"Greece's 'potato movement' grows in power: A growing group of grassroots activists are cutting out agricultural middlemen and connecting farmers and shoppers"


Read about them here: aljazeera.com

Robert Michels returns - in The Nation. Christoper Hayes observes "The Iron Law of Meritocrcy."

"And we might ask what a society that has been corrupted entirely by the Iron Law of Meritocracy would look like. It would be a society with extremely high and rising inequality yet little circulation of elites. A society in which the pillar institutions were populated and presided over by a group of hyper-educated, ambitious overachievers who enjoyed tremendous monetary rewards as well as unparalleled political power and prestige, and yet who managed to insulate themselves from sanction, competition and accountability; a group of people who could more or less rest assured that now that they have achieved their status, now that they have scaled to the top of the pyramid, they, their peers and their progeny will stay there.

...It would, in other words, look a lot like the American elite in the first years of the twenty-first century."

Read the rest: Why Elites Fail

Rick Salutin "What we owe the striking Quebec students"

What we owe the striking Quebec students
BY RICK SALUTIN | JUNE 8, 2012

… We owe them for taking a shot at saving our national honour in the eyes of the world.
… We owe them for striking a blow on behalf of public discourse. I'm thinking here of the term entitlements, which has replaced rights in the discussion.
Read more on rabble.ca

Tenure-track positions in Sociology at Saint Mary's University

Social Movements, Social Change and Political Economy
The Department of Sociology and Criminology at Saint Mary’s University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Sociology at the rank of Assistant Professor. A strong record of research and teaching in Social Movements, Social Change and Political Economy is required. The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Sociology and by way of a teaching portfolio must demonstrate ability and effectiveness in teaching core undergraduate courses in qualitative methods. The appointment will begin on July 1, 2013. Read the full advertisement here

Prisons and Punishment
The department is also advertising a position in Criminology, specializing in Prisons and Punishment.  Read the full advertisement here