The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eleven: Superficial Rejection of Aiming for a Socialist Society in the Present by Idealizing the Rule of Law in the Present: Part Two

Introduction This is a continuation of a critique of the views of Jeff Noonan, an academic leftist who teaches philosophy (including Marxist philosophy) at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.  In an earlier post (The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eleven: Superficial Rejection of Aiming for a Socialist Society in the Present by Idealizing … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eleven: Superficial Rejection of Aiming for a Socialist Society in the Present by Idealizing the Rule of Law in the Present: Part Two

The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eleven: Superficial Rejection of Aiming for a Socialist Society in the Present by Idealizing the Rule of Law in the Present: Part One

Introduction Jeff Noonan, supposedly a Marxist philosopher, in a recent post (https://www.jeffnoonan.org/?p=5864#comments) has the following to say on his blog: Practically speaking, there are no revolutionary movements of any consequence. So the question is: what does one do right now: abstractly condemn the rule of law as a bourgeois subterfuge? Or criticise the reality of … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Eleven: Superficial Rejection of Aiming for a Socialist Society in the Present by Idealizing the Rule of Law in the Present: Part One

Radicals Who Use Strawman Examples and Arguments Against Basic Income Do No Service to the Working Class

John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on his Facebook page:  "Basic income makes capitalism inclusive.' I just saw a post on X that made this revealing claim and it expresses two fundamental illusions about basic income. Firstly, systems of income support are inadequate so as … Continue reading Radicals Who Use Strawman Examples and Arguments Against Basic Income Do No Service to the Working Class

The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Ten

Introduction It is interesting that social democrats express themselves in different ways. Thus, Professor Noonan, a professor at the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada), who teaches Marxism, among other courses, presents a few truths that give credence to a number of distortions and silences in his recent post on his blog (see https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/25539351/posts/5759). Distortions and Silences … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Ten

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

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

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