Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Caitlin Johnstone offers a grim but fair evaluation of the barely-existent left in the U.S. and elsewhere - while recognizing that the obvious implication is the need to build capacity to demand systemic change. And David Suzuki discusses how an obsession with perpetually consuming more stuff - particular when linked to the fetishization of dirty energy sources - produces both personal dissatisfaction and disastrous environmental consequences. 

- Damian Carrington reports on new research which concludes the climate breakdown has reached the point where there's no longer any prospect of saving Arctic ice in the summer (with more extreme weather expected to result from its loss). 

- Aaron Wherry writes that Canada's Parliament is largely fiddling as the country burns, while Greg Pyle discusses how the UCP is determined to make matters even worse in order to keep short-term profits flowing to its oil backers. And Jacob Knutson discusses how Canadian wildfires are resulting in dangerous levels of air pollution in large swaths of the U.S. 

- Mary Vallis offers an explainer on rent strikes as organized tenant resistance is becoming more common in the face of intolerable rent extraction. 

- Finally, Angela Satni explores the roots of patriarchy - along with the anecdotes and debunked theories used to try to present it as an inevitability. And Tandeep Sidhu writes that the militarization of Canadian police is destroying public trust and making everybody less safe. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Zak Vescera reports on the CCPA's new research showing how an increasing number of jobs in British Columbia are precarious - with already-disadvantaged workers especially likely to be affected. Don Pittis points out the Bank of Canada's continued attempts to hold wages below the rate of inflation, while offering much-needed space for Kaylie Tiessen to point out how that focus results in its being a soldier for capital in an ongoing class war. And Nick French writes that the essence of socialism is rooted in justice for workers pursuing what's rightfully theirs.

- Andrew Petter and Jim Rutkowski write about the value of progressive populism as a tool to make the case for an egalitarian society.  And Rowan Burdge, Jen Kostuchuk and Ismail Askin point out the importance of ensuring that social justice is embodied in any climate plan in order to ensure people see the benefits of a clean energy transition. 

- Meanwhile, Roberto Burgos discusses how the latest IPCC report is both alarming in its expectations, and unduly optimistic in its assumption that we'll manage a full transition away from carbon pollution.

- Finally, David Beers discusses the need to value journalism as a public good - particularly as the Cons and their provincial cousins attempt to stifle any reporting or commentary other than from their own side's propagandists.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Luke Savage points out that even biased right-wing polling is finding broad support for stronger social programs and limitations on corporate domination in Canada and the U.S. But Jake Johnson writes that the Biden administration is instead increasing military funding while putting an end to pandemic supports. And Elizabeth Payne discusses how continued underfunding of public health care in Canada is endangering workers and patients alike - even as Doug Allen notes that Doug Ford and his conservative cronies have no problem finding massive amounts of money for profit-driven care. 

- Tracy Alloway and Joe Wiesenthal write about the "excuseflation" in which businesses goose their own profit margins while feigning helplessness. Nojoud Al Mallees reports on the experts calling for ongoing transparency as to how the corporations dominating the supply of necessities are setting their prices. And Erin Weir argues that the Bank of Canada should be focusing on its broadened mandate to support the maximum sustainable level of employment, rather than making a narrow push to respond to inflation driven by corporate greed. 

- Elaine MacDonald writes about the environmental racism which has seen Canadian communities of colour disproportionately exposed to toxic chemicals. Tom Perkins reports on the horrific consequences of incinerating the soil contaminated by Norfolk Southern's East Palestine train derailment. And Helena Horton and Damian Carrington report on research into the immense amount of plastic waste in the oceans - and the futility of cleanup efforts if we don't sharply limit the damage first. 

- Meanwhile, David Wallace-Wells points out that clean energy is immensely popular even in states dominated by Republican, fossil-fueled governments. Jonathan Gitlin discusses some of the lessons being learned in the early days of EV battery recycling. And Amy Janzwood, Sam Rowan and Josh Medicoff write that our federal government should be working on a well-planned transition, rather than coddling an industry which refuses to accept the growth of technology which will displace it.  

