Yesterday over 300 people participated in an inspiring conference titled Capitalism Can’t be Fixed. The daylong event included powerful speeches on NATO, indigenous rights, Palestine as well as vigorous discussion on the path forward for the campaign. Immediately after the in person and online conference concluded participants interrupted Chrystia Freeland’s speech at a nearby event hosted by Canadaland while others attended an anti-NATO film screening and others went to Pearson airport to welcome returning members of Gaza flotilla. It wasn’t an academic, navel gazing, crowd.
Below is my (edited) speech on the path forward for the campaign and whether it should maintain a connection to the NDP or establish a completely independent new organization.
I’m torn. When you look at the rampaging inequality, ecological destruction and global imperialism, as well as Mark Carney’s extreme militarism, trampling on indigenous rights and pro-billionaire policies, it feels absurd to devote any time to an NDP with a leader refusing to even oppose the new war bank or defend DRIPA in BC. How could a leftist dedicate energy to a party with Heather ‘CIA’ McPherson as foreign affairs critic?
On the other hand, Avi Lewis seems to be substantially better than previous NDP leaders Jagmeet Singh and Thomas Mulcair. His call for public options, criticism of the genocide in Gaza and replacement of National Director Lucy Watson with Mathew Green are positive developments.
Should a campaign that began as part of a left insurgent bid to shake up the NDP leadership race continue to devote significant energy to pressuring Lewis from the left?
Maintaining a foot in NDP door gives the campaign mainstream political relevance. Radio Canada Toronto offered me 10 minutes on air to discuss the conference, capitalism and the new war bank because our press release had an NDP angle to it.
I was ambivalent about the campaign devoting significant energy to the recent NDP convention, but it was clearly a success. Even if the party hierarchy demonized Barry Weisleder and me, there’s significant support for the ideas in the Capitalism Can’t be Fixed: Onwards to a Socialist Future platform. Two hundred and fifty NDP delegates took a copy of the platform and everyone in attendance saw the Capitalism Can’t be Fixed images on the big screen during interventions by our delegates. The campaign should continue to have a presence at NDP events.
We should be there calling for Land Back, shutting down the tar sands, withdrawing from NATO, turning Real Estate Investment Trusts into coops and abolishing the anti-Palestinian terror list. We should be there raising economic democracy as the alternative to capitalism. There’s a desperate need for a resurgence of criticism of our ecocidal, wealth concentrating, economic system. Ideally it should be explained employing language that makes sense to ordinary working-class people. We oppose minority rule and want social control and workplace democracy in firms with substantial social labour.
But capitalists remain very much in charge. According to a government release, our former investment banker Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to “convene the world’s largest investors, including top CEOs, entrepreneurs, and prominent global business leaders” in Toronto. The mid-September summit of leading capitalists can’t pass without challenge. In response we should organize a Carnival Against Capitalism.
The gathering could be an opportune moment to take the next step in discussions on founding a new organization. Irrespective of what’s decided on that front, it’s imperative that we prioritize winning policy over the needs of an organization. We must speak to ordinary people not just to already convinced anti-capitalists.
Another aim of this gathering today is to consolidate the campaign’s work by raising funds to hire Jasmine Peardon as a part-time coordinator. Please consider becoming a monthly sustainer so we can maintain and grow our campaign promoting “Socialism. Activism. Justice”.
Our anti-imperialist NDP leadership insurgency was confronted with an effort to crush it by Zionist lobby groups, party brass, union bureaucrats, Avi Lewis surrogates like Judy Rebick and even progressive media such as the Breach and Rachel Gilmore. They failed. If the NDP would have allowed me in the leadership race I would have certainly bested the third-place result of 5200 votes. And there’s a case to be made that this campaign has been the second most influential despite never being formally allowed into the race. Its comprehensive platform influenced the debate and by repeatedly criticizing the NDP brass we helped discredit the now voted-out party hierarchy. As little is heard from the other non-victorious leadership candidates, we have gathered two months later to strategize on moving forward with Capitalism Can’t be Fixed: Onwards to a Socialist Future.
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