Category: Theory
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The Use and Abuse of Identity in Public Life
The question of identity has become urgent for activism in the West though the issue has been important in many other parts of the world as well. Political identities form in opposition to oppression (or, reactively, as perceived victimization) and demand recognition, rights, and equity (or aggressively promote their denial). They also divide, become separated … Watch video »
‘Dual Power,’ Then… and Now?
Global capitalist crisis, impending ecological disaster, and new responses by popular movements in some regions, particularly in Latin America, inspire radical thinking about the need to go “beyond capital.” But how to attain the desired “system change” – today, an ecosocialist regime in place of capitalist rule – continues to be a matter for debate … Keep reading »
Green Designs for 21st Century Socialism
Before turning to the subject matter at hand two abiding issues in Marxist thinking need to be addressed. First, when Marx inveighed against Utopian Socialist futuristic model building, he never intended it to become a mantra dissuading socialists from thinking practically about socialist institutional design. Rather, Marx simply insisted that such endeavors only be undertaken … Keep reading »
States and Capitalist Society
Fifty years after it was published, The State in Capitalist Society remains indispensable for any socialist movement with ambitions of government. Keep reading »
Trump and the Spectre of Fascism
As a long-time educator and researcher in the Canadian labour movement, I think it is imperative at this moment that we reach out to our members and communities on the politics that has been emerging on the hard right. This includes hard right populists like Doug Ford, Jason Kenney and Andrew Scheer in the Conservative … Keep reading »
Sneak peek: Second segment on building socialism in Canada
Sadia Khan, Corvin Russell, and Sharmeen Khan continue their discussion on how we can work to build socialism in Canada – in this Patreon-exclusive sneak peek. Listen to audio »
Lessons from the Past: Markets, Plans, Bureaucracy
Wilder Pérez Varona interviews Eric Toussaint on a range of issues dealing with the Russian Revolution, conducted on 8 May 2019 during the International Colloquium dedicated to Leon Trotsky. Keep reading »
How do we build socialism in Canada?
Sadia Khan, Corvin Russell, and Sharmeen Khan have a discussion based on the following question: “How do we work to build socialism?” Listen to audio »
Transforming Capitalist Power: From the Streets to the State
The communist playwright Bertolt Brecht once wrote, “The individual can be annihilated/But the Party cannot be annihilated” (1977, 29). And yet, in the neoliberal era, the Party has been annihilated – only the individual remains. Or so it seemed until a few years ago. Communist parties have become insignificant political forces, or, as in China, … Keep reading »
Eternal Builder of Dreams and Hopes: Marta Harnecker (1937 – 2019)
“Well, friends, that’s it for today. You have to live in uncertainty and get ahead no matter what it takes. A hug as always, full of dreams and hopes.” – Marta With these words Marta Harnecker bade farewell to all her friends in her last mail on April 24th, after giving us her last brave … Keep reading »
Manifestos and Socialisms for the 21st Century
A review of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality. Keep reading »
Socialist Strategy and the Capitalist Democratic State
Analysis of the Leninist and the social democratic conceptions of the state, and the need to develop a democratic socialist politics for the 21st century. Keep reading »