John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted on Facebook the following: John Clarke I just came across another person I had accepted as a FB friend posting really horrible right wing material. Yet again, it was focused on the notion of Justin Trudeau as a conspiring globalist, … Continue reading It is Not Just Far-Right Views that Need to Be Criticized–but Also Social-Democratic or Social-Reformist Views
Category: Social-reformist left
Know Thy Class Enemy: Not as Easy as it Sounds
John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted on Facebook: John Clarke I commented yesterday on the quantity of ads I was getting that sought to convert me to Christianity. Then, to my horror, I got one urging me to love my enemies. There are actually some moral propositions … Continue reading Know Thy Class Enemy: Not as Easy as it Sounds
Co-optation of Students at School Through We Day, Part Two: The Social-Democratic Left Share Some of We Day’s Assumptions
In a previous post, I outlined how We Day is a form of indoctrination and that schools form vehicles for such indoctrination. What is the social-democratic left's position in relation to this indoctrination and its incorporation into schools? I already mentioned the Manitoba Teachers' Society (MTS) decision not to promote We Day since some of … Continue reading Co-optation of Students at School Through We Day, Part Two: The Social-Democratic Left Share Some of We Day’s Assumptions
Fixed Social Dogmas and the Special Language of the Social-Reformist Left
Michael Perleman refers to the Procrustean dogma that characterizes much of the discussion about the social world in which we currently live. What better characterization of the social-democratic rhetoric of "fairness," "decent work," a "fair wage," "economic justice" and "social justice?" From Michael Perleman, The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism: How Market Tyranny Stifles the Economy by … Continue reading Fixed Social Dogmas and the Special Language of the Social-Reformist Left
An Example of the Inadequacy of the Canadian Left, or How the Canadian Left Contributes to the Emergence of the Canadian Right
On Facebook, a social-reformist leftist posted the fact that the Ontario Conservative government, headed by the right-wing millionaire Doug Ford, had eliminated the position of Ontario Child Advocate Office, integrating it with the Ombudsman's Office. The person had attached the comment "Shameful". A subsequent comment objected to the fact that the man who filled the … Continue reading An Example of the Inadequacy of the Canadian Left, or How the Canadian Left Contributes to the Emergence of the Canadian Right
The Canadian Left’s Lack of a Vision of the Good Life Beyond a Class of Employers
Stanley Aronowitz, in his book The Death and Life of American Labor: Toward a New Workers’ Movement (New York: Verso, page 162) , points out how the left has in effect abandoned any real intention of developing a movement powerful enough to challenge a system dominated by the class of employers: Professional intellectuals need not … Continue reading The Canadian Left’s Lack of a Vision of the Good Life Beyond a Class of Employers
Social-Reformist Leftist Activists Share Assumptions with the Right
In an earlier post (Basic Income: A Critique of the Social-Reformist Left’s Assumptions and Analysis: Part Two), I argued that the social-reformist leftist activist Mr. Bush used Karl Marx's theory of surplus value for conservative (reformist purposes). This post will expand on this view by pointing out, in a more theoretical way, how Mr. Bush, … Continue reading Social-Reformist Leftist Activists Share Assumptions with the Right
The Limitations of the Social-Reformist Left
Leer este post en español Introduction I used to belong to a leftist organization in Toronto. I started, slowly, to realize that it really has little to do with challenging the power of employers as a class despite the rhetoric concerning class issues being a priority. This view was confirmed when a movement for the … Continue reading The Limitations of the Social-Reformist Left
The Abolitionary 