- Finally, Umair Haque calls out the rise of annihilationism, as the right seeks to eliminate anybody outside its own in-group in the U.S. (and elsewhere). 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Francesco Pierri et al. study the roots of COVID-19 vaccine denialism, with misinformation becoming more and more prevalent as the pandemic continues. And David Climenhaga discusses how Alberta (and many other Canadian provinces) are taking a new step in pandemic denialism by planning to limit citizens' access to vaccine boosters.

- Meanwhile, Crawford Kilian points out that we should be doing far more to reduce the death toll and health issues caused by air pollution. But Sharon Lerner reports that the oil industry is instead being permitted to label the burning of toxic plastics as a "biofuel".

- Philippe Fournier notes that a majority of Canadians want to see stronger climate action, and are thus being ill served by a Lib-Con debate between not doing enough and doing even less (if anything). And the Globe and Mail's editorial board weighs in on the complete lack of justification for Danielle Smith's plans to hand tens of billions of dollars to the oil industry to comply with its legal obligations.

- Mitchell Thompson reports on polling showing that even the Fraser Institute can't load the dice enough to find popular support for capitalism over socialism. But Judy Rebick points out the need for popular action to replace pay-for-play politics with government that's remotely representative of people's interests.

- Finally, Justin Ling discusses the connections between the Cons and the global alt-right - including Christine Anderson who has been feted by Con MPs and the Western petropolitical powers that be for her bigotry.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Cate Swannell discusses how research showing the multitude of harms which can result from COVID-19 infection. Calixto Machado-Curbelo, Joel Gutiérrez-Gil and Alina González-Quevedo study how new variants are entering the brain in different ways than prior versions - easing the respiratory damage associated with the coronavirus initially while also causing different symptoms. And Bryce Covert points out how long COVID is affecting the workforce - resulting in labour shortages for exactly the employers who are demanding that employees be forced back to in-person work.  

- Emily Blake reports on the billions of dollars in remediation costs being dumped on the public as large mine operators have left contaminated sites to be cleaned up on the public dime. And Drew Anderson exposes new information as to how Imperial Oil concealed its knowledge about contamination while claiming innocence when people have observed direct damage from their sites. 

- Annie Lowrey discusses how misogyny in the field of economics results in a distorted set of interests and assumptions behind economic research and decision-making. 

- Finally, John Bell calls out Danielle Smith's smash-and-grab UCP government. And Katha Pollitt writes that democratic socialism offers reason for hope in some alternative to a capitalist system where greed is the primary consideration in all kinds of decision-making. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Katherine Wu, Ed Yong and Sarah Khang write that the Omicron COVID-19 wave is seeing governments make the same familiar mistakes in an accelerated time frame, while Umair Haque laments the continued combination of incompetence, ineptitude and indifference. And the Star's editorial board points out the chaotic set of responses at the provincial level, while Birgit Umaigba, Jesse McLaren and Naheed Dosani highlight the continued risks posed by the absence of adequate sick leave.

- Isabel Teotonio flags the desperate need to ensure that residents and workers in long-term care homes get booster shots to prevent another massacre. And Lisa Cordasco reports on the imminent overwhelming of British Columbia's health care system (like those across Canada). 

- Sander van der Linden discusses the importance of inoculating the general public against the type of misinformation that's served to undermine any effective response. And PressProgress highlights how Twitter has decided to treat bounties on Canadian doctors as an acceptable use of its platform.

- Laura Osman reports that instead of treating the pressures of a pandemic as a reason to question how we overpay for prescription drugs, the Libs are allowing big pharma to delay (if not avoid altogether) even minor steps to rein in the cost of needed medications.

