Category: Economy
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Between Dystopia and Democratic Socialism
The idea of socialism has been re-discovered by a layer of activists struggling for radical change, especially young people. Keep reading »
Book launch: The People’s Republic of Walmart
Launch of Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski’s new book The People’s Republic of Walmart. Moderated by Rawan Abdelbaki; discussants Pam Frache and Sam Gindin. Recorded in Toronto, 8 April 2019. Watch video »
Uber-Capitalism: Platform Mobility/Mobilizing Workers
Bronwyn Frey examines some of the worker organizational strategies emerging within Indonesia’s vast informal transportation sector, where precarity is longstanding and perhaps less exceptional than in the West. Watch video »
Wealth and the Invisibility of Human Life
Judith Deutsch reviews Quinn Slobodian new book Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism. Keep reading »
GM Oshawa: Lowered Expectations, Unexplored Opportunities
A little over a generation ago, #GMCanada employed 23,000 hourly and office workers in #Oshawa. The steady decline to GM’s current numbers was accompanied, each step of the way, by the consolation that ‘well, at least some of the jobs remained’. Keep reading »
Trudeau and SNC-Lavalin: Of Hosts and Parasites
Every now and again the sophisticated web of myths and fantasies that hides the brutality and ugliness of capitalism is ripped away by sleazy and rapacious actors. 1. Trudeau We are told, again and again, that we are fortunate to live in a capitalist nation that is subject to the Rule of Law. We are free … Keep reading »
Trump and the World Economy
Leo Panitch interviewed by Martin Thomas of Solidarity. Martin Thomas (MT): I can see four main sorts of possible outcomes to be considered from Trump’s economic jousting. One: it may reshape some deals, like NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement] to the USA’s advantage or imagined advantage, but after a flurry relations in the … Keep reading »
Zimbabwe: Capitalist Crisis + Ultra-Neoliberal Policy = “Mugabesque” Authoritarianism
Once again, a formidable burst of state brutality against Zimbabwe’s citizenry has left at least a dozen corpses, scores of serious injuries, mass arrests, Internet suspension and a furious citizenry. The 14-17 January nationwide protests were called by trade unions against an unprecedented fuel price hike, leading to repression reminiscent of former leader Robert Mugabe’s … Keep reading »
Markets Good, Public Bad: The False Promises of Market Populism
Ruling elites stand naked. No more hoping for a rising tide to lift all boats. No more waiting for the trickle down. Fears of drowning in the maelstroms of global finance abound. Feelings of powerlessness among the have-a-little-bits and have-nots fuel the hate of the even more down-trodden and the yearning for the good old … Keep reading »
Trade Wars: NAFTA, China and the World Market
Global imbalances are once again in the news on a daily basis, as the American current account grows, with trade surpluses in other zones and capital and credit flows growing in tandem. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump slaps tariffs on imports from many of the US’s traditional allies in North America and Europe, condemning … Watch video »
NAFTA Renewed. Now What?
Sam Gindin analyzes the political-economy of the new USMCA trade pact and its impact on the working class. Keep reading »
Hotels vs Housing? Platforms, Rent and Resistance in Toronto
Whether it is called the collaborative, platform, crowd-sourcing, or ‘sharing’ economy, the rise of peer-to-peer exchanges raises important questions for workers and unions. Watch video »