I participated in a group called No One Is Illegal here in Toronto last year. The group decided to provide a zoom reading meeting every week to discuss the book A People's Guide to Capitalism, by Hadas Thier, with many participants not belonging to the group but interested in understanding more about capitalism. We read … Continue reading Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Four
Month: June 2023
Realistic Expectations from Social Democrats or Social Reformers Elected to Political Positions: The Need to Organize and Provide Pressure from Below
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP, posted this recently on Facebook: John Clark I think back many years to the night that the Bob Rae NDP government was elected in Ontario in the early 90s. I went to one of the victory parties and the sense of joy and … Continue reading Realistic Expectations from Social Democrats or Social Reformers Elected to Political Positions: The Need to Organize and Provide Pressure from Below
The Vote Yesterday Resulted in an Election of a Social-Reformist Olivia Chow for Mayor of Toronto, the Largest City in Canada: A Microcosm of the Illusions of the Left
John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, posted this recently on Facebook: One of the problems with a focus on electoral politics is the almost hypnotic effect it has on those caught up in it. The Toronto mayoral race is almost over and a significant section of leftists are backing the … Continue reading The Vote Yesterday Resulted in an Election of a Social-Reformist Olivia Chow for Mayor of Toronto, the Largest City in Canada: A Microcosm of the Illusions of the Left
A Case of Silent Indoctrination: The Death of Refugees off the Greek Coast vs. the Death of Rich People on the Titan Submersible
John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), wrote the following concerning the issue. ohn Clarke · In Chomsky and Herman's 'Manufacturing Consent,' the way the capitalist media controls the flow of information and massively influences opinion is charted. The comparison to recent tragedies at sea involving refugees and billionaires … Continue reading A Case of Silent Indoctrination: The Death of Refugees off the Greek Coast vs. the Death of Rich People on the Titan Submersible
The Police and Welfare Bureaucracies both Have Served to Oppress Working-Class Communities
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP, posted the following a couple of days ago on Facebook. There were also some comments, which I include. John Clarke · London's Metropolitan Police Service was set up in 1829, while the New Poor Law for England and Wales emerged in 1834. … Continue reading The Police and Welfare Bureaucracies both Have Served to Oppress Working-Class Communities
A Principal’s Evaluation of My Teaching Basic French, or: How to Oppress a Worker Through Performance Evaluation, Part Seven
The following is the final post of a series of posts that provide a verbatim reply (with a somewhat different order) to a "clinical evaluation" (a performance evaluation of my teaching) made by the principal of Ashern Central School (Ashern, Manitoba, Canada), Neil MacNeil, in the fall of 2011 when I was teaching grades 6, … Continue reading A Principal’s Evaluation of My Teaching Basic French, or: How to Oppress a Worker Through Performance Evaluation, Part Seven
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): An Organization of Oppression
I was once arrested by the RCMP (charges dropped)--and have experienced first hand how this organization operates through intimidation tactics. I thought it would be appropriate to present John Clarke's article about RCMP oppression. John Clarke is a former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). He posted the following on Facebook this … Continue reading The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): An Organization of Oppression
The Evil of the Lesser Evil Focus of Some Leftists (Often at the Expense of Community and Class Organization)
John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, posted the following recently on Facebook: John Clarke 19h · Some problems with the 'lesser evil' electoral strategy. 1. What we are really up against is a regressive agenda that continues to intensify. It revolves around increased exploitation, austerity, the growing threat of war … Continue reading The Evil of the Lesser Evil Focus of Some Leftists (Often at the Expense of Community and Class Organization)
Unions that Uncritically Support Pro-Employer Representatives
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted the following on Facebook: John Clarke · Never has a sow's ear looked less like a silk purse. https://www.commondreams.org/news/unions-endorse-biden-2024?fbclid=IwAR3AOlDUvdSg5tuU-IAiIFQdg9TNn0KZvRvtsZK-MPjn0Uehkr1kntuYYgs I wonder what the attitude of the so-called radical left is concerning the support of Biden for president.
The Capitalist State: Reform (Transform) or Abolish?
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted on Facebook the following: John Clarke I was asked to use my column for Canadian Dimension this month to take up the question of whether the capitalist state can be transformed and used to build socialism.https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-socialist-register-on-the-state-and-the-transition-to-socialism?fbclid=IwAR0p4ES0KpiaGo272qHnbosQ2rbg5XGZFcemSg2h6D3ZFtMgL8rzvF6gAqk The issue is relevant for the … Continue reading The Capitalist State: Reform (Transform) or Abolish?
The Abolitionary 