- Finally, Mitchell Thompson points out how the Weston family's fortune is built on exploitation. And Ben Burgis writes about the importance of democratic equality in political and economic power to ensure that concentrated wealth doesn't dictate public policy decisions.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ian Austen takes Alberta's shame to the international stage by pointing out how the UCP's "best summer ever" has given rise to the fourth wave of COVID-19. Adam Hunter points out how similarly disastrous pandemic mismanagement hasn't yet produced the same political consequences for Scott Moe as for Jason Kenney, while Doug Cuthand calls out Moe for putting politics over public health. And Zak Vescera reports on the Moe government's decision to start withholding modeling information which has demonstrated how reckless it's been.

- Meanwhile, Mackenzie Read talks to Nazeem Muhajarine about the need for more public health steps to get Saskatchewan's fourth wave under control. Lynn Giesbrecht reports on the hundreds of cases already known to have arisen in two weeks following the return to schools this fall. Dan Jones reports on the responses to Moe's attempt to point fingers at other for his failure to get people vaccinated in Northern and rural areas. And Jaela Bernstein discusses how underpaid frontline workers are bearing the brunt of anti-vaxxer rage.

- Supriya Dwivedi writes that the recent federal election highlighted the Canadian media's lack of recognition of how to deal with far-right disinformation. And Michael Spratt notes that while a manufactured controversy over a question about discrimination was turned to the advantage of right-wing parties, it also served to confirm the distinct and ongoing problem of racism in Quebec.

- Aaron Saad discusses how Canada's governing political parties have prevented their bases from fully understanding and engaging with the climate crisis. And Chris Hatch comments on the climate implications of the federal election.

-Finally, Loren Balhorn writes about the continued importance of working-class political parties to provide voters with a plausible mechanism for social change.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Crawford Kilian takes note of new research showing that the Delta variant of COVID-19 produces more severe outcomes (including increased hospitalization rates) even taking into account its increased transmissibility. And the New York Times looks into one example of the variant infecting students and families in a California classroom.

- Meanwhile, Guy Quenneville reports on the projections which suggest Saskatchewan will soon be seeing upwards of 300 new cases per day due to the Moe government's choice to let the Delta variant run rampant. And UCP House Leader Nathan Neudorf has come out and admitted that his party's plan is to try to maximize how many people get infected as soon as possible, while Timm Bruch reports on UCP MLA Angela Pitt's lobbying to actually ban employers from implementing vaccination policies.

- Damian Carrington reports on new research on the connection between increased air pollution and harm to mental health.

- Finally, David Moscrop rightly points out that we can't expect capitalists to protect us from the harm done by capitalism. And Katie Way highlights the increased recognition of the importance of unions in protecting workers' interests.

Sunday Morning Links

 This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Patricia Treble discusses how the rise of the Delta COVID-19 variant is making it vital to hit higher vaccine targets than previously set. And the Star's editorial board argues that any responsible government should be laying out a plan to get children back to school safely this fall - rather than offering vague assurances coupled with no planning. 

- Robin Sears makes the case to build back better once the pandemic actually is done with rather than merely settling back into the same conditions that created so much insecurity.   

- Cathy Crowe notes that Toronto's violent eviction of homeless people and their tents from Trinity Bellwoods Park represents little more than history repeating. And Rick Salutin discusses how the goal of the eviction was to place a continuing crisis beyond the perception of most people, rather than to do anything to actually resolve it.  

- Kenny Stancil writes about the growing U.S. support for socialism relative to capitalism - and the supermajority in favour of closing the gap between the rich and the poor. 

- Finally, Tiffany Crawford reports on the scientific confirmation that unprecedented heat waves (including the one now hitting B.C.) are linked to the climate crisis. But while the European Union is set to make emissions reduction targets legally binding, John Woodside writes that Newfoundland and Labrador - like far too many other jurisdictions - has chosen to prioritize a last trickle of oil industry profits over massive public demand to transition to a clean economy to help avert a total breakdown. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Ezra Klein discusses the socialist ethic behind Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. And Umair Haque writes that the antidote to Donald Trump's authoritarianism is a far stronger recognition of the need for collective action.

