New York State -- particularly its largest city -- has played a central role in the long history of the American peace movement.
Published Articles by Lawrence Wittner
Can a dedicated socialist have a significant impact upon American life? Lauren Coodley's biography of prominent socialist novelist and agitator Upton Sinclair shows that, with a lot of talent and fortitude, that kind of influence is possible.
Within a matter of months, the U.S. government seems likely to become the only nation in the world still rejecting the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although the treaty was signed by the U.S. government in 1995, conservative forces have blocked its ratification and will probably continue to do so.
A quarter century after the end of the Cold War and decades after the signing of landmark nuclear arms control and disarmament agreements, are the U.S. and Russian governments once more engaged in a potentially disastrous nuclear arms race with one another? It certainly looks like it.
There are glaring contradictions between the rhetoric and action of modern American conservatives. Can conservatives explain these discrepancies? If not, we have good reason to conclude that their professed principles are no more than a respectable mask behind which lurk less admirable motives.
Betty Medsger's account of the 1971 break-in at the FBI headquarters in Media, Pennsylvania not only provides us with a fascinating history of FBI criminality, but an exciting tale of activist courage and success in defending civil liberties.
The reign of Shirley Jackson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute exemplifies the corporate model that is sweeping through American higher education. It includes inflating administration salaries, exploiting adjunct faculty, regular faculty, and other workers, strengthening administraton power, raising tuition to astronomical heights, and, above all, running colleges and universities like modern business enerprises.
U.S. politicians and pundits are fond of saying that America's wars have defended America's freedom. But, in fact, over the past century, U.S. wars have triggered major encroachments upon civil liberties, including violations of freedom of speech and press, imprisonment of dissenters, internment of thousands of U.S. citizens without charges or trials, and massive spying on Americans by government agencies.
In the supposedly classless society of the United States, the 400 wealthiest Americans now have an average net worth of $5.7 billion -- an increase of 14 percent over the previous year. Economic inequality is growing rapidly, and the wealthiest Americans are increasing it by championing the abolition of public schools, minimum wage laws, Medicare, and Medicaid, weakening unions, restricting voting rights, and, of course, promoting tax cuts for the rich.
The United States is the top nation in the world when it comes to war and gun-related deaths. But, when it comes to education, health, and the environment, the statistics show that it ranks far down on the list.