Winnipeg, July 20, 2019: Professor Bryan Palmer at the 14th annual forum of the World Association for Political Economy. Photo: Paul S. Graham The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike was followed with great interest by people around the world, says Dr. Bryan Palmer, Professor Emeritus at Trent University. Professor Palmer was
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Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Peter Gowan and Thomas Hanna write about the urgent need to free people from the market forces which currently trap them in precarity and debt: A flourishing and prosperous society that works for all, not just a privileged few, requires a foundation
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Franklin Foer writes that young climate activists are right to be anxious about the future that’s being imposed on them – and that it’s long past time for earlier generations to stop being comfortable with leaving wreckage in our wake. – Bill
Continue readingwmtc: picket lines, pupdates, and the 51st parallel: 10 things on my mind
It’s been a while. 1. Mom went home. My mom went home two weeks ago, after spending seven weeks here. I was sad to see her go! We had a great time, and it got better as we went along and settled into a routine. The dogs must especially miss
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – The L.A. Times’ editorial board comments on the need for everybody to pitch in toward a just transition which preserves a habitable planet – including by moving away from reliance on fossil fuels. But Natalie Hanman interviews Naomi Klein about what instead looks
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Meghna Charkabarti interviews Branko Milanovic about the destructive amount of inequality embedded in capitalism as it’s currently structured. Connor Kilpatrick and Bhaskar Sunkara argue that the corporate class has only tolerated an acceptable distribution of income and wealth when it’s been accompanied by
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The United Auto Workers and the Big Three Automakers: A Tale of Corruption
A Michigan Assembly Plant employee, trains to install seats in a Ford Ranger. Photo: Ford Motor Co. What follows is a somewhat complex tale of what happens when a labor union, structured to be unaccountable to the rank-and-file membership, embraces a system of labor-management cooperation rather than a class-conscious understanding
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Giri Savaraman and Jim Stanford point out the importance of a more collaborative and inclusive economy, even as Australia’s right-wing government pushes in the opposite direction: The problem has not been an absence of productivity growth: our productivity can always be improved, but
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Ian Welsh discusses the reality as to how economic decisions are made – and how we’ve allowed corporate control to remain in place even after it’s failed even on its own terms: All systems have to do only one thing: whatever is
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: From 1919 to the Fight for $15: Working-class organizing in Winnipeg today
Emily Leedham of Fight for 15 and Fairness speaks at a rally organized by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 outside Winnipeg City Hall in August. Photo from People’s Voice. One hundred years ago, in May-June 1919, thousands of working people from different backgrounds took part in the Winnipeg General Strike.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Paul Krugman weighs in on the scam that is trickle-down economics, particularly in the form of tax-free zones which encourage domestic tax evasion. – Timothy Taylor writes about the changing nature of work – while highlighting that workers who value secure and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Labour Day reading. – Hassan Yussuff discusses what’s at stake for Canadian workers in this fall’s election campaign. And Binyamin Applebaum and Damon Winter rightly point out that while one job can be difficult enough, there are added stresses where workers need to try to satisfy
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – John Nichols interviews Bernie Sanders about the importance of resurrecting the principle of economic rights. Gallup examines how the American public is again recognizing the value of unions. And Simon Goodley writes about the positive effects of shortening the work week to 4
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Peter Wade reports on new polling showing that American voters remain angry about a political system which benefits a privileged few at the expense of everybody else. Jake Johnson reports on Bernie Sanders’ message that it’s time for workers to win the class
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
This and that for your weekend reading. – Ryan Nunn, Jimmy O’Donnell and Jay Shambaugh study how the U.S.’ labour movement has been ground down by corporate-controlled governments – and how workers in all kinds of workplaces are worse off as a result. And Robin Tress cautions against allowing businesses
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Alex Hemingway writes about the need for Canada’s federal election to include a discussion about democratizing ownership and control of our economy. Nicole Aschoff notes that any discussion about industrial policy needs to include a serious analysis as to who benefits from economic
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Tom Parkin talks to Toby Sanger about the utter failure of corporate tax cuts to produce anything other than concentrated wealth and increased inequality. – Steven Greenhouse offers suggestions both as to how governments can level the playing field between workers and employers
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Nicholas Kristof writes about Donald Trump’s choice to put the most virulent anti-worker cronies imaginable in charge of U.S. labour policy. David Climenhaga weighs in on the UPC’s laughably biased committee charged with the task of driving down wages for service workers. And
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Andrew Jackson writes that bland centrism is no response to right-wing populism: Right-wing populism is a complex phenomenon which varies a lot by country. But most analysts agree that it is deeply rooted in material circumstances: rising economic inequality to often obscene levels,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Ernest Canning writes about the importance of treating corporatism as a specific and extreme position, rather than allowing it to define the political centre. And Norm McKee rightly argues that Canada’s federal election campaign needs to include a focus on ensuring the rich
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