Know Thy Class Enemy: Not as Easy as it Sounds

John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted on Facebook: John Clarke I commented yesterday on the quantity of ads I was getting that sought to convert me to Christianity. Then, to my horror, I got one urging me to love my enemies. There are actually some moral propositions … Continue reading Know Thy Class Enemy: Not as Easy as it Sounds →

Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Four

I participated in a group called No One Is Illegal here in Toronto last year. The group decided to provide a zoom reading meeting every week to discuss the book A People's Guide to Capitalism, by Hadas Thier, with many participants not belonging to the group but interested in understanding more about capitalism. We read … Continue reading Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Four →

The Police and Welfare Bureaucracies both Have Served to Oppress Working-Class Communities

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP, posted the following a couple of days ago on Facebook. There were also some comments, which I include. John Clarke · London's Metropolitan Police Service was set up in 1829, while the New Poor Law for England and Wales emerged in 1834. … Continue reading The Police and Welfare Bureaucracies both Have Served to Oppress Working-Class Communities →

Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Three

I recently participated in a group called No One Is Illegal here in Toronto. The group decided to provide a zoom reading meeting every week to discuss the book A People's Guide to Capitalism, by Hadas Thier, with many participants not belonging to the group but interested in understanding more about capitalism. We read the … Continue reading Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Three →

The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Stantec, One of the Largest Private Employers in Edmonton, Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs

Introduction In three others posts I presented a list of some of the largest employers in various cities (such as Toronto and Calgary) according to level of employment (see A Short List of the Largest Employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), and A Short List of the Largest Employers Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Based on … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Stantec, One of the Largest Private Employers in Edmonton, Or: How Unionized Jobs Are Not Decent or Good Jobs →

School Rhetoric: Ideological Use of the Concept of Social Justice, Part One

Social justice has now become a buzzword these days. There is social justice this and social justice that, here a social justice, there a social justice, everywhere a social justice. This buzzword forms the ideology of the social-democratic left, for example, as well as the conservative right. After all, who is against social justice? The … Continue reading School Rhetoric: Ideological Use of the Concept of Social Justice, Part One →

Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part Two

Review of Thier’s Book “A People’s Guide to Capitalism,” Part One

Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Eighteen: The Hidden Curriculum of Learning to Develop a Positive Attitude Towards Being Exploited and Oppressed

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 Eighteen: The Hidden Curriculum of Learning to Develop a Positive Attitude Towards Being Exploited and Oppressed →

Management Rights in a Spanish Collective Agreement: An Expression of “Free Collective Bargaining” or the Dicatorship of Employers?

There are undoubtedly variations in the rights of workers from country to country, but the fundamental principle of the power of employers as a class is constant. This power is often implicit but also often is expressed more explicitly--even in collective agreements between employers and unions. For example, the following is taken from the collective … Continue reading Management Rights in a Spanish Collective Agreement: An Expression of “Free Collective Bargaining” or the Dicatorship of Employers? →