John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted the following on Facebook; it expresses well the reality of the rule of law and not its rhetoric. John Clarke The real scandal isn't lawbreaking by people with political and economic power but all the appalling things they are able to do … Continue reading Legality Involves the Legitimation of Many Appalling Actions
Tag: Rule of law
The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Five: The Rhetoric of the Need for a Warrant Versus the Reality
Introduction This is a continuation of a series that exposes the reality of courts as part of the exposure of the reality of the rule of law. The series involves quotes from the book by Doreen McBarnet (1983) Conviction: Law, the State and the Construction of Justice as well as short commentaries related to the … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Five: The Rhetoric of the Need for a Warrant Versus the Reality
The Courts (and the Rule of Law) as Oppressive
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, has this recently to say on Facebook about the nature of courts--which the radical left simply often ignores: John Clarke The judicial wing of the state plays a huge role in wielding the repressive power of the state. The criminal courts, interwoven with the … Continue reading The Courts (and the Rule of Law) as Oppressive
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Nineteen: The Oaxaca, Mexico Teachers’ Strike and Subsequent Community Uprising of 2006
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 Nineteen: The Oaxaca, Mexico Teachers’ Strike and Subsequent Community Uprising of 2006
The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Four: To Resist or Not to Resist the Police
Are You Arrested? The Ambiguity of Being Detained by the Police When a police officer stops a citizen, an immigrant or a migrant worker, it may be understandably unclear whether s/he is arrested or not and what s/he can do or not do if stopped by the police. From McBarnet, page 36: Arrest-that is, the … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Four: To Resist or Not to Resist the Police
The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Three: Arbitrary Arrest and Police as Privileged Citizens
Introduction This is a continuation of a series that exposes the reality of courts as part of the exposure of the reality of the rule of law. The series involves quotes from the book by Doreen McBarnet (1983) Conviction: Law, the State and the Construction of Justice as well as short commentaries related to the … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Three: Arbitrary Arrest and Police as Privileged Citizens
The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part One
Introduction The following series of posts are meant to complement the series of posts on the issue of reforming versus abolishing the police (see for example Reform or Abolition of the Police, Part One or Reform Versus Abolition of the Police, Part 8: The Police and the Political Economy of Capitalism). The following is mainly a series … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part One
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
Defense of Arrested Picketers is Vital–But Not the Idealization of Collective Bargaining, Collective Agreements and Strikes
On January 20, 2020, Jerry Dias, president of a large private-sector union in Canada, and others--were arrested in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Despite my criticism of Mr. Dias on this blog, in this instance he and others deserve support--as do the workers who are on the picket line in that city. I am copying the details … Continue reading Defense of Arrested Picketers is Vital–But Not the Idealization of Collective Bargaining, Collective Agreements and Strikes
Socialism, Police and the Government or State, Part One
Mr. Gindin, in his article We Need to Say What Socialism Will Look Like argues the following: The expectations of full or near-full abundance, added to perfect or near-perfect social consciousness, have a further consequence: they imply a dramatic waning, if not end, of substantive social conflicts and so do away with any need for an “external” … Continue reading Socialism, Police and the Government or State, Part One
The Abolitionary 