Introduction Simran Dhunna and David Bush have written an article that criticizes moves towards a universal basic income (see https://springmag.ca/against-the-market-we-can-do-better-than-basic-income). The Aim or Goal of Their Intervention The first question to ask is: What is the aim or goal of their intervention? What are they seeking to achieve? They write: But those committed to principled … Continue reading A Basic Income Versus the Expansion of Public Services? Part One: Critique of the Social-democratic Idea that the Expansion of Public Services is Socialist
Working and Living in a Society Dominated by a Class of Employers May Be Dangerous to Your Health
In some previous posts, the title was "Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health." I have changed the title since this post is not just directly about working for an employer. As has been implied in the previous post on this topic, the shift to legislative measures to address health and safety … Continue reading Working and Living in a Society Dominated by a Class of Employers May Be Dangerous to Your Health
The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Four
Before I obtained a so-called permanent teaching position (I will explain in a much later post why I use the word "so-called"), I worked for a number of years as a substitute teacher (with short periods of term teaching positions). I became an executive member of the Winnipeg Teachers' Association (WTA) (in the province of … Continue reading The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Four
Socialism, Part Nine: Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part Three: Education
Leer este post en espaƱol This is a continuation of a previous post. In a previous post, I pointed out that Mr. Gindin claimed that the expansion of educational services would involve scarcity and therefore would require external or extrinsic motivation of some sort. (Mr,. Gindin is head of the Toronto Labour Committee and former … Continue reading Socialism, Part Nine: Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part Three: Education
The Rate of Exploitation of the Workers of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto and in Canada
Introduction In two others posts I presented the twenty largest employers in Toronto according to level of employment (see A Short List of the Largest Employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and the twenty largest employers in Canada according to profit (see A Short List of the Largest Private Employers in Canada, According to Profit). The … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of the Workers of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto and in Canada
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Six: The Reduction of the Nature of Teenagers to Their Brains
This is a continuation of earlier posts. 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 started to provide a summary of the article along … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Six: The Reduction of the Nature of Teenagers to Their Brains
Do Workers Work for a Particular Employer or for the Class of Employers? Part Two: Critique of Unions and the Social-Reformist or Social-Democratic Left
Introduction This is a continuation of the previous post (seeĀ Do Workers Work for a Particular Employer or for the Class of Employers? Part One: A Limitation of Some Radical Left Critiques of Capitalist Relations of Production and Exchange (A.K.A. Capitalism)). In that post, I criticized some of the radical left for one-sidedly implying that workers … Continue reading Do Workers Work for a Particular Employer or for the Class of Employers? Part Two: Critique of Unions and the Social-Reformist or Social-Democratic Left
Do Workers Work for a Particular Employer or for the Class of Employers? Part One: A Limitation of Some Radical Left Critiques of Capitalist Relations of Production and Exchange (A.K.A. Capitalism)
While doing some research for a post on this blog, I became aware of how many Marxists claim that workers really work for the capitalist class or the class of employers rather than a particular employer. I asked my wife, who worked in Guatemala as a saleswoman, whether she thought that she worked for a … Continue reading Do Workers Work for a Particular Employer or for the Class of Employers? Part One: A Limitation of Some Radical Left Critiques of Capitalist Relations of Production and Exchange (A.K.A. Capitalism)
Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part Two
The following is the second of a two-part series on Bill Resnick's interview with Sam Gindin, in accordance with the two-part presentation of the interview. I put my summary of Mr. Gindin's talk in italics; my comments are in regular print. I also use italics when quoting others. According to Bill Resnick, part two is … Continue reading Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part Two
A Worker’s Resistance to the Capitalist Government or State and Its Representatives, Part Five
This is a continuation of a previous post that illustrates how politically biased the capitalist government or state and its representatives (such as social-democratic social workers) are when it comes to determining real situations--especially when a person self-declares as a Marxist. Just a recap of part of the last post: I filed a complaint with … Continue reading A Worker’s Resistance to the Capitalist Government or State and Its Representatives, Part Five
The Abolitionary 