- Meanwhile, Shree Paradkar notes that the vilification of solidarity among Indigenous peoples is a familiar part of Canada's colonial playbook. And Ethan Cox points out that regardless of the predictable bluster from reactionary politicians, it's impossible to stop a solidarity movement by force.

- Will Dubitsky writes that the struggle surrounding the Coastal Gas Link pipeline should represent a canary in the coal mine for further fossil fuel development in Canada. And Marc Lee notes that the pipeline is no more defensible in its economic and environmental effects than in its intrusion on unceded lands and Indigenous rights, while Geoff Dembicki confirms that the Teck Frontier project similarly had no path to commercial viability even if environmental realities were ignored.

- Nick Falvo offers some important background information on Alberta's treatment of low-income households. Alicia Bridges reports on the challenges facing homeless people navigating the coldest part of the year in Saskatchewan - including arbitrary limits on their ability to access shelters even if spaces are available. And Brian Cross writes about the financial stress facing the province's farmers.

- Finally, Patrick Condon discusses how exploitation by the financial sector makes housing unaffordable for the people who need it most.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Derek Thompson discusses how the U.S.' capitalist system has been designed to squeeze younger workers - leading to many of them being open to systemic change. And in the context of UK Labour's leadership campaign, Grace Blakeley writes about the need for socialists to talk in aspirational rather than merely incremental terms to ensure voters recognize that democratic change is possible:

The idea of ‘aspirational socialism’ is Long-Bailey’s answer to this problem. It was always going to be difficult to convince an electorate beaten down by a decade of austerity that their lives could suddenly be transformed for the better simply by ticking the right box on polling day. But reframing socialist transformation around the idea of ‘aspiration’ aims to cut through this pessimism and make Labour’s ideas seem more achievable. In the context of declining social mobility, stagnant wages and an impending climate catastrophe, it should not be difficult to argue that there exists a need for collective social transformation alongside individual self-advancement. 

Investing in our public services will allow people up and down the country to achieve their full potential, because you can’t build a better life for yourself if you can’t access a good education, decent healthcare and a safety net for when times get hard. Strengthening workers’ rights will allow people to work together to fight for better conditions, higher pay and dignity at work. And a Green New Deal will create jobs in places starved of investment for decades so that we can build a sustainable economy fit for the future.
...

Long-Bailey can argue that live in a rigged economy in which the rules are made and enforced by a tiny elite that profits from keeping wages down, rents high and ordinary people out of politics. The only way to challenge this model is to deliver a democratic revolution that will redistribute wealth and power away from the Westminster-based establishment and towards working people up and down the UK. 
 
Aspirational socialism and the democratic revolution can both be realised through the creation of genuinely democratic collective institutions, which can also provide a substantive socialist response to the call of ‘take back control.’ Abolishing the House of Lords, making the Bank of England publicly accountable and devolving power to local councils will all help to democratise and politicise the British state. Strengthening the labour movement, transforming corporate governance and introducing new models of corporate ownership will deliver a more democratic economy geared towards collective advance.

- David Segal reports on a $60 billion tax evasion scheme which is just now seeing European countries try to recover what's been stolen from the public purse. And Nicholas Shaxson makes the case for a unitary tax system to ensure corporations pay a fair share worldwide, rather than the patchwork under consideration by the OECD.

- Jordan Weissmann examines how private equity has destroyed major retail outlets. And Simon Wren-Lewis discusses how an increased political focus on the individual interests of the extremely wealthy has resulted in an unhealthy environment for many businesses.

