The York Left Consortium: Reflections on Capitalism’s Half-Life is a blog that began its life as a space for written interventions relating to the coronavirus and its aftermath by leftist faculty and grad students at York (as well as some non-York experts invited by York faculty and students). It features short blog posts as well as longer thought pieces, and speculations. Authors provide not just original writing for the blog but link and re-post pieces from other websites (personal or organizational). In Spring 2021, we are seeking pieces on contemporary capitalist society. We would especially welcome speculations that critically address capitalism in relation to such issues as: work, race, the environment, activism, housing, cities, indigeneity, migrants, religion, imperialism, violence, democracy, fascism and authoritarianism.
York Left Consortium: Reflections on Capitalism’s Half-Life
Socialism or Barbarism in Times of COVID
Claudia Chaufan | York Faculty
If there were any doubts left that capitalism, even “good” social democratic capitalism, was incapable of meeting the most basic human need, i.e., protecting life, COVID-19 has crushed them. If before the pandemic already around 50% of the world popula …
Read moreHow Neoliberal Populists Serve Capital: The Business Interests behind Brexit
Jamie Gough and John Kirby | Guest Contributor
City of London, sourced from Wikimedia Commons Understanding Brexit Comrades in the United States (US) who are evaluating the Trump presidency may be interested in understanding the rise and continuing reign of Britain’s Donald Trump, Prime Minister Bo …
Read moreThe COVID-19 Vaccines: A Quick and Temporary Fix for Capitalism’s Latent Functions
Vince Montes | Guest Contributor
Michigan National Guard, sourced from Wikimedia Commons The COVID-19 vaccines are meant to function as a panacea for restoring confidence and reestablishing the social order in the capitalist social system. Saving lives is part of the capitalist state’ …
Read moreCall for Submissions | The York Left Consortium: Reflections on Capitalism’s Half-Life
| MSGAP
The blog, The York Left Consortium: Reflections on Capitalism’s Half-Life, has been hosting since last April 2020 written interventions relating to the COVID-19 crisis and its aftermath by leftist faculty and graduate students at York University as wel …
Read moreWhere the ‘political’ meets the ‘economy’?
Anitra Nelson | Guest Contributor
By its very structure and processes of functioning, representative democracy means that many voices don’t get heard and the COVID-19 pandemic shows that many lives don’t matter. This is a critical failing because right at this moment, we need to act ur …
Read morePlandemic! and Conspiracy Theories: War on Truth by Far-Right Extremism
Steve Mesaros | York Graduate Researcher
One of the most vital tools for Fascist movements is to devalue the very concept of truth. No one seems better at this job than former US President Donald Trump. Throughout his campaign and presidency, he echoed numerous conspiracy theories and sought …
Read moreSocialism, Capitalism and the COVID-19 Epidemic: Interview with Victor Wallis
Mingliang Zhuo | Piece of Interest
In the context of coronavirus raging around the world, in April 2020 Dr. Mingliang Zhuo interviewed Professor Victor Wallis, former editor of Socialism and Democracy, on some important issues via email. Wallis points out in the exclusive interview that …
Read moreAntifa and the Marxist Left: Some Questions and Answers
Answered by Walter, Antifa International Collective and posed by Marxist Studies in Global and Asian Perspective | QnA
Answered by Walter, antifa International Collective and posed by Marxist Studies in Global and Asian Perspective. The historical roots of widespread anti-fascism are in united and popular fronts especially prominent in the 1930s and led by Marxist-oriented parties and movements. Does antifa explicitly position itself in relation to that history?
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