Recently, a new voice has arisen in left peace activist circles known as "Hoffmann the Organizer". Hoffmann recently came out of the closet and revealed himself to be none other than our own Harris Gruman, Executive Director of SEIU Massachusetts. With the provocative title "War is not justified by party politics," https://www.youtube.com/live/05 fxGcR w, Hoffmann …
Author: walterhook8302
Policing Now – Demonstrations Create Opening for Longer Term Solutions
by Robert Varenik Robert Varenik is the Director of Programs for the Open Society Justice Initiative. He has worked in various initiatives to assess and reform criminal justice systems.The following essay was solicited by the “Left Technocrat”. The New York Times ran an editorial, “The Message Is Clear: ‘Stop Killing Us’ ”, which called for …
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American Oligarchs: The Trumps, the Kushners, and the Marriage of Money and Power By Andrea Bernstein: A Review
When Trump became a presidential candidate back in 2015 I had a vague memory of him from back in the 1980s, when I was new to New York City, from the investigative journalism of Wayne Barrett at the Village Voice. Trump was one of many sleazy landlords/developers who tended to own New York City politicians. …
The Political Economy of Gormenghast: A Digression
Now that everyone has probably had their fill of Game of Thrones, (yes, the last episode was a disappointment after so much wonderful darkness), I want to discuss Titus Groan, the first book of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast Trilogy, which has a small band of followers who consider it superior to its contemporary, The Lord of …
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The Problem with Piketty
Part 2 of 2. While there is much to agree with in Piketty's Capital, I have two major issues. The first involves his theory of growth, and the lack of importance he attaches to it. The second is related to his policy proposal for a wealth tax. While I support a wealth tax, at least …
“Capital” by Thomas Piketty: A Summary and Review in Two Parts
Thomas Piketty’s Capital is important to several policy conversations we will have on this blog. In order to give other readers a basic grounding in his work, I have tried to summarize the main points of Piketty's Capital. In a second blog, "The Problem with Piketty" I provide a review and critique of this work: …
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The left-wing technocrat political position
I was asked to try and define the political position of ‘left technocrat’. The goals are left. Left because it acknowledges that wealth is distributed unequally for reasons unrelated in many cases to merit, and as often as not distributed as a result of history, ie. one’s parents were rich and class replicates its class …
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Retaining the nativist working class base: the US, France, and the UK
In an attempt to start a dialog about the current political moment, with the US of Donald Trump, the UK of Brexit, and the France of Macron and the Yellow Jackets, I put out the following thoughts... There seem to be some common political cleavages in the US, France, and the UK, but the political …
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The Left Technocrat: Why?
I am a progressive urban planner and urban planning PhD from Columbia University. I have helped to initiate and implement many bus rapid transit (BRT) systems around the world. BRT is a way of giving people a fast and environmentally friendly trip everyday for a modest public expenditure. Its a technocratic left solution to a …
Left Technocrat Discussion Forum 