There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By LL (registered) - website | Posted October 06, 2008 at 21:59:45
Walkom's article was very interesting - a cut above the current orthodoxy in political economy, which uncritically assumes the capitalist marketplace to be the locus of freedom. I also like how it not-so-subtly alludes to the fascist tendencies in American capitalism.
Market regulation might seem authoritarian for corporate elites and financial bigshots. But for working class people - the vast majority of people - the most immediate sources of coercion are 1) the workplace boss, and 2) the landlord. In other words, capitalist social relations are themselves highly authoritarian. This is the elephant in the room that even academics as "critical" as Walkom tend to ignore.
Structurally, corporations are run like dictatorships, with hierarchical chains of commmand-and-obedience (historically modelled on early modern militaries). "Free choice", for the worker and consumer alike, consists of the ability to switch allegiance from one dictatorship to another (change jobs or change brands), or to become a dictator oneself (start a business or climb the corporate ladder).
Like Sal, the pizzeria owner from Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" says: "This ain't a democracy. I'm the boss."
One thing I found inocculating about Walkom's article was the apparant assumption that the only alternatives in the face of capitalist dysfunction is for the state to intervene in one way or another. This systematically ignores the great libertarian soc'list (damn spam filter) tradition.
Even "left-wing" academia seems to conveniently forget that the anarchists Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin were rivals of Marx in the soc'list movement from the very beginning, or that, until 1917, anarchism was a bigger social movement than either Marxism or social democracy in many Western nations. Shamefully, it ignores the possibilities of large-scale worker control that the Spanish anarchists demonstrated in 1936.
This isn't just historical wanking. Almost a decade ago, Argentina had a dress rehearsal for the current financial crisis. Across Buenos Aires, neighbourhoods organized directly democratic Popular Assemblies. Hundreds of factories were collectivized and kept in operation by the workers. Don't believe me? Watch "The Take".
LL believes that the problems of the city reflect deeper social contradictions
Permalink | Context