Part 3: AM I OPTIMISTIC AND, IF SO, HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE 

Part 3: Looking for optimism in troubled times So, where are we and where are we headed?  Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci, writing in prison in the 1930s when liberal democracy was under siege and fascism on the rise (sound familiar?), described these in between times as an interregnum, the old world dying, the new world … Continue reading →

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Part 2: Am I optimistic and, if so, how is that even possible

Part 2: The decline of the collective  Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argued that across the global west we’ve organized ourselves such that our collective action problems — what we can only solve together — have hit the level of “polycrisis,” while our collective toolkit – public power – has rarely been weaker. Nowhere is that more evident than … Continue reading →

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Part 1: AM I OPTIMISTIC AND, IF SO, HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

I just had a piece published by Alberta Views here on hope and optimism and their opposites. As happens with magazine pieces, much changed between writing and publication: the frightening speed at which US democracy is being dismantled; the constantly shifting trade wars; the new divide in America and the world between appeasers and resisters; the … Continue reading →

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Let’s not do that again

Let’s not do this again. Let’s not have another election in which many Canadians, I have no doubt, voted not for the party that best captured their aspirations for Canada but against the party they most feared or with which they were most angry. In a time of high stakes when unity is crucial we … Continue reading →

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Denialism

I have been thinking lately about the great seductive appeal of denialism, of pretending bad news away in this era of polycrisis. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by our multiple layered crises. The phrase “existential crisis” is used so frequently now its losing its impact – though certainly not its relevance. There are of course … Continue reading →

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A More Resilient Canada

We are in the midst of an election that looks nothing like what the pundits were predicting just a few months ago. Donald Trump and his team of billionaires, riding in on society’s discontents, took out their toolkit of bullying and bribery and applied it not only to Americans but to other countries, former allies … Continue reading →

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This Flag Day is Certainly Different

This flag day is certainly different. The threats of economic coercion from Trump and his gang of oligarchs are meant to intimidate and divide Canadians and subjugate Canada to the will of the US regime. Instead they have ignited a surge of patriotism rarely seen in Canada.  Inevitably some voices argue for appeasement or at … Continue reading →

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Pledge for Canada

Previous generations fought to protect our democracy and sacrificed to build the Canada we inherited. This is our time. In the face of threats of economic coercion from our neighbour and major trading partner, it’s time to stand up for Canada. We will meet the threats as previous generations have done through solidarity among Canadians … Continue reading →

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Talking about neoliberalism in our age of crisis with Clement Nocos of the Broadbent Institute

Enjoyed the wide-ranging conversation with Clement Nocos on Canada’s neoliberalism, the Trump phenomenon, the need for policies to provide a measure of security in these troubled times and for a more robust and reconstituted democracy – political and economic. the podcast https://perspectivesjournal.ca/neoliberalism-undead-with-alex-himelfarb/

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