Category Archives: Abolition Of Work

NEW DELHI: Foreign direct investment (FDI) grew by 23 per cent to USD 10.02 billion during April-May this fiscal, Parliament was informed today.

In 2016-17, the foreign fund inflows aggregated at USD 60.08 billion, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said that to promote FDI, the government has put in place an investor-friendly policy.

"Except for a small negative list, most sectors are open for 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route," she added.

The minister also said that after abolition of the foreign investment promotion board, the work of monitoring of the compliance of conditions, including the past cases approved by erstwhile FIPB has been assigned to the concerned administrative ministries.

In a separate reply, Sitharaman informed that India has received USD 182.4 million FDI in food products during April- May period of this fiscal.

In food processing industries, foreign players have invested USD 187.9 million during the period.

As per the FDI policy, FDI up to 100 per cent, under the automatic route, is allowed in food processing industries.

Further, 100 per cent FDI under government route for retail trading, including through e-commerce, is permitted in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in India.

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FDI up 23% at $10 billion during April-May: Nirmala Sitharaman - Economic Times

The Governments proposal to raise the age at which people qualify for a state pension produced predictable responses. But none of them seemed to want to recognise the elephant sitting in the room.

In 1948, when the welfare state was effectively born, the retirement age was 60 for women and 65 for men, and the average life expectancy was 71 and 66 respectively.

Today average life expectancy for women is 81 and for men 77. That is a huge difference. If you combine this with extended good health and the abolition of any compulsory retirement age, you can see that later life looks totally different today from that envisaged in 1948.

People now have choices. For many reasons, not the least of which will be economic, people will choose to work beyond the current and future state retirement ages, maybe with a different employer, maybe part-time. Perhaps people will take later-life gap years. There will also be people unable to work for reasons of ill health, but that will require a different form of support.

All of this makes the recent commentary on pension ages by politicians and the media completely meaningless because it is based on the 1948 premise. The debate now needs to be around what form any future state provided support for later life should look like. Younger people today deserve to be able to look forward to a decent period of healthy retirement. Right now it looks bleak, with nobody addressing the real issues.

Bernard Cudd Address supplied

Your article titled Ten female presenters set to sue public broadcaster over gender pay gap reflects the situation women face worldwide.

Research by ActionAid shows that women in developing countries could be $9 (6.9 trillion) trillion better off if their pay and access to paid work were equal to that of men. Whenever they can, these women fight for this change too.

In Cambodia, women garment workers have conducted nationwide strikes in exasperation of years of low pay. The gender wage gap in the country more than doubled between 2004 and 2009, for example. Several companies have since expressed their willingness to support a living wage but the figure is paltry in comparison to those higher up the chain.

We must ensure womens work is valued and rewarded fairly. It is a key factor in fighting poverty and driving prosperity and goes hand in hand with sustainable business and economic returns.

Sarah Carson, senior womens rights campaign manager, ActionAid UK LondonEC1R

Its been two years since Cecil, one of Zimbabwes best-known lions, was callously snuffed out by a trophy hunter. Yet the global condemnation of his death didnt diminish hunters thirst for blood, and Xanda, Cecils 6-year-old son, has become the latest victim of this cruel sport.

Majestic wild animals will continue being slaughtered to boost hunters egos and perverse sense of fun as long as wildlife slayers with something to prove can ship heads, tails, and skins back home. More than 40 airlines have banned shipment of these grisly trophies, and Peta is calling on all others join them.

Jennifer White, Peta London N1

1.1m [wasted] in defending the Article 50 Court case was one of yesterdays sneaked-out announcements.

Has anyone estimated just how much the Brexit debacle has cost so far? Not just in tax-payer money (maybe calculated in how many nurses it would have trained), but as a massive distraction of resources and time taken from other things. Like running the country.

Surely it is time to admit we got it massively wrong. We werent ready, we still arent ready, and we need to stop this Yes Minister episode now and end the damage and waste.

Then announce another referendum in 10 years, this time properly thought-through with both possible results prepared for and a two-thirds majority required so the losing side dont whinge on afterwards.

