Tag: Abolitionism

Social Democrats Call for the “Transformation” of the Police Force: Radicals Call for Its Abolition: Canadian Police Violence 2023

The following was recently posted by John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, on Facebook: The lethal approach to 'public safety.' From mediacoop. At least 97 people had their lives taken through police actions in 2023. This comes after a December in which at least 12 people were killed in police … Continue reading Social Democrats Call for the “Transformation” of the Police Force: Radicals Call for Its Abolition: Canadian Police Violence 2023 →

The Capitalist State: Reform (Transform) or Abolish?

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted on Facebook the following: John Clarke I was asked to use my column for Canadian Dimension this month to take up the question of whether the capitalist state can be transformed and used to build socialism.https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-socialist-register-on-the-state-and-the-transition-to-socialism?fbclid=IwAR0p4ES0KpiaGo272qHnbosQ2rbg5XGZFcemSg2h6D3ZFtMgL8rzvF6gAqk The issue is relevant for the … Continue reading The Capitalist State: Reform (Transform) or Abolish? →

Basic Income, Decent Wages and John Clarke’s Radicalism: A Tale of Social-Democratic or Social-Reformist Deja Vu

I have criticized Mr. Clarke's views of basic income on a number of occasions, the most recent one being An Inadequate Critique of a Radical Basic Income: The Case of the Toronto Radical John Clarke, Part Three: Basic Income), so i will simply quote a couple of his relatively recent posts on Facebook. The first post … Continue reading Basic Income, Decent Wages and John Clarke’s Radicalism: A Tale of Social-Democratic or Social-Reformist Deja Vu →

An Inadequate Critique of a Radical Basic Income: The Case of the Toronto Radical John Clarke, Part Three: Basic Income

Introduction In two earlier posts, I criticized the views of the  radical activist here in Toronto, John Clarke (see  Critique of the Limited Aim (Solution)–Decent Wages–of a Radical Social Democrat: The Case of the Toronto Radical, John Clarke: Part One and   Critique of a Limited Definition of the Problem: The Case of the Toronto Radical … Continue reading An Inadequate Critique of a Radical Basic Income: The Case of the Toronto Radical John Clarke, Part Three: Basic Income →

Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Four: Critique of the Idealization of Publicly Owned Infrastructure, Etc.

Introduction This is the final post of a four-part series of posts. For the context of where the following fits into my participation and withdrawal from the organization Social Housing Green Deal, see the first part Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part One: The Working Class, Housing and the Police. People's Pandemic Shutdown … Continue reading Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Four: Critique of the Idealization of Publicly Owned Infrastructure, Etc. →

Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part Seven: Giving to Abolitionists with One Hand While Taking Back with the Other and Giving to Social Democrats

In his article published in the social-democratic journal Canadian Dimension on May 28, 2020, "Can We Ever Truly Transform or Democratize the Police? Measures Are Needed to Restrain and Neutralize Police Brutality to Whatever Extent Possible," Harry Kopyto, ( https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/can-we-truly-transform-or-democratize-the-police) seems to agree much more with James Wilt in the debate between Mr. Wilt and … Continue reading Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part Seven: Giving to Abolitionists with One Hand While Taking Back with the Other and Giving to Social Democrats →

The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Air Canada, One of the Largest Private Employers in Canada

The following applies to Air Canada workers before the COVID-19. The situation undoubtedly has changed since then since the airline industry has suffered disproportionately an economic crisis relative to some other industries (such as food production). In another post, I presented the twenty largest employers in Canada according to level of profit (see A Short … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Air Canada, One of the Largest Private Employers in Canada →

Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part Five: More Philosophical Considerations

This is the fifth and perhaps the last post in a five-part series on the issue of the reform of the police versus its abolition. (I came across an article on unions and the police (not police unions) and may write a post on that still). It is more theoretical than the first four posts … Continue reading Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part Five: More Philosophical Considerations →

Reform versus Abolition of Police, Part Four: Possible Alternatives

This is a continuation of an earlier post on the issue of reforming the police versus its abolition. 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 Transform: Police Abolitionism and Sloppy Thinking), responded to another article … Continue reading Reform versus Abolition of Police, Part Four: Possible Alternatives →