The Socialist Project, "based in Toronto [Ontario, Canada] ... works to generate and promote Left activism education and organizing. Our membership includes activists, students, workers educators and others interested in Socialist politics in Canada," recently published (February 2020) a pamphlet titled Take the Plant--Save the Planet: The Struggle for Community Control and Plant Conversion at … Continue reading A Critical Look at The Socialist Project’s Pamphlet on Green Jobs Oshawa
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Four: Brains, the Body and Intelligence
This is a continuation of earlier posts. As chair of the Equity and Justice Committee for Lakeshore Teachers' Association of the Manitoba Teachers' Society (MTS), I also sent the articles and summary to the Ning of the MTS (a ning is "an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks"). As I … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Four: Brains, the Body and Intelligence
Reform or Abolition of the Police, Part One
In at least two posts, I will explore the issue of reforming the police versus its abolition. Conveniently, there are a couple of articles that address the issue. Mr. Rosenfeld, a self-declared radical and Marxist living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in an article published in the social-democratic magazine Canadian Dimension on April 20, 2020, Reform and … Continue reading Reform or Abolition of the Police, Part One
Socialism, Part Nine: Market Socialism as an Initially Necessary but Inadequate Social Model
In previous posts on the topic of socialism, I have argued implicitly that a market for consumer and capital goods may be necessary initially. This is so in order to eliminate the exploitation of workers by employers. The amount of work performed by a person would still be related to the amount of consumption goods … Continue reading Socialism, Part Nine: Market Socialism as an Initially Necessary but Inadequate Social Model
The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Magna International Inc., One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto, Part One
In another post, 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). One of those employers is Magna International Inc., a multinational corporation whose workers produce automobile supplies for inputs into car manufacturing. This is a first attempt at … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Magna International Inc., One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto, Part One
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Three: The Academic Versus the Practical
This is a continuation of earlier posts. When I was a French teacher at Ashern Central School, in Ashern, Manitoba, Canada, I started to copy 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 Three: The Academic Versus the Practical
The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eight: Class Harmony
This is an elaboration of a critique of an academic leftist (aka academic historical materialist), the philosopher Jeff Noonan. Professor Noonan's neglect of the relatively privileged status of university professors in relation to other workers leads him to assert the following (from Thinkings 4: Collected Interventions, Readings, Evocations, 2014-2015, page 13): Whether or not it was … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eight: Class Harmony
Basic Income, Public Ownership and the Radical Left in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique
In a couple of posts, I criticized John Clarke's opposition to a particular form of basic income. Mr. Clarke is a former leader of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Clarke continues to oppose any alternative universal basic income scheme (see 'Pandemic Basic Income' Gets It Wrong). He has ignored … Continue reading Basic Income, Public Ownership and the Radical Left in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique
Socialism, What It May Look Like, or Visions of a Better Kind of Society Without Employers, Part Eight
Leer este post en español This is a continuation of earlier posts on the subject of the nature of socialism--a society that aims at the abolition of the power of employers as a class and the initial appropriation of the necessary requirements for us to control our lives as a collectivity and as individuals. In … Continue reading Socialism, What It May Look Like, or Visions of a Better Kind of Society Without Employers, Part Eight
The Contradictions of Social Democracy: Mr. Gindin’s Musings on the Closure of GM’s Oshawa Plant
The following is a critique of an article written by Sam Gindin before the coronavirus pandemic emerged. It is relevant to the current situation because of the current call for public ownership as a solution to the problems that we face. Mr. Gindin published an article on February 3, 2020, titled Realizing 'Just Transitions': The … Continue reading The Contradictions of Social Democracy: Mr. Gindin’s Musings on the Closure of GM’s Oshawa Plant
The Abolitionary 