Paul Keeble Manchester

When I watch a TV programme, I do it because of the content of the programme, not because of the personality or ability of the presenter.

Sadly, in a high proportion of cases, the quality of the presenters performance, possibly following stage instructions, appals me so much that I turn off. Why does the BBC keep them so long, with annual increments to their high salaries?

I imagine that many could nominate lots of people who would be prepared to do the job at a lower salary for a shorter period without seeking stardom.

Ian Turnbull Cumbria

The talented be they media presenters, sports stars or banking chief executives apparently are mainly motivated by higher and higher remuneration packages and are talented at securing them and usually at hiding them.

Might we not prefer people who are not so motivated and not so talented, but who have a sense of fairness and who would feel ashamed at receiving such vast sums compared with those of nurses, carers, cleaners and teachers?

Peter Cave London W1

The answer to unequal salaries seems to be to pay men less, as the BBC suggest. This is totally illogical; surely it is to pay women the same as men for doing the same job.

Equal pay should mean women getting paid more, not men less just to equalise injustice.

Gary Martin London E17

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Raising the age of the state pension makes perfect sense - The Independent

Throughout American history, religion has played a significant role in promoting social reform. From the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century to the civil rights movement of the 20th century, religious leaders have championed progressive political causes.

This legacy is evident today in the group called religious progressives, or the religious left.

The social gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as I have explored in my research, has had a particularly significant impact on the development of the religious left.

The social gospels origins are often traced to the rise of late 19th-century urban industrialization, immediately following the Civil War. Largely, but not exclusively, rooted in Protestant churches, the social gospel emphasized how Jesus ethical teachings could remedy the problems caused by Gilded Age capitalism.

Movement leaders took Jesus message love thy neighbor into pulpits, published books and lectured across the country. Other leaders, mostly women, ran settlement houses designed to alleviate the sufferings of immigrants living in cities like Boston, New York and Chicago. Their mission was to draw attention to the problems of poverty and inequality especially in Americas growing cities.

Charles Sheldon, a minister in the city of Topeka, Kan., explained the idea behind the social gospel in his 1897 novel In His Steps. To be a Christian, he argued, one needed to walk in Jesuss footsteps.

The books slogan, What would Jesus do? became a central theme of the social gospel movement which also became tied to a belief in what Ohio minister Washington Gladden called social salvation. This concept emphasized that religions fundamental purpose was to create systemic changes in American political structures.

Consequently, social gospel leaders supported legislation for an eight-hour work day, the abolition of child labor and government regulation of business monopolies.

While the social gospel produced many important figures, its most influential leader was a Baptist minister, Walter Rauschenbusch.

Rauschenbusch began his career in the 1880s as minister of an immigrant church in the Hells Kitchen section of New York. His 1907 book, Christianity and the Social Crisis asserted that religions chief purpose was to create the highest quality of life for all citizens.

Rauschenbusch linked Christianity to emerging theories of democratic socialism which, he believed, would lead to equality and a just society.

Rauschenbuschs writings had a major impact on the development of the religious left in the 20th century. After World War I, several religious leaders expanded upon his ideas to address issues of economic justice, racism and militarism.

Among them was A.J. Muste, known as the American Gandhi, who helped popularize the tactics of nonviolent direct action. His example inspired many mid-20th century activists, including Martin Luther King Jr.

The intellectual influences on King were extensive. However, it was Rauschenbusch who first made King aware of faith-based activism. As King wrote in 1958, It has been my conviction ever since reading Rauschenbusch that any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul, is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.

Kings statement highlights the importance of the social gospel concept of social salvation for todays religious left.

Although many of its primary leaders come out of liberal Protestant denominations, the religious left is not a monolithic movement. Its leaders include prominent clergy, such as the Lutheran minister Nadia Boltz-Weber, as well as academics such as Cornel West. Some of the movements major figures, notably Rev. Jim Wallis, are evangelicals who identify with what is often called progressive evangelicalism.

