Author
Stephen Shenfield
Environment, healthcare, News, Science
COVID-19: The Lab-leak Hypothesis
Did the coronavirus leap from bat to man at a wildlife market or inside a scientific laboratory? We may never know for sure, but the lab-leak hypothesis is plausible. What are the implications?
Politicians: Public Face of the Capitalist Class
Who do politicians represent? What is their place and function in our society? How does this affect the way they talk to us?
What’s Going On in Belarus?
An interview with Dmitry Kosmachev, a member of the Minsk Socialist Circle, about the situation in Belarus, the current protests, and where they may lead.
Capitalism, Class, History, media, Politics, Work
The Myth of the Middle Class
In the 1950s there arose the myth of America as a 'middle-class society.' How has this myth developed since then? What relation does it have to reality?
The Revolution of 7,200 BCE
The first known revolution took place 9,200 years ago in a Neolithic settlement in eastern Anatolia – present-day Turkey. There are no written records, but we know ...
International relations, News, Politics, War
The US–China Confrontation
With the closure of China’s consulate in Houston and the American consulate in Chengdu, the confrontation between China and the United States moves up another notch. Not ...
Book Review, History, Human Nature
After Shipwreck
When a group of people are stranded on an uninhabited island after a shipwreck, what sort of society do they form among themselves? And how does this affect their chances of survival? The historical record shows that groups based on cooperation and equality fare best.
Why the Premature Reopening of the US Economy?
Why is Trump reopening the US economy -- and forcing Mexico to reopen its economy too -- when the pandemic is still on the rise?
Nurses Refuse to Work Unprotected
Ten nurses have been suspended at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California for refusing to work without the protection of N95 respirator masks. Are they really in short supply?
Capitalism, Economics, healthcare, Science
A Cure for COVID-19: A Profit-making Strategy
Interim results of trials of the drug Remdesivir on Covid-19 patients are very encouraging. But could the drug be reaching those who desperately need it more quickly?