Class politics in New York City.

My name is Matt Thomas, and I’m a writer and researcher based in Queens, New York. As an organizer with NYC-DSA for the past three years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on some pretty wonderful projects in local politics. Most recently, I was the communications director for Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign for New York State Assembly in 2020, and a researcher on Tiffany Cabán’s campaign for Queens District Attorney in 2019.

Vulgar Marxism is where I share my reflections on New York politics, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing the left as we seek to build working-class power across the state. I also do this a lot on Twitter, but I’ve been told that the spiciness of my takes can distract from the merits of my point. With this newsletter, I try to mix in deep, original reporting and long-form, substantive analysis to help the spice go down a little easier.

Where to find me.

I try to publish a new piece every week, but no promises. Follow me on Twitter at @MattThomasNYC to get your fix in between posts. You can also contact me via email at matthewthomasdsa[at]gmail.

How to help.

The research I do for this newsletter requires quite a bit of time, attention, and persistence. There’s no paywall, but I greatly appreciate the support of those able to purchase a low-cost monthly subscription.