Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part Two

The following is the second of a two-part series on Bill Resnick's interview with Sam Gindin, in accordance with the two-part presentation of the interview. I put my summary of Mr. Gindin's talk in italics; my comments are in regular print. I also use italics when quoting others. According to Bill Resnick, part two is … Continue reading Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part Two

Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part One

The following is a two-part series on Bill Resnick's interview with Sam Gindin, in accordance with the two-part presentation of the interview. I put my summary of Mr. Gindin's talk in italics; my comments are in regular print. I also use italics when quoting others. One of Mr. Gindin's key criticisms of both GM and … Continue reading Socialism and Central Planning: Mr. Gindin’s Analysis of The Political Situation of Workers in General, Part One

Socialism, Part Nine: Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part Two

This is a continuation of a previous post. In a previous post, I criticized Mr. Gindin's view that leisure is the pure realm of freedom. (Sam Gindin is (or was) head of the Toronto Labour Committee and former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) (now Unifor)). In this post, I will criticize his … Continue reading Socialism, Part Nine: Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part Two

Unions and the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique of a Social-Democratic View, Part One

Professor Tuft (geography professor, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), in an article published on the Socialist Project's website (Covid-19 and 'Actually Existing' Unions), argues that unions will be in crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Unions exist financially because of union dues, and with the increased level of unemployment among unionized workers, unions … Continue reading Unions and the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique of a Social-Democratic View, Part One

Socialism, Part Nine: An Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part One

Leer este post en espaƱol The class formal principle of employers--that workers receive from society what they contribute (contradicted at a practical level through systematic exploitation of workers necessarily in a capitalist context--that is why it is a formal principle that contradicts reality--see  for example The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Magna International Inc., One … Continue reading Socialism, Part Nine: An Inadequate Conception of the Nature of Freedom and Necessity, or Free Time and Necessary Time, Part One

A Critical Look at The Socialist Project’s Pamphlet on Green Jobs Oshawa

The Socialist Project, "based in Toronto [Ontario, Canada] ... works to generate and promote Left activism education and organizing. Our membership includes activists, students, workers educators and others interested in Socialist politics in Canada," recently published (February 2020) a pamphlet titled Take the Plant--Save the Planet: The Struggle for Community Control and Plant Conversion at … Continue reading A Critical Look at The Socialist Project’s Pamphlet on Green Jobs Oshawa

Socialism, Part Nine: Market Socialism as an Initially Necessary but Inadequate Social Model

In previous posts on the topic of socialism, I have argued implicitly that a market for consumer and capital goods may be necessary initially. This is so in order to eliminate the exploitation of workers by employers. The amount of work performed by a person would still be related to the amount of consumption goods … Continue reading Socialism, Part Nine: Market Socialism as an Initially Necessary but Inadequate Social Model

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

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

Review of Jane McAlevey’s “A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy”: Two Steps Backward and One Step Forward, Part One

Jane McAlevey is everywhere these days. Recently appointed a senior fellow at Berkeley’s Labor Center, she is now also a regular columnist for both the NationĀ andĀ Jacobin. Her webinar (ā€œOrganizing for Union Powerā€) has a global audience. She continues to be called on to address unions and run training sessions in the United States, Canada, the … Continue reading Review of Jane McAlevey’s “A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy”: Two Steps Backward and One Step Forward, Part One