If the present crisis, defined by a rising and self-confident politics of reaction, is understood historically as the diseased radicalization rather than the demise of neoliberalism, perhaps we might yet make a proper interregnum of our time. That is, we might begin to struggle toward a new order, doing so not with inherited instruction manuals but instead with new ones born from “a spirit that embraces the notion of a deep and indeed unsettling transformation of society.” As diseased neoliberalism continues to self-generate all measure of morbid symptoms, we might find suddenly that there is all the more collective will to give it the death it deserves.
By Leanne Betasamosake Simpson The waning months of 2015 signaled a seemingly dramatic albeit likely superficial shift in Indigenous-state relations in Canada. When the fall began, the Prime Minister was steadfast in his refusal to call an inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which surprised few, as it was beautifully consistent with the contempt, paternalism and outright hatred… Read more »
By Lachlan MacKinnon Canada, the United States, and the U.K. have recently witnessed a popular revitalization of left-politics that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Jeremy Corbyn, the newly elected Leader of the Labour Party in the U.K., unabashedly appeals to the intellectual traditions of “Old Labour” with a leadership campaign that includes promises to fight austerity,… Read more »
By Bret Edwards Transport Canada recently announced a plan to change the number of flight attendants Canadian airlines are required to staff on specific commercial flights. The current national standard, developed in 1968, is one flight attendant for every forty passengers. If the regulation is changed, this ratio will drop to one in fifty. Airlines have led the push for… Read more »
By Christine McLaughlin While it is too soon for the historian to comment on the long-term effects of recent changes on the Canadian political landscape, the larger rightward shift is perhaps best evidenced by the federal New Democratic Party’s decision to “modernize” its constitution at its recent convention by “toning down” references to socialism. Pointing to “pragmatic” economic policies that… Read more »
Billy Elliot: The Musical’s overarching historical context – the British mining strike of 1984-1985 – serves as the backdrop to examine issues of class and gender through the story of a struggling community and one very talented boy. Yet what happens to those who lacked the opportunity to leave town like Billy?
