Will the Social-Democratic Left Criticize Their Elected Social-Democratic Idols: The Case of the Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow

John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on Facebook:

This is so sickening and shameful. Decades of oppression are ignored, the right to resist is dismissed and the mass murder Palestinians now face is rendered invisible. I’ve tried to be diplomatic and speak in terms that would be understood but I, for one, am not surprised, though I am revolted.

I could not agree more. Indeed, Clarke subsequently posted another post on Facebook:

The statement that Olivia Chow put out attacking the Palestine solidarity action in City Hall Square is a political moment. I was trying to avoid being unduly sharp in pointing out that Chow wouldn’t challenge the economic and political power structure in any serious way but such restraint is no longer possible.

Not only did Chow utterly line up with Israel and attack Palestinian resistance, she called into question the right of people here to assemble in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and made threats of police reprisals. Had the Israeli consulate had the opportunity to edit her statement, I fail to see how they could have improved on it.

Many who support Chow will be quite shocked by this statement and I hope they will challenge her on it. Her base of support is a big political consideration for her and all pressure that can be applied is useful. In fact, this appalling development drives home the futility of a ‘leave it to Olivia’ approach. To win gains while she is in power, we are going to have to mobilize. Left to her own devices, she will give in to the developers and speculators, as she has given in to the ‘foreign policy’ objectives of the Canadian state.

Social democracy, even its left wing, is always limited by what is possible, given the prevailing conditions under capitalism. The social reforms of an earlier period are gone and, today, social democratic parties and political leaders function as a lesser evil, a wielding slightly blunter austerity knife.

Moments of crisis, however, make social democratic restraint impossible and the powerful challenge to the Israeli state we have just seen is one such moment. This was a test for Chow and she failed it with flying colours. Expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians will have to take to the streets over her objections and any gains we make in our communities will require mass action directed at City Hall, regardless of the present occupant of the Mayor’s Office.

Of course, Toronto will hardly change radically. A few changes here, and a few changes there, but the power of the class of employers will not be touched to any great extent.

I indicated in another post that Clarke pointed out that what is needed is organized pressure from grass-roots movements. Unless such pressure is forthcoming, it is likely that Chow’s period as mayor will be followed by a conservative backlack as her failure to realize her campaign promises becomes noticeable.

Is Chow then a class enemy? Yes and no. No in the sense that, with sufficient organizational pressure, her own stated ideology may be forced to align with some needed changes in Toronto. Yes in the sense that there will be definite limits to her push for change–limits defined by both the class power of employers and Chow’s own social-democratic ideology.

A quote from Olivia Chow in an article critical of Olivia Chow (https://www.thegrindmag.ca/july-2023-olivia-chows-troubling-start) is indicative of what the so-called progressive left here in Toronto actually means:“Even with all the challenges we face, we can’t forget all the wonderful things already happening. Recently, I met with people involved in the community-focused development model in Scarborough’s Golden Mile. Many of you are nodding your head, you know. Where we saw United Way and other community organizations sitting alongside corporate CEOs and developers; they’re working together to deliver housing and economic opportunities to the area for the local residents, because they know that they can deliver more for people when they come together and work together. That’s the magic.” [my emphasis]I already twice on the reformist nature of the United Way, which implicitly calls for class harmony between workers and the class of employers (see Class Harmony and Social Reformism: The United Way as a Reformist Organization, Part One and Class Harmony and Social Reformism: The United Way as a Reformist Organization, Part Two).

My prediction for Chow’s election is now even more pessimistic: I predict that she will end up actually expressing at least the same rhetoric at the end of her term in 2027 if not more reactionary views since she will probably become even more co-opted into the status quo than at present. From what I have seen of the “left” in Toronto, I doubt that grassroots organizing will be strong enough to constitute a counterpressure to both the local class power of employers and to her own evident middle-class rhetoric of class harmony.And what is the radical left doing? Not much, as far as I can tell. Apart from John Clarke’s emphasis on the need to engage in even more organizing in the wake of her election and the linked article–which really does not address the social-reformist stance of Chow since the writer probably shares such an ideology–I have seen little criticism of Chow’s middle-class ideology.Where are all the Marxists when you need them? Why are not Toronto Marxists engaged in a systematic effort at cooperation in order to, on the one hand, pressure Chow from below and, on the other, engage in constant criticism of her middle-class ideology? Why do they not constantly engage in exposure of such limitations in relation to the class interests of workers in relation to the class power of employers?

Olivia Chow volunteer appreciation dinner