John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), posted the following recently on Facebook: John Clarke “At this point bourgeois thought must come up against an insuperable obstacle, for its starting-point and its goal are always, if not always consciously, an apologia for the existing order of things or at least … Continue reading Wishful Thinking Among Some of the Radical Left
The Bullshit Asymmetry Principle of Social Democrats or Social Reformers
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted this on Facebook: John Clarke A FB friend put up a post that deals with the 'bullshit asymmetry principle.' This holds that 'the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude larger than to produce it.' … Continue reading The Bullshit Asymmetry Principle of Social Democrats or Social Reformers
Legality Involves the Legitimation of Many Appalling Actions
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted the following on Facebook; it expresses well the reality of the rule of law and not its rhetoric. John Clarke The real scandal isn't lawbreaking by people with political and economic power but all the appalling things they are able to do … Continue reading Legality Involves the Legitimation of Many Appalling Actions
Social Democracy: Useful for Certain Forms of Resistance but Not for Any Alternative Vision of Society
Introduction On September 25, 2023, I attended, along with around 8,000 others, the protest at Queen's Park, Toronto, against the privatization of health services Having had cancer twice (the third time of metastatic liver cancer is not considered a separate case of cancer), I would have had to declare bankruptcy if health services were privatized. … Continue reading Social Democracy: Useful for Certain Forms of Resistance but Not for Any Alternative Vision of Society
Leftist Censorship on the Basis of False Statements: The Case of MarxMail.world Listserve
I have merely copyed an email I received from one of the moderators who unsubcribed me from the Marxmail listserve. The moderator's unsubscription of me and the censorship of my experiences as a Marxist father are indicative of the pathetic state of much of the so-called radical left these days: Les Schaffer: Fred: as … Continue reading Leftist Censorship on the Basis of False Statements: The Case of MarxMail.world Listserve
The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Empire Company (or Sobeys or Thrifty Foods or FreshCo or Safeway Canada or IGA or Foodland Workers), One of the Largest Private Employers in Victoria, British Columbia, Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs
I was, in part, inspired to start this blog because of the incredible lack of criticla thinking on the part of the pro-union left here in Toronto. In particular, when I tried to bring up the issue of whether striking brewery workers could ever except to obtain "a fair deal, good jobs, pension security and … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Empire Company (or Sobeys or Thrifty Foods or FreshCo or Safeway Canada or IGA or Foodland Workers), One of the Largest Private Employers in Victoria, British Columbia, Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Twenty-Three : Collective Rights Versus Human Rights
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 Twenty-Three : Collective Rights Versus Human Rights
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 Radical Left Have a Responsbility to Challenge Questionable Assertions from Their Own Ranks
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on Facebook: John Clarke With even greater intensity than the pandemic [my emphasis], the impacts of climate change are running along the fault lines of social, racial and global inequality. Our resistance must be taken up along just those … Continue reading The Radical Left Have a Responsbility to Challenge Questionable Assertions from Their Own Ranks
School Rhetoric: Ideological Use of the Concept of Social Justice, Part Three
In the first post on this topic, I pointed out how even the most radical article on social justice in the winter 2015-2016 edition of Leaders & Learners (the official magazine of the Canadian Association of School Administrators, or CASS) expresses the limited definition (and views) of middle-class ideology. This post will continue to critically … Continue reading School Rhetoric: Ideological Use of the Concept of Social Justice, Part Three
The Abolitionary 