the United States
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...