Others come from outside of Christianity. Rabbi Michael Lerner, founder of the organization Network of Spiritual Progressives, seeks not only to promote interfaith activism but also to attract persons unaffiliated with any religious institutions.

These leaders often focus on different issues. However, they unite around the social gospel belief that religious faith must be committed to the transformation of social structures.

The Network for Spiritual Progressives mission statement, for example, affirms its desire

To build a social change movement guided by and infused with spiritual and ethical values to transform our society to one that prioritizes and promotes the well-being of the people and the planet, as well as love, justice, peace, and compassion over money, power and profit.

One of the most important voices of the religious left is North Carolina minister William Barber. Barbers organization, Repairers of the Breach, seeks to train clergy and laity from a variety of faith traditions in grassroots activism. Barbers hope is that grassroots activists will be committed to social change by rebuilding, raising up and repairing our moral infrastructure.

Other organizations associated with the religious left express similar goals. Often embracing democratic socialism, these groups engage issues of racial justice (including support for the Black Lives Matter movement), LGBT equality and the defense of religious minorities.

Despite the public visibility of activists like Barber, some question whether the religious left can become a potent political force.

Sociologist James Wellman observes that often religious progressives lack the social infrastructure that creates and sustains a social movement; its leaders are spiritual entrepreneurs rather than institution builders.

Another challenge is the growing secularization of the political left. Only 30 percent of Americans who identify with the political left view religion as a positive force for social change.

At the same time, the religious lefts progressive agenda in particular, its focus on serving societys poor might be an attractive option for younger Americans who seek alternatives to the perceived dogmatism of the religious right. As an activist connected with Jim Walliss Sojourners organization noted, I think the focus on the person of Jesus is birthing a younger generation. ... Their political agenda is shaped by Jesus call to feed the hungry, make sure the thirsty have clean water, make sure all have access to health care, transform America into a welcoming place for immigrants, fix our inequitable penal system, and end abject poverty abroad and in the forgotten corners of our urban and rural communities.

This statement not only circles back to Charles Sheldons 19th century question, what would Jesus do? It illustrates, I argue, the continued resiliency of the core social gospel belief in social salvation for a new generation of activists.

Can the religious left achieve the public status of the religious right? The theme of social salvation that was critical to Walter Rauschenbusch, A.J. Muste and Martin Luther King Jr. might, I believe, very well galvanize the activism of a new generation of religious progressives.

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How the social gospel movement explains the roots of today's religious left - Maryville Daily Times

Committee of Secretaries meeting held

Chief Secretary, B B Vyas Thursday underlined the importance of submitting utilization certificates (UCs) on time to pave way for speedy and effective implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Chairing the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), here, Chief Secretary urged Administrative Secretaries to ensure that project-wise UCs are submitted and bottlenecks if any in the utilisation of funds removed immediately. Chief Secretary observed that the Finance and Planning Departments released 50% funds of the revenue and Capex budget in the month of February, 2017, authorizing expenditure to be made from 1st April, 2017, to enable the departments to take advantage of the early release and ensure early tendering and execution of work on ground. While reviewing the status of expenditure on the developmental front, Chief Secretary asked the Administrative Secretaries to submit expenditure statement as on 30th June, 2017, within a week. Observing that Pradeep Singh has recently joined as Advisor, Infrastructure Development to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Secretary urged the Administrative Secretaries to make best use of his experience and knowledge by seeking his advice/guidance on Infrastructure Development and flagship projects/schemes. Chief Secretary also reviewed the status of various works, as part of the Chief Ministers commitments and asked the Administrative Secretaries to ensure that directions given by the Chief Minister during her tours are followed and action taken report submitted to the Planning Development & Monitoring Department on an urgent basis. Chief Secretary also shared with the Administrative Secretaries issues raised in the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister at New Delhi on July 10, 2017, as part of the National Conference of Chief Secretaries on the theme of "States as Drivers for Transforming India including those related to studying Punjab Model for Ease of doing Business, Chandigarh Model for DBT linked Ration Card Holder and Goa/Delhi Model for Solid Waste Management, