In 2026, we face a deepening turn toward Barbarization scenarios, the long-anticipated reaction to Conventional Worlds in crisis. As far-right authoritarian forces grow across countries and work to dismantle systems of democratic accountability, the question becomes, what tools become available to steer us away from descent and toward a Great Transition?

Labor scholar Jeremy Brecher’s new essay, “Society on Strike: A Last Defense Against Tyranny?,” explores the possibilities for resistance under worst-case conditions. Drawing on historical antecedents, he probes the possible role of the mass social strike as a way to oust authoritarian regimes at key inflection points. Just as labor strikes withdraw cooperation at the workplace, a social strike does so for society writ large.