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
Tag: Social democratic ideology
Pointing Out the Superexploitation of Workers Still Requires Connections to the Regular and Unacknowledged Exploitation of Workers
I was surprised to see the following recent Facebook post by John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), without any comments: The brand name companies profit from exploitation and brutality but contract out the messy details to local enforcers. From The Guardian. Leading fashion brands including Barbour and PVH, which … Continue reading Pointing Out the Superexploitation of Workers Still Requires Connections to the Regular and Unacknowledged Exploitation of Workers
Radical Leftists Should Not Underestimate the Ideological Grip of the Reformist Point of View
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), posted on Facebook about a week ago the following: John Clarke I've been asked to write a review of Éric Toussaint's latest work on the World Bank. It exposes very well the role of this vile institution. People can do dreadful things in … Continue reading Radical Leftists Should Not Underestimate the Ideological Grip of the Reformist Point of View
Does Being a Militant Union Leader Justify the Silence of the So-called Radical Left?
On a Marxist listserve, a writer posted with the subject reading "Workers know what it means to be in the working class." These are his short statements: This is Mick Lynch of the Railway Unionists (The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers - RTU) of the UK - who were in bitter strike … Continue reading Does Being a Militant Union Leader Justify the Silence of the So-called Radical Left?
Liberals as Social Democrats, or Social Democrats as Liberals
John Clarke, former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on Facebook: John Clarke 14h · Dear Capitalists: Your pursuit of vast profits is causing appalling working conditions, poverty, hunger, extreme inequality, the threat of war and environmental destruction. I and many other like minded people are asking you to … Continue reading Liberals as Social Democrats, or Social Democrats as Liberals
Is Amnesty International a Progressive Organization?–or Is the Term “Progressive Organization” an Example of an Abstract Slogan of Social Democrats? Part Two
Introduction In a previous post, I looked in a general way at the shortcomings of Amnesty International (AI) as a "progressive organization"--one of the abstract slogans of the social-democratic or social-reformist left here in Toronto (and undoubtedly elsewhere). In an article posted on the Socialist Project's website (https://socialistproject.ca/2021/12/swords-into-ploughshares/), Simon Black speaks to Sam Gindin, a … Continue reading Is Amnesty International a Progressive Organization?–or Is the Term “Progressive Organization” an Example of an Abstract Slogan of Social Democrats? Part Two
Is Amnesty International a Progressive Organization?–or Is the Term “Progressive Organization” an Example of an Abstract Slogan of Social Democrats? Part One
Introduction In an article posted on the Socialist Project's website (https://socialistproject.ca/2021/12/swords-into-ploughshares/), Simon Black speaks to Sam Gindin, a social democrat or social reformer here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and author, along with the late Leo Panitch, of the book (2013) The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire. Mr. Black states the … Continue reading Is Amnesty International a Progressive Organization?–or Is the Term “Progressive Organization” an Example of an Abstract Slogan of Social Democrats? Part One
The Radical Left Underestimate the Ideological Power of Employers and Overestimate Their Own Ideological Struggle
Leftists frequently refer to themselves and others as the left. This is vague to the point of being useless. Often, what is meant by being left is being paying lip-service to being anti-capitalist--without in reality doing anything to oppose the power of the class of employers as such, either ideologically or in practice. A good … Continue reading The Radical Left Underestimate the Ideological Power of Employers and Overestimate Their Own Ideological Struggle
The Leap Manifesto as a Social-Democratic Document: Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, Indigenous Rights and the Perpetuation of the Dominance of a Class of Employers
Written before the coronavirus pandemic, The Leap Manifesto: A Call for Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another, produced by various authors in 2015, ranging from scientist David Suzuki to the former head of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Paul Moist, focuses on the need for the transition to a … Continue reading The Leap Manifesto as a Social-Democratic Document: Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, Indigenous Rights and the Perpetuation of the Dominance of a Class of Employers
Basic Income, Public Ownership and the Radical Left in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique
In a couple of posts, I criticized John Clarke's opposition to a particular form of basic income. Mr. Clarke is a former leader of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Clarke continues to oppose any alternative universal basic income scheme (see 'Pandemic Basic Income' Gets It Wrong). He has ignored … Continue reading Basic Income, Public Ownership and the Radical Left in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Critique
The Abolitionary 