Believe the actions, not the words of the political class. We need to reassert the democratic will in our societies. “The idea that trade is always and everywhere beneficial has been the ‘American’ position, left, right and center, since the reemergence of neoliberalism in the mid-1970s. This is why
Continue readingTag: class politics
Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Michael Spence discusses how a wealth tax can work, while noting that the worst possible response to growing inequality is to refuse to do anything. And the Centre for Labour and Social Studies summarizes the current class disparity in the UK, as well
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Scott Schmidt highlights how the wealthy have seized any gains in economic growth over a period of decades. Michael Hobbes discusses the “glass floor” keeping the children of rich families from facing any risk of failure. And Crawford Kilian discusses Thomas Piketty’s observations
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins interviews Eugene McCarraher about the cultivation of capitalist greed as a new religion. And Annie Lowrey writes about the value of cancelling the concept of billionaires: (T)here are far more urgent reasons than poverty to get rid of billionaires and reverse
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Grace Blakeley writes that class politics are making a sorely-needed return, raising the prospect that people might again start to make gains against corporate forces: The reemergence of class politics is not a fad; it is a response to the material conditions created
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Evening Links
Assorted content to end your week. – PressProgress digs into Statistics Canada’s findings about precarious work in Canada, highlighting the connection between temporary work and subpar pay and working conditions: According to a report by Statistics Canada, published Tuesday, the percentage of Canadian workers hired on temporary contracts increased from
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Friday reading. – Paul Krugman offers a reminder that the gap between the 1% and the rest of us is far larger than most people are permitted to see: (T)here’s also a big difference between being affluent, even very affluent, and having the kind of wealth
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jake Bittle writes about rural homelessness as a seldom-discussed issue which calls out for a strong policy response to ensure the right to housing is met regardless of whether one’s community is urban or rural: While the trigger events that cause homelessness
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Christo Aivalis discusses the lessons the Canadian progressive movement should take from the emergence of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders in shaping the U.S.’ political discourse: What is so crucial to Ocasio-Cortez’s potential—as well as the sheer hatred she inspires among the right—is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your year-end reading. – Kenan Malik comments on the many forms of classism. And Roderick Benns examines how Ontario’s basic income recipients were able to make use of their increased income security – including by spending more time with friends, with family and volunteering in their communities.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Simon Wren-Lewis notes the importance of including the working class among the groups identified as part of a progressive movement. And Gary Younge writes about the importance of genuine identity politics (as opposed to the cynical right-wing counterpart) as a means of identifying
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Judy Paul discusses how everybody benefits from the fight against inequality: Also of interest is the levels of trust and community life were stronger in more equal societies. There is more mixing of people from various socio-economic groups in more equal countries and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Evening Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Aditya Chakrabortty discusses how UK Labour is pursuing genuine and positive class politics by promising to ensure that workers have a share in both the decision-making and the spoils of major corporations. – Duncan Cameron offers a reminder of the lack of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Lisa Gennetian discusses how behavioural economics can inform the development of programs to end child poverty – including by ensuring a guaranteed income to help parents avoid needless financial stress. And Annie Lowrey makes the case for a basic income as a matter
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Charlie May writes that the inequality which is radically reshaping the American political scene receives short shrift compared to other stories. And Thomas Piketty studies (PDF) the political realignment which is seeing relatively well-defined class politics replaced with “multiple-elite” models. – Meanwhile, Tom
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Owen Jones discusses how an ideology of individualism has undermined both freedom and security for most of the UK’s citizens: There are several reasons why rampant individualism sits at the core of the Tory project. Individualism promotes the idea that our successes
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Christopher Ingraham discusses the U.S.’ distorted distribution of wealth – and how both existing inequality and the Republicans’ plan to exacerbate it run contrary to the values of the general public: Among rich nations, the United States stands out for the extent of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the growing gap between the Trudeau Libs’ “middle class” messaging and the self-perception of a growing working class in Canada. For further reading…– Ekos’ polling is discussed here, with detailed tables here (PDF).– The Libs’ 2015 platform is again here (PDF). And again, PressProgress discussed Bill Morneau’s message
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Patrick Butler writes about the increasing number of UK families mired in poverty and insecure housing even with one or more people working. And Ali Monceaux and Daniel Najarian discuss the importance of a fair minimum wage in providing people with a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Hassan Yussuff and other labour leaders offer their take on how we can develop a more equitable global trade system: The next challenge before us is to build on and improve all post-CETA trade and investment deals to ensure they meet a progressive
Continue reading