Jacobin (magazine)

Jacobin (magazine)
Title	Jacobin
Editor	Bhaskar Sunkara
Editor title	Editor
Frequency	Quarterly (print); online (continuous)
Publisher	Jacobin LLC
Firstdate	2010
Country	United States
Language	English

Jacobin (magazine) is an American socialist quarterly magazine and online publication founded in 2010. It focuses on political analysis, cultural commentary, and historical interpretation from a democratic socialist perspective and engages with debates involving labor, international relations, and social movements. The magazine has become influential within left-wing circles and has connections to unions, political campaigns, and academic debates.

History

Jacobin was founded in 2010 by Bhaskar Sunkara, who drew inspiration from 19th-century and 20th-century socialist traditions such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, and the Second International. Early contributors included activists and scholars associated with organizations and movements like the Democratic Socialists of America, International Socialist Organization, Students for a Democratic Society, Service Employees International Union, and veterans of campaigns for figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The magazine expanded from a small print journal to a broader online platform amid larger developments including the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests, the 2016 United States presidential election, and the 2018 Midterm elections. Jacobin established regional and international editions and produced books and long-form essays, intersecting with institutions like Verso Books, university presses, and podcasts featuring guests from the Labor Notes milieu.

Editorial stance and ideology

Jacobin advocates democratic socialism and situates itself in conversation with traditions represented by Antonio Gramsci, Leon Trotsky, Michael Harrington, and the New Left. Its editors and writers frequently debate policy proposals associated with figures and platforms such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Democratic Socialists of America program while engaging critiques of politicians including Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and conservative leaders like Ronald Reagan. The magazine addresses international issues involving actors such as NATO, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel, and events like the Iraq War, the Syrian Civil War, and the Greek government-debt crisis. On economic matters it examines proposals tied to institutions and frameworks like Medicare for All, Green New Deal, United Auto Workers, Social Security, and debates around austerity advanced by organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.

Content and regular features

Jacobin publishes a mix of long-form essays, reportage, interviews, book reviews, and cultural criticism. Regular features include interviews with political figures and intellectuals—examples include conversations with people associated with Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Naomi Klein, Paul Krugman, Thomas Piketty—and historical series examining revolutions and labor struggles involving events like the Russian Revolution, Spanish Civil War, 1919 German Revolution, and strikes organized by unions such as the United Auto Workers and the AFL–CIO. The magazine runs recurring columns on theory, strategy, and international solidarity, and commissions investigative pieces on corporations such as Amazon (company), Walmart, Boeing, and financial institutions including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

Contributors and staff

Jacobin's editorial team and contributors have included scholars, journalists, and activists linked to universities and movements such as Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University, University of Chicago, Princeton University, and organizations like the American Federation of Teachers and United Auto Workers. Notable writers and interviewees have included figures from diverse intellectual currents: historians of labor like Eric Hobsbawm (in cited historiography), theorists related to Gramsci and Marcuse, and contemporary commentators connected with The Nation, Dissent (magazine), The New Republic, and Mother Jones. Editorial staff have moved between media and political institutions, contributing to discussions in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and broadcast venues including NPR and Democracy Now!.

Distribution and circulation

Jacobin distributes a quarterly print edition supplemented by continuous online content and podcasts. Its readership spans the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other English-speaking territories, and it has launched international editions modeled on publications in locales tied to parties and movements such as the Labour Party (UK), the Socialist Party (France), and union networks in Brazil and Spain. Circulation grew alongside surges in left electoral mobilization during the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential election cycles and increased interest following major labor actions like strikes by teachers in West Virginia and the organizing drives at companies such as Starbucks.

Controversies and criticism

Jacobin has attracted critiques from across the political spectrum. Critics from more moderate and social-democratic currents—associates of The Atlantic, Politico, The New Republic, and figures aligned with the Democratic Party establishment—have disputed its analyses of candidates like Joe Biden and contested its positions on international interventions, comparing its stances to those of left publications like Monthly Review and In These Times. Accusations have come from libertarian and conservative outlets—linked to networks such as Fox News and National Review—charging the magazine with ideological bias. Debates have also arisen within the left involving disagreements with intellectuals associated with Noam Chomsky, members of the Democratic Socialists of America, and journalists from Jacobin-adjacent outlets over positions on issues including the NATO expansion, responses to the Syrian Civil War, and approaches to electoral strategy. Internal disputes have surfaced regarding editorial choices and contributor conduct, prompting public debates in media spaces such as Twitter and coverage by mainstream publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Category:Magazines published in the United States