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 … Continue reading Will the Social-Democratic Left Criticize Their Elected Social-Democratic Idols: The Case of the Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow
Category: Social Democratic Left
Social Reformists Making Any Assertions They Want: Should Marxists Tolerate This?
On a Marxist listserve, I recently started questioning the sincerity of a writer. He made many unsubstantiated assertions--like Trump. I find such an irresponsible attitude to be insulting, given the nature of human suffering in this world dominated by the class of employers. First Insult to the Working Class: Providing No Evidence that Unions Openly … Continue reading Social Reformists Making Any Assertions They Want: Should Marxists Tolerate This?
The So-called Progressive Left As Social-Reformists: Class Harmony and the United Way as Telltale Signs
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 … Continue reading The So-called Progressive Left As Social-Reformists: Class Harmony and the United Way as Telltale Signs
The Limitations of Social Democracy, or Social Democracy as Possibily the Lesser Evil
John Clarke, fomrer major organizer for Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, posted on Facebook yesterday the following: John Clarke Watching social democratic parties operate today, makes you appreciate that the political tendency they represent was at its most effective at a time of relative class compromise, when they could give working class people some of what … Continue reading The Limitations of Social Democracy, or Social Democracy as Possibily the Lesser Evil
The Leap Manifesto as a Social-Democratic Document: Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, Indigenous Rights and the Perpetuation of the Dominance of a Class of Employers
Written before the coronavirus pandemic, The Leap Manifesto: A Call for Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another, produced by various authors in 2015, ranging from scientist David Suzuki to the former head of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Paul Moist, focuses on the need for the transition to a … Continue reading The Leap Manifesto as a Social-Democratic Document: Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, Indigenous Rights and the Perpetuation of the Dominance of a Class of Employers
The Limitations of Social-Democracy in the Face of the Coronavirus
John Cartwright is the president of Toronto and York Labour District Council. According to the website of this Council: The core belief of unions is in solidarity. We want every one of our members to feel they belong, to appreciate the gains that unions have made for working people, and to have a sense of … Continue reading The Limitations of Social-Democracy in the Face of the Coronavirus
The British Labour Party’s 2019 Manifesto: More Social Democracy and More Social Reformism, Part Two
The following is the second of a two-part series of posts, providing a critical assessment of some of the views expressed in the 2019 British Labour Party's Manifesto, It's Time For Real Change. The section on public services is typical of the social-reformist or social-democratic left: what is needed is mainly a quantitative expansion of … Continue reading The British Labour Party’s 2019 Manifesto: More Social Democracy and More Social Reformism, Part Two
The British Labour Party’s 2019 Manifesto: More Social Democracy and More Social Reformism, Part One
The following is the first of a two-part series of posts, providing a critical assessment of some of the views expressed in the 2019 British Labour Party's Manifesto, It's Time For Real Change. The British Labour Party seemed to be more concerned with jumping on the bandwagon of climate change than really addressing the core … Continue reading The British Labour Party’s 2019 Manifesto: More Social Democracy and More Social Reformism, Part One
The Silences of the Social-Democratic Left
I had two recent conversations with social democrats on two different (though undoubtedly related topics). The first conversation is a representative of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4400 (education workers). The Local's website indicates the following: Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400 is made up of approximately 12,000 Education Workers who primarily work within the … Continue reading The Silences of the Social-Democratic Left
Social Democracy or Social Reformism and Trade Unionism: Their Social Limitations and Methodology, Part One
This will be a two-part post, with the second part being a brief focus on the inadequate methodology of social democrats and trade unionists. The radical left need to take measures against such inadequate methodology. I demonstrate briefly their inadequate methodology by referring to John Dewey's philosophy of human nature and contrast it with one … Continue reading Social Democracy or Social Reformism and Trade Unionism: Their Social Limitations and Methodology, Part One
The Abolitionary 