April 28, 2007

[Introduction] The Organic Intellectual

A spectre is haunting the world - the spectre of "neoliberalism"! Indeed, our current world order is marked by deregulation, liberalization, and privatization! These policies are upheld (and enforced) by the arms of American imperialism - from ideological institutions that represent the
wealthy to the powerful military-industrial complex.

Yet as environmentalists, trade unionists and social justice activists (as well as some conscientious professors) have explained, this neoliberal order has witnessed the erosion of social democracy; it has seen the end of the public ideals such as universal health care and affordable education; and it has also seen the growth of inequality and environmental destruction.

This blog is thus dedicated to the construction of a more just, alternative world order! It takes aim at the structure and the ideology of "neoliberalism" - here in Canada and abroad.

One key thinker of the 20th century - Antonio Gramsci - once explained that intellectuals play a key role in the building of counter-hegemonic structures. Everyone can be an intellectual, but there are different kinds: There are 'traditional intellectuals', who unknowingly uphold and reproduce the dominant modes of ideological production, and there are 'organic intellectuals', who help the masses conceive of the possibilities of a better future. This site thus pays tribute to "the organic intellectual" as an idea, in the hopes that when a new world order does materialize, it will be one marked by justice and equality.