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How to Aim for Socialism Without Aiming for It, or The Nature of the Social-Democratic or Social-Reformist Left

The following post that I had already posted a couple of years ago is relevant for a confrontation with a person whom I consider to be a social democrat or social reformist. I will refer to this "debate" later on. The above title is a take on a scene in the movie Enter the Dragon, … Continue reading How to Aim for Socialism Without Aiming for It, or The Nature of the Social-Democratic or Social-Reformist Left →

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What’s Left, Toronto? Part One

I wrote the following around five years ago. It is still pertinent today. Indeed, we read the following from a recent "Marxist": When there once existed a mass international socialist movement, polemics were hard-edged because the movement was everywhere bidding for power. But the polemical texts were typically substantial, factual, and challenging and consisted of … Continue reading What’s Left, Toronto? Part One →

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Management Rights, Part Four: Private Sector Collective Agreement, Ontario, or: How the Social-Democratic Left Ignore Them

Management Rights The social-democratic left typically is incapable of dealing with the issue of the power of management. There is little or no discussion over such issues despite the existence of the power of the class of employers at various levels of society: economic, political, social and cultural. This silence expresses both the power of … Continue reading Management Rights, Part Four: Private Sector Collective Agreement, Ontario, or: How the Social-Democratic Left Ignore Them →

Should Not the Radical Left Take into Account the Attitude of Workers Towards Their Own Jobs? Part One, The Case of Magna International Workers

Introduction One of the few things that I agree with the academic leftist Jeff Noonan, professor of philosophy at the University of Windsor, Ontario, is that leftists must start where workers are at: Political engagement begins from trying to understand where people are coming from. But where people are coming from can be interpreted in … Continue reading Should Not the Radical Left Take into Account the Attitude of Workers Towards Their Own Jobs? Part One, The Case of Magna International Workers →

The Rule of Law in Action: The Clearing of the University of Calgary Encampment in Protest Against the Gaza Genocide

John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted this on Facebook. It illustrates the use of force to defend the property rights of a semi-state institution called a university: John Clarke A police attack on the Palestine solidarity encampment at the University of Calgary. From the Calgary Herald. … Continue reading The Rule of Law in Action: The Clearing of the University of Calgary Encampment in Protest Against the Gaza Genocide →

Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Twenty-Nine: Law and the Class Power of Employers

This is a continuation of a series of posts on summaries of articles, mainly on education. When I was a French teacher at Ashern Central School, in Ashern, Manitoba, Canada, I started to place critiques, mainly (although not entirely) of the current school system. At first, I merely printed off the articles, but then I … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Twenty-Nine: Law and the Class Power of Employers →

Police Who Harass Other Police With No Consequences Is Indicative of a Public Organization That Stands Above Citizens and Not With Them

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on Facebook: Cops aren't workers and we should be less concerned with their 'toxic work environment' than the toxic work they perform in our communities. Having said that, the way they treat their own before they get out on … Continue reading Police Who Harass Other Police With No Consequences Is Indicative of a Public Organization That Stands Above Citizens and Not With Them →

Should Radical Leftists Indulge and Idealize Organizations of Unions?

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on Facebook: John Clarke · As a body representing an array of unions, it is significant that the Toronto Labour Council is able to take this position. [He then posts a link to a post on the Socialist … Continue reading Should Radical Leftists Indulge and Idealize Organizations of Unions? →

The Rhetoric of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council Concerning Exploitation and Oppression

The Socialist Project recently posted an article by Toronto & York Region Labour Council (T&YRLC) on their defense of the right to strike and the right to protest (civil liberties): Protecting the Right to Protest and Picket LABOUR • April 22, 2024 • Toronto and York Region Labour Council In Toronto and York Region, we are witnessing an … Continue reading The Rhetoric of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council Concerning Exploitation and Oppression →

Union Rhetoric Versus the Reality of Workers’ Lives Subordinated to a Class of Employers: The Price of Human Life, Justice and Dignity–The Day of Mourning for Workers Killed in Canada While Working for an Employer in Canada on April 28

I thought that it would be appropriate to post something relevant to the Day of Mourning for workers killed while working for an employer in Canada. Some Canadian statistics: Official statistics: More than 1000 employees die every year in Canada on the job, and about 630,000 are injured every year. (Bob Barnetson, 2010, The Political … Continue reading Union Rhetoric Versus the Reality of Workers’ Lives Subordinated to a Class of Employers: The Price of Human Life, Justice and Dignity–The Day of Mourning for Workers Killed in Canada While Working for an Employer in Canada on April 28 →

A Poem by A Palestinian Poet Removed from a Display at the Toronto Public Library Due to A Complaint by B’Nai Brith

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on Facebook: John Clarke This is the poem that the Toronto Public Library removed at the urging of Zionist organization B'nai Brith. The accusers draw on the standard racist notion that Palestinian resistance is the product of a barbaric … Continue reading A Poem by A Palestinian Poet Removed from a Display at the Toronto Public Library Due to A Complaint by B’Nai Brith →

Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Four: School District No. 57, British Columbia

Introduction At the beginning of writing this blog, I wrote up some posts that focused on the management-rights clause of collective agreements between a union and an employer in order to demonstrate the limitations of collective bargaining and collective agreements. I then integrated the issue of management rights into an anlaysis of the rate of … Continue reading Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Four: School District No. 57, British Columbia →