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In almost every advanced democracy the left is in retreat and has been for decades. It’s just more pronounced now. Trump is obvious, but in most European democracies the right is ascendant, and where the so-called left is in power, such as in the UK, it looks more like the right. In Canada, it’s the same. Mark Carney looks increasingly like a standard-issue soft right neo-liberal. The federal NDP is, at present, moribund.
How has this come to pass? Are the left’s ideas just plain wrong? The success of the Nordic countries would seem to argue against this. Has the left been too focused on social and cultural rather than economic issues? Is it the result of skillful and heavily funded propaganda? If so, why has the left been so weak in countering this? Are humans just hard-wired to be selfish? The right is still ascendant despite the fact that, after decades of their ideas having ascendancy, our societies are in a mess.
So how can the left come back? Mamdani’s victory in the New York City Democratic primary might show the way. Bernie Sanders and AOC are also putting forth a very different message than the establishment Democrats. In the UK, Starmer’s pathetic Labour government is being rejected by the public and even many in his own party. People want politics that make their lives meaningfully better, not neo-liberalism with a smiley face. Can the left come up with policies that deliver real change? We’ll look at what the left has to do to regain relevance, in Canada and elsewhere.
Moderators: John & Pat Simke
Dates and Time: November 14, 21 and 28, 2-4PM
Venue: NF119 Victoria College at 91 Charles Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: $39 (includes HST of $4.49)
Enrolment: Use the shopping cart below See enrolment Terms
How has this come to pass? Are the left’s ideas just plain wrong? The success of the Nordic countries would seem to argue against this. Has the left been too focused on social and cultural rather than economic issues? Is it the result of skillful and heavily funded propaganda? If so, why has the left been so weak in countering this? Are humans just hard-wired to be selfish? The right is still ascendant despite the fact that, after decades of their ideas having ascendancy, our societies are in a mess.
So how can the left come back? Mamdani’s victory in the New York City Democratic primary might show the way. Bernie Sanders and AOC are also putting forth a very different message than the establishment Democrats. In the UK, Starmer’s pathetic Labour government is being rejected by the public and even many in his own party. People want politics that make their lives meaningfully better, not neo-liberalism with a smiley face. Can the left come up with policies that deliver real change? We’ll look at what the left has to do to regain relevance, in Canada and elsewhere.
Moderators: John & Pat Simke
Dates and Time: November 14, 21 and 28, 2-4PM
Venue: NF119 Victoria College at 91 Charles Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: $39 (includes HST of $4.49)
Enrolment: Use the shopping cart below See enrolment Terms