- Finally, CBC examines how Finland has used a Housing First model to ensure that everybody has a home.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Nathan Robinson writes that there's every reason for younger people - in the U.S. and elsewhere - to support the principle of socialism based on a desire to achieve gains for everybody rather than only a privileged few:

A better definition, at least as far as the economic dimension of socialism, is the concept of “worker control.” What socialists have disliked is the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small number of people. What they have demanded is that ordinary working people get their fair share of the wealth. Some socialists have believed strongly in the power of government, others have believed that worker cooperatives or syndicates could give workers their share. Matt Bruenig of the socialist People’s Policy Project has proposed a large “social wealth fund” that would distribute returns on public assets to the people as a whole, while Bernie Sanders (now running for president again) has put forth a plan to give employees seats on company boards and give ordinary workers guaranteed shares of stock.

The specifics vary, but what all socialists have in common is a dislike for the class system, where some people work incredibly hard all their lives and end up with nothing, while other people get to make money in their sleep just by owning things. Socialists think that if you work for a company, you ought to reap rewards when it succeeds, and you ought to have a say in how it’s run.

But there’s more to it than that. In my book, ”Why You Should Be A Socialist,” I argue that what socialists have in common is a sense of “solidarity” with people at the bottom, no matter who they are. As the famous socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs said 100 years ago, “while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

That commitment may seem radical: who wants to be of the criminal element? But socialists think in terms of universals: we think everyone deserves healthcare and housing, not just the people who prove themselves morally worthy. Sanders was criticized when he said that inmates should be able to vote. But that was an admirably socialist thing to say: some rights should not have exceptions.

A lot of socialists’ day-to-day focus, then, is not on restructuring who owns the “means of production,” but on looking at the lives of people at the bottom and figuring out how to make them better. And we have this commitment because of solidarity: you want the same things for everyone else that you have for yourself.

- Meanwhile, the CCPA examines how Canada's wealthiest CEOs continue to increase the gap between their own pay and that of the workers who contribute to their riches. And Paul Willcocks writes that the gig economy serves primarily to transfer risks and responsibilities from corporations to workers.

- Paul Krugman discusses the immense damage done to the people who could least afford it by the U.S.' gratuitous austerity. And PressProgress points out the harm Jason Kenney has done by slashing taxes and services in less than a year governing Alberta, while Chris Turner comments on the $30 million bonfire that is the UCP's fossil fuel war room.

- Finally, Robert Reich writes about the sham of corporate social responsibility. And Ganesh Shitaraman declares neoliberalism to be dead, while surveying the wreckage it's left behind. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Paul Thacker discusses the importance of addressing the climate crisis as a health issue. CBC takes a look at a few of the ways a deteriorating climate is affecting Canada. And Taylor Noakes points out the central role a national public transit strategy can play in both reducing carbon pollution and adapting to a changed climate, while the Guardian's editorial board points out the desperate need to shift away from car culture as it stands. 

- Tim Richter highlights how Edmonton's Housing First policy is reducing both immediate and long-term homelessness. And Nicole Braun discusses the importance of treating housing as a human right and basic necessity rather than primarily a source of wealth.

- Jerzy Eisenberg‐Guyot, Stephen J. Mooney, Amy Hagopian, Wendy E. Barrington and Anjum Hajat study the connection between labour organization and inequality, finding that stronger unions save lives when it comes to overdose and suicide mortality in particular.

- Meanwhile, Robert Reich discusses how Donald Trump has made his working-class voters far worse off while enriching the plutocrats who exploit them. And Tom Metcalf and Jack Witzig report on yet another year of massive increases in wealth for the most privileged few.

- Finally, Sam Gindin points out that any argument for socialist policies needs to include a vision as to the resulting society. And Meagan Day interviews Nathan Robinson about the ethical underpinning of socialism.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Liaquat Ahamed writes about the pattern of wealth concentrating in the absence of a countervailing force - and the need for a political response. Linda McQuaig discusses how the media largely ignores the eminently popular prospect of raising taxes on the people who have more wealth than they could possibly put to good use. And Ilya Bañares reports on the majority of Canadians who have a positive view of socialism - a number equal to those approving of capitalism.

