Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Five, or A Critique of Moral or Utopian Critiques of Exploitation

In earlier posts in this series, I outlined how a so-called radical here in Toronto, Anna Jessup, probably engaged in bureaucratic manipulation to prevent my participation in a zoom meeting (see for example Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Four: Critique of the Idealization of Publicly Owned Infrastructure, Etc.). Who is Anna … Continue reading Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Five, or A Critique of Moral or Utopian Critiques of Exploitation →

Censorship by Any Other Name Is Still Censorship

Introduction John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted on Facebook the following: When state enforcers kick in your door and take you away, in order to suppress the ideas you are promoting, this is most certainly an act of very direct censorship. When wealthy interests dominate the means … Continue reading Censorship by Any Other Name Is Still Censorship →

Management Rights and the Lack of Criticism of Such Rights Among the Social Democratic Left, Part Eight: Collective Agreement in Alberta Between Various Employers and Various International Unions

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 Eight: Collective Agreement in Alberta Between Various Employers and Various International Unions →

A Radical’s Exaggeration of the Crisis of Legitimacy of the World Social Order

Activists tend to exaggerate the extent to which there is a crisis of legitimacy of the class power of employers and the associated economic, political and social structures. Thus, John Clarke, a former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), wrote the following on August 21, 2024: John Clarke · There is … Continue reading A Radical’s Exaggeration of the Crisis of Legitimacy of the World Social Order →

Review of Socialist Action’s Spring Education Conference 2024: What Socialists Do in Unions, Part One

Introduction As I indicated in an earlier post, I attended the second session spring 2024 education conference of Socialist Action (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA-mVbaSSOc&t=4354s) since the issue of what socialists should do in unions is of prime importance- but was excluded from it after I asked a couple of questions in the chat and responded to Barry Weisleder's … Continue reading Review of Socialist Action’s Spring Education Conference 2024: What Socialists Do in Unions, Part One →

Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Thirty-One: The Need for Teachers to Fight to Control the Curriculum

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 Thirty-One: The Need for Teachers to Fight to Control the Curriculum →

Fair Contracts or Collective Agreements: The Ideological Rhetoric of Canadian Unions, Part Five: The Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU)

Introduction Since in this blog I have often referred to particular union reps referring to collective agreements as fair in some way, I thought it would be useful to provide further examples of this rhetoric to substantiate the view that unions function as ideologues for the continued existence of employers--even if the unions are independent … Continue reading Fair Contracts or Collective Agreements: The Ideological Rhetoric of Canadian Unions, Part Five: The Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) →

Colombian Union Social-Movement Solidarity Led to Colombia Banning Coal Exports to Israel

The following was posted on the Socialist Project website (https://socialistproject.ca/2024/07/colombia-coal-embargo-israel-model-to-follow/): Colombia’s Coal Embargo on Israel Is a Model to Follow International Relations • July 31, 2024 • Rula Jamal On June 8, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country will suspend coal exports to Israel until the genocide stops. Colombian coal accounted for more than 60 percent … Continue reading Colombian Union Social-Movement Solidarity Led to Colombia Banning Coal Exports to Israel →