Soft Socialists

Rob Ashton

Responding to this thread. I think a good point is made here. It’s one thing to come out with a manifesto that defines what a ‘real’ New Democrat is, and quite another to work for the things that will help the people you hope will vote for you. Environment is a good case in point….

Venezuela

Caracas

I’m not going to pretend that Venezuela was any kind of socialist paradise. I had the opportunity to visit a number of years ago and saw first-hand the crime, poverty and inequality that argues that it wasn’t. All this despite its wealth. As always when I visit other lands, though, I found the people incredibly…

McPherson on Careers

Heather McPherson

Heather McPherson has launched her careers platform; you can read it here. So there are three major components: Overall the thinking behind the proposal is good, in the sense that the major problem facing young people is the opportunity to develop skills and connections that integrate them into a working community they can rely on…

If You Want to Be A Leader…

Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani

I stand fully behind these comments (quoted in full below). I don’t care that they don’t identify anyone specifically (and if you think it’s your candidate that is being criticized, I think you should be questioning your candidate). A number of people are interpreting the statement as saying ” the next NDP leader should do…

The Waffle

The Waffle Manifesto: https://www.socialisthistory.ca/Docs/Waffle/WaffleManifesto.htm Two key points that are often in opposition to each other: – “socialists must strive for democracy at those levels that most directly affect us all — in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of work. Tenants’ unions, consumers’ and producers’ cooperatives are examples” – “extensive public control over investment…

21st Century Socialism

I don’t think government-owned grocery stores, housing and telcos are a good response, not that I have any objection to so-called government intervention, but because they don’t put ownership of these essential public services into the hands of the people. It’s just far too easy for a non-socialist government to take power and undercut or…

Beyond Democratic Socialism

Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

What is there’s no democratic road to socialism? Now I want to be clear here about what I mean by this: – by ‘socialism’ I mean a society defined by social values, as opposed to the all-encompassing definition of society by capital. In my previous post, I suggested: mechanisms such as defining some things as being…

Beyond Social Democracy

Traffic at Container Pier

What would it take to go from reforms within the capitalist system to a democratic socialist society? That’s a much tougher question than it may seem at first glance. The ‘capitalist system’ is based essentially on the idea that we can earn income through ownership, and not through labour alone. With no effective limits on…

A Sovereign Economy

Just this: “Canada’s vulnerability to Trump’s policies has been exacerbated by past policies which reinforced a structurally subservient role within the North American economy. They pigeon-holed Canada as a supplier of resources, and a ready market for more advanced U.S.-produced products and services. Canada’s response to Trump, therefore, must take account of that structural vulnerability,…

Reflection Before Rebuilding

Reflection

A good post from MenonRRR, which I reproduce in its entirety, in response to MikePalecek’s Substack: A long time NDP member. Here are my suggestions: Here is my response: Overall (also as a longtime NDP member) I agree with these, but I have some comments. First, any position can be co-opted by another party. If…