- Meanwhile, Annie Lowrey writes that millennials who are already facing an economy rigged against them stand to bear the brunt of the next recession when it hits. And Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Zaee Deshpande discuss the importance of including social equity as an integral element of a just transition toward clean energy.

- Larry Elliott recognizes that personal changes will fall far short of turning the tide when it comes to our climate crisis. And Robinson Meyer notes that there's no way to reverse foreseeable damage such as the destruction of the Amazon rain forest once we've gone too far.

- Finally, as Manitoba considers its options for a new provincial government, James Wilt examines the damage wrought by Brian Pallister since he took power.

Sunday Morning LInks

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- James Cairns discusses why socialism is seeing a resurgence in popularity, particularly among younger citizens who see little reason for hope in politics as usual:

Occupy Wall Street popularized the language of the 99 per cent and the 1 per cent as a way of explaining class inequality. The 2012 Quebec student strike declared that "Education is a Right" while beating back a 75 per cent tuition hike. Bernie Sanders is campaigning for a "political revolution" that would end the power of corporate interests over public policy. Allied movements, such as Black Lives Matter, Idle No More, and Extinction Rebellion, while not explicitly socialist, fuel shifts in politics-as-usual.

These activist groups are doing socialist education on a mass scale. By their words and deeds, movements are giving people concrete reasons to believe in jobs with fair wages, cities built on affordable housing, the end of student debt, clean air and water for everyone.

Filmmaker and author Astra Taylor describes the despair of so many young people facing precarious employment, insecure housing, and crushing debt. She says the reason so many of these people are organizing for socialism is that "socialism would feel like having a future."

- But in case there was any doubt how many obstacles stand in the way of a fairer future, Shawn Gude interviews Matthew Lacombe about the stealth political control exercised by a few billionaires. And Peter Pomerantsev writes about the massive piles of disinformation being used to confuse and confound voters. 

- Paul Krugman offers a reminder that how corporate tax giveaways ultimately end up transferring massive amounts of wealth to foreign investors.

- The Economist writes that the environment currently looks to be the key ballot box issue for Canadian voters. David Suzuki discusses the dangers of recklessly producing and disposing of fossil fuel-basded plastics. And Sharon Riley offers some needed background on the Teck Frontier tar sands mine which has been recommended for approval despite the certainty that it will cause massive environmental damage even beyond its contribution to climate breakdown.

- Finally, Colby Cosh highlights why the latest bleatings about Alberta separatism don't deserve to be taken seriously.

Friday Evening Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Luke Savage writes that the most compelling case for socialist policies is the importance of expanding on the unduly narrow definition of freedom offered by the right:

Socialists, on the other hand, have long understood that class stratification, poverty, and economic deprivation are in fact both created and necessitated by capitalism: imposed on the majority by the imperative to generate profits, cut labor costs, and commodify every aspect of life.

Real freedom therefore requires a whole lot more than the basic civil and political rights enshrined in a liberal constitutional order. It is simply not enough to be free from arbitrary coercion by other people or the state — true freedom also means independence from the dictates of the market: its bosses, its tycoons, its profiteers, its expropriation of the wealth workers collectively create.
...
Despite what generations of conservative economists and politicians have insisted, equality and freedom are in fact mutually interdependent — the former being an essential precursor to the latter and its natural and indispensable ally.

By advancing economic rights as the basis for freedom, Sanders is in essence turning the Right’s definition on its head. While there remains much more to be done, his campaign is laying the groundwork for a sweeping redefinition of the political and economic orthodoxies that have long dominated American society — and offering millions a richer and more textured definition of freedom than most have ever known.

- And Brandie Weikle reports on the stress faced by a crushing majority of Canadians due to worries about pay and money problems.

- Andrew MacLeod lists five things to know about a national pharmacare plan. But the most important point comes from David Macdonald and Toby Sanger: we can easily afford to fund it (and benefit from massive long-term benefits) through readily-available revenue sources.

