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It’s not like leftist media hasn’t already been in a lamentable state, but the latest courtesy of Nathan J. Robinson bookends a saga one could only conceive of in fairytales. Once self-proclaimed vanguard of socialist ideals and the very author of a book titled “Why You Should be a Socialist” pulled a fast one on his staff at Current Affairs — one of very few still prominent leftist magazines in America — by firing almost every member when they tried to organize under a workers’ co-op.
The news first broke when Lyta Gold — frequent contributor to the magazine — shared a statement in conjunction with fellow aggrieved colleagues about their disappointment in Robinson to crack down on what seems like a benign effort to ensure better working conditions. “In individual letters, Nathan claimed that he had irreparably lost faith in our ability to work together. But less than 24 hours later, he sent follow-up emails, retracting his statements and admitting that he simply did not want Current Affairs to be a democratic workplace. He believes “in (his) guts” that the magazine and media venture we have collectively created is purely his,” the statement reads. “We note darkly that he says “egalitarian community of friends,” and not, of course, a workplace…
