Injuries, disease and death are the common experiences of many Canadian workers--and undoubtedly workers in all countries dominated by the power of a class of employers. This is so since, on the one hand, profit is the driving force of human life in such societies (see The Money Circuit of Capital for an explanation of … Continue reading Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Six
Tag: Ideology
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
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 Canadian Labour Congress’s Idealization of the Collective-Bargaining Process
Relatively recently, Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), wrote an article praising collective bargaining: Collective bargaining is good for everyone December 23, 2019 By Hassan Yussuff, as published in the Globe and Mail. The holidays aren’t solely about gift-giving and spreading good cheer. Many workers find themselves having to walk a … Continue reading The Canadian Labour Congress’s Idealization of the Collective-Bargaining Process
Socialism, Police and the Government or State, Part Two
This is a continuation of a previous post. It is a response to Mr. Sam Gindin's article, We Need to Say What Socialism Will Look Like , where he argues that under socialism the government or state will not "wither away" but will expand as public services expand. Mr. Gindin's conception of the expansion of … Continue reading Socialism, Police and the Government or State, Part Two
The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Two: Collective Bargaining and the Interests of the Working Class
Professor Jeff Noonan, as contained in a reference to his work in a previous post( The Poverty of Academic Marxism, Part One), claimed that historical materialism must evolve. This seems to imply that his form of historical materialism, under present conditions, is superior to the historical materialism proposed by Marx. Professor Noonan claims the following … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Two: Collective Bargaining and the Interests of the Working Class
Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Two
I thought it appropriate to post on the issue of safety and health in relation to working for an employer. In Canada, April 28 is the National Day of Mourning, or Workers' Mourning Day, for workers killed, injured or suffering illnesses due to workplace hazards. Why do unions and the social-reformist left often speak in … Continue reading Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Two
The 2018 West-Virginia Teachers’ Strike and a Socialist Movement
The social-reformist left like to claim that what they are interested in is class struggle from below--the self-organization of the working class that opposes the power of the class of employers. In a podcast, David Camfield's analysis of the West Virginia teachers strike is an example of such a claim by the social-reformist left (This … Continue reading The 2018 West-Virginia Teachers’ Strike and a Socialist Movement
Fixed Social Dogmas and the Special Language of the Social-Reformist Left
Michael Perleman refers to the Procrustean dogma that characterizes much of the discussion about the social world in which we currently live. What better characterization of the social-democratic rhetoric of "fairness," "decent work," a "fair wage," "economic justice" and "social justice?" From Michael Perleman, The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism: How Market Tyranny Stifles the Economy by … Continue reading Fixed Social Dogmas and the Special Language of the Social-Reformist Left
The Abolitionary 