- Meanwhile, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy offers a reminder that taxes targeted at the wealthiest few so their job both in raising revenue and smoothing out unacceptable inequality. And Brian Faler notes that conversely, tax cuts for the wealthy deliver none of the broad economic benefits that are usually promised as a pretext to cater to the rich.

- Finally, Sarmishta Subramanian points out how the underfunding of education exacerbates inequality. And David Baxter reports on how Saskatchewan's school divisions have reached their breaking point after years of cuts and arbitrary decrees by the Sask Party.

[Edit: fixed typo.]

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sarah O'Connor examines how the future of work may echo past practices - including a misleading picture of wages for gig work which is assumed to be more stable than is actually the case. And Astra Taylor discusses how socialism is growing in popular appeal in response to the inequality which has festered under neoliberal capitalism:

(T)he growing popularity of socialism may spring at least in part from the longer-term failures of this negative-branding campaign: Tell enough people struggling to make ends meet that socialism will allow them to consult a doctor without fear of bankruptcy, and perhaps to enjoy a restorative paid vacation now and then, and some are bound to think it sounds like a pretty good idea. That was definitely the gist of a well-traveled social media meme this winter that featured a Fox News segment on Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and the other left-aligned lawmakers sworn in to the 116th Congress; it counterposed sweetly smiling headshots of the alleged socialist insurgents alongside bullet-pointed policy goals, such as free college and Medicare for All, that actually poll quite well in American opinion surveys. The graphic made socialism seem not only appealing, but also au courant, thus inadvertently chipping away at decades of carefully crafted propaganda.


...
(R)esearch shows that many Americans who receive direct federal benefits, including Medicare and Social Security, wrongly report that they have never received government aid—perhaps because these are services they feel they have paid for, like any other product. The challenge for socialists, then, involves bringing what the political scientist Suzanne Mettler has called the “submerged state” above ground and into the light in order to identify and expand its benefits and beneficiaries, democratize its mechanisms, and decommodify more and more areas of life.


Decommodification is a key element of this process—“There should be no profit motive connected to things that human beings cannot survive without,” as Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor put it when we spoke—and not as radical a move as it may seem. Placing things beyond the market purview is hardly an untested or utopian concept. Public schools, for example, are based on the conviction that education is something everyone is entitled to, regardless of their ability to pay. Countries with universal health care have come to a similar determination about medicine, deciding potentially lifesaving medical treatments should not be limited to those who are wealthy enough to afford them. Every minute of every day, we use infrastructure and access information, from public roads to weather forecasts, that are universal and free. This is why democratic socialists are right to focus, for the time being, on proposals like Medicare for All and free college.


But the question at the center of socialism, Taylor continued, is not what services the state should provide—such as whether or not public housing should be more widely available, or whether there should be a jobs guarantee or a basic income or both—but rather who owns the state. “For me, socialism is about the collective control of society by the majority of people,” she says. “Right now, the majority of people, the people who create society’s wealth, never get asked questions about how society should be run.”

- And if we needed any further reminders as to how power is being used primarily to entrench inequality, Jen St. Denis reports on the federal government's lack of action in response to money laundering in Canada. Alex Hemingway rightly questions the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority's eagerness to introduce corporate control into the health care system. And Sharon Riley exposes how Alberta may soon be automating the licensing process for oil and gas wells, ensuring that no human being evaluates the safety and environmental concerns raised by their use.

- Meanwhile, Don Pittis offers a reminder that clean energy already offers more opportunity for workers than dirty fossil fuels - and this before any level of government has planned out a meaningful transition from the latter to the former.

- Finally, Michael Harris writes that we should neither put up with Justin Trudeau's contempt for social and environmental justice, nor buy for a second the view that Andrew Scheer is an acceptable (or the only) alternative.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Paul Krugman duly mocks Donald Trump's attempt to turn any discussion of social investment into a threat of "socialism":

Some progressive U.S. politicians now describe themselves as socialists, and a significant number of voters, including a majority of voters under 30, say they approve of socialism. But neither the politicians nor the voters are clamoring for government seizure of the means of production. Instead, they’ve taken on board conservative rhetoric that describes anything that tempers the excesses of a market economy as socialism, and in effect said, “Well, in that case I’m a socialist.”

