John Dewey, one of the greatest philosophers of education of the twentieth century, has this to say about intelligent activity. From Democracy and Education. Pennsylvania State University, 2001, page 108: The net conclusion is that acting with an aim is all one with acting intelligently. To foresee a terminus of an act is to have a … Continue reading Intelligent Activity According to John Dewey: Its Political Implications for the Left
Tag: capitalism
A Case of Silent Indoctrination, Part One: The Manitoba History Curricula and Its Lack of History of Employers and Employees
I submitted a longer essay to the popular Canadian educational journal Our Schools Our Selves for publication. It was never published. The idea for the following has a personal basis: when my daughter was studying grade 11 Canadian history in Manitoba (Manitoba is one of 10 provinces in Canada, with three additional territories), I decided to … Continue reading A Case of Silent Indoctrination, Part One: The Manitoba History Curricula and Its Lack of History of Employers and Employees
The Issue of Health and Safety in the Workplace Dominated by a Class of Employers
I submitted an article for the popular education journal Our Schools/Our Selves concerning the issue of safety (and the lack of critical thinking skills that is embodied in two Ontario curricula on Equity and Social Justice). In that article, I quote: More than 1000 employees die every year in Canada on the job, and about … Continue reading The Issue of Health and Safety in the Workplace Dominated by a Class of Employers
Ontario Looks Right–With Some Help From the “Left”
Most of the following was written over six years ago. It is still relevant. Herman Rosenfeld recently wrote an article on the election of the right-wing government of Doug Ford in Ontario, Canada (Ontario Looks Right). I would like to take issue with some of his analysis, specifically in relation to unions (and, to a … Continue reading Ontario Looks Right–With Some Help From the “Left”
A Kindred Soul: Exposing the Irrationality and Absurdity of an Economy Dominated by a Class of Employers
This was written years ago--and is still relevant. Marxists need to expose the limitations of the social-reformist or social-democratic left whenever they can. As the social-reformist left plan to engage in a rally tomorrow in order to defend the increase of the minimum wage to $14, to defend needed reform of employment standards and other … Continue reading A Kindred Soul: Exposing the Irrationality and Absurdity of an Economy Dominated by a Class of Employers
Ontario Election of Conservatives: Will the Social-Reformist Left Learn?
Leer este post en español The following was written over six years ago. The next election saw the "Progressive" Conservatives elected once again--and the following election again. The article still applies--to the social-reformist left. Now that the "Progessive" Conservatives have won a clear majority of seats in the provincial legislature, should not the social-reformist left … Continue reading Ontario Election of Conservatives: Will the Social-Reformist Left Learn?
Management Rights, Part One: Private Sector Collective Agreement, British Columbia
Leer este post en español The following was written over six years ago. It is still relevant today. Social reformists or social democrats still ignore the fact of employer power in the form of managerial rights. The radical left has little to say about the issue either. In Ontario, Canada, there will be an election … Continue reading Management Rights, Part One: Private Sector Collective Agreement, British Columbia
A Radical Basic Income as a Radical Reform
Leer este post en español Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) argues against any kind of Basic Income (Basic Income in the Neoliberal Age ). I have argued against their opposition on their own terms in two previous posts. Others, too, argue for a radical basic income as a proposal that breaks the "economic coercion" required … Continue reading A Radical Basic Income as a Radical Reform
“Capitalism needs economic coercion for its job market to function” (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty: OCAP)
Leer este post en español In a previous post, I pointed out that the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) explicitly indicated that economic coercion or force is a basic condition for capitalism to continue to exist (Basic Income: A Critique of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty's Stance ). The following quote agrees with OCAP in … Continue reading “Capitalism needs economic coercion for its job market to function” (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty: OCAP)
Basic Income: A Critique of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty’s Stance
Leer este post en español In the pamphlet published on the Socialist Project website, Basic Income in the Neoliberal Age (Toronto, 2017), the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) implies that only a social-reformist vision--maintaining the welfare-state--is a viable option; it implicitly assumes that going beyond it is not viable. Its argument combines both a realistic … Continue reading Basic Income: A Critique of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty’s Stance
The Abolitionary 