Introduction Mr. Gindin, a self-proclaimed socialist in Toronto, claims that the state in a socialist society will expand its services rather than wither away--in opposition to Marx's and Engels' views on socialism (from Socialism for Realists): The expectations of full or near-full abundance, added to perfect or near-perfect social consciousness, have a further consequence: they … Continue reading Socialism, Part Ten: What It May Look Like, or Visions of a Better Kind of Society Without Employers: Child Support Laws, State Oppression and the Left
Tag: State power
The Basic Functions of the Capitalist State
The capitalist state often combines the appearance of fairness while applying threats and force. The radical left needs to expose this fact whenever possible. John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following: John Clarke Based on decades of dealing with elected institutions, administrative bureaucracies and repressive bodies, … Continue reading The Basic Functions of the Capitalist State
Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Seven: The National Day of Mourning in Canada and the Social Causes of Injury, Disease and Death
On April 28 is the National Day of Mourning in Canada to commemorate those workers who have suffered disease, injury or death at work. However, unions rarely if ever raise the issue of how effective such a day of mourning is for addressing the health and safety problems that workers experience. Why do more or … Continue reading Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Seven: The National Day of Mourning in Canada and the Social Causes of Injury, Disease and Death
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
The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Seven: The Idealization of the Nation State or the National Government and Nationalization in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part Two
In a previous post, I pointed out how Professor Noonan idealized the nation state. This post will expand on this view by showing that Professor Noonan's proposal to nationalize the economy by means of the modern state does the same thing--idealizes the modern state. Professor Noonan makes the following claim: The alternative is to use … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Seven: The Idealization of the Nation State or the National Government and Nationalization in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part Two
The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Six: The Idealization of the Nation State or the National Government in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part One
Professor Noonan, a self-declared historical materialist and teacher of Marxism, continues to argue a political position that ignores the reality of capitalist society. In his post Back to the Magic Mountain, he argues the following: No one should fetishize the nation state, but it remains the dominant form of political society and, when it chooses … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Six: The Idealization of the Nation State or the National Government in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part One
Working for Employers May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Five
In Dwyer's book, Life and Death at Work: Industrial Accidents as a Case of Socially Produced Error, in a passage quoted below, he argues that so-called accidents at work are socially caused but, historically, have been defined otherwise--as technical problems, for example, or as a result of individual mistakes.In the passage below, he notes that … Continue reading Working for Employers May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Five
The Abolitionary 