Social Democracy without Borders and the Good Society
To be humane, societies must be democratic — and, to be democratic, every person must be afforded the economic and social rights necessary for their individual flourishing.
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The Socialist Internationalism of Ed Broadbent
For Ed Broadbent, the rights and norms of the United Nations covenants and declarations represented the practical application and sum value of social democratic principles.
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Which Future For Social Democracy?
Ed Broadbent’s rich vision of democratic equality can and should continue to be our compass in this era of uncertainty and crisis. A barren technocratic liberalism may be ill-equipped to carry this out — but democratic socialism can.
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Why all Canadians Need Decommodified Reproductive Healthcare
In Canada, reproductive healthcare is deeply commodified, affecting access to resources from contraception to fertility treatments. Canadians tend to pride themselves on being “better” than their southern neighbours, but in this instance, being better is not good enough.
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Editorial — Autumn 2024
The ghosts that Perspectives Journal tries to exorcize are the spirits of neoliberal capitalism that continue to haunt Canadian social democrats. This particular stage of capitalism, long after its heyday, still pervades our political economy and applies a heavy weight to today’s progressive movements that fight for justice and equality.
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Counting the Dead: The Urgent Need for Coroners’ Data on Trans Deaths in Canada
There is a glaring lack of data on trans deaths and systemic data collection is required to address inequities through policy. Research shows that training death investigators to identify trans people post-mortem is feasible, making this a simple policy change that could be a critical step toward fulfilling the promise of equality.
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Spillover Effects: Making Minimum Wage Increases a Popular Policy Choice
Minimum wage policy appears to impact three times as many workers as typically assumed, rendering it much more powerful than considerations of minimum-wage earners alone would suggest.
Reviews
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Escaping the Consulting Trap
Chris Hurl and Leah Werner reveal the consulting industry’s hand in hollowed-out public services and draw an escape plan for Western democracies hoping to emerge from consultants’ nebulous grasp.
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Profit, not price, is why we keep burning fossil fuels
Brett Christophers’ book, ‘The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet,’ argues why the energy transition can’t be left to the market.
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Late-Stage Scavengers
In her new book, ‘Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom,’ Grace Blakeley retraces neoliberalism’s short- and long-history, moving beyond conventional analysis to track this peculiar variant of capitalism back centuries rather than decades.
Perspectives Journal Podcast
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Neoliberalism’s Undead with Alex Himelfarb
Alex Himelfarb argues that neoliberalism – or “capitalism with the gloves off” – has become embedded in the fabric of Canadian government and society, and has not yet died off despite its reckoning.
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Activists Make History: Winning Renters’ Rights with Chiara Padovani
Chiara Padovani details her political journey in organizing renters and defending tenant rights against the encroachment of for-profit interests in housing.
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Correcting the Record on Trans Deaths with Dylana Thompson
There is a glaring lack of systemic data collection on trans deaths in Canada. It’s time that policymakers correct the course.
Video
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Organizing to Win the Movement — not the Moment with LaToia Jones
LaToia Jones stays true to progressive values and organizes beyond the win or the loss to build resilient movements.
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A Progressive Toolkit to Solve Canada’s Housing Crisis
Housing expert Carolyn Whitzman chronicles the shifts in government housing policy over recent decades and shows what needs to be done to make housing accessible for all Canadians.
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A New Economic Turning Point with Armine Yalnizyan
Leading economist Armine Yalnizyan discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and the lessons to be learned.