What Americans who support “socialism” actually want is what the rest of the world calls social democracy: A market economy, but with extreme hardship limited by a strong social safety net and extreme inequality limited by progressive taxation. They want us to look like Denmark or Norway, not Venezuela.

And in case you haven’t been there, the Nordic countries are not, in fact, hellholes. They have somewhat lower G.D.P. per capita than we do, but that’s largely because they take more vacations. Compared with America, they have higher life expectancy, much less poverty and significantly higher overall life satisfaction. Oh, and they have high levels of entrepreneurship — because people are more willing to take the risk of starting a business when they know that they won’t lose their health care or plunge into abject poverty if they fail.

- Meanwhile, Aamna Mohdin reports on new research showing that nearly a million more young adults in the UK are living with their parents due to an economy which has kept wages stagnant while driving prices and debt upward.

- PressProgress points out the problems with the Libs' infrastructure bank which prioritizes corporate profits over the delivery and accessibility of needed services.

- Murray Mandryk discusses how Scott Moe is feeding into anti-immigrant bigotry by putting pipeline development above all else. And Sharon Kelly writes that the Keystone pipeline - one of the Saskatchewan Party's previous hobby horses - is once again spilling oil while failing to live up to promised environmental standards.

- Finally, Felicity Lawrence writes that our current food system is affecting both our health, and that of our planet.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Iglika Ivanova discusses how British Columbia can move toward eliminating poverty in its next budget.

- Patrick Maze points out the need for Saskatchewan's education system to be able to rely on stable and sufficient funding. But Alex MacPherson notes that Scott Moe has refused to benefit people even when there's federal money available to provide such basic necessities as public transportation.

- Kelvin Gawley reports on the massive public benefits from the NDP's comprehensive and universal pharmacare plan (in contrast to the Libs' watered-down attempt at corporate appeasement). 

- The Star's editorial board calls out Doug Ford's bait-and-switch which will result in funding being pulled away from the children with autism who most need it.

- Finally, Christo Aivalis reminds us of Tommy Douglas' genuine socialism - and the continued importance of holding and conveying strong social values even when they're not seen as politicall convenient:

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Sam Pizzigati makes the case for an effective maximum wage - and notes that the U.S.' historical top tax brackets were based on the recognition that excessive top-end income can have harmful effects for everybody:

In 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor, FDR asked Congress for a 100% top tax rate that would leave no individuals with more than $25,000 of annual income – about $375,000 today – after taxes.

America’s top unions backed FDR’s plan – and so, Gallup pollsters reported, did a clear plurality of Americans. Congress felt the heat. By 1944, America’s richest faced a 94% tax rate on income over $200,000. Our top tax rate hovered around 90% for the next two decades, a span of time that saw the United States give birth to the world’s first mass middle class.

America in those years became significantly more equal. By 1970, the 1%’s share had sunk to a tenth of the nation’s income, versus a quarter in 1928. The bottom 90%’s share had jumped to two-thirds.
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The maximum wage is an idea whose time has come. I think most Americans would agree that no enterprise where workers would have to labor over a century to make what their CEOs can make in a year should get a single one of our tax dollars.

- Michelle Goldberg notes that millennial voters are embracing democratic socialism. And Dylan Scott points out that the U.S. Democrats (and other parties seeking progressive votes) can accomplish far more by embracing popular progressive ideas than by tilting to the neoliberal centre.

- Suzi Weissman interviews David Graeber about the rise of bullshit jobs - along with the path forward to try to reduce workers' reliance on socially pointless or counterproductive employment to stay afloat.

- Finally, Kathleen Belton highlights some of the steps we can take to reduce the amount of plastic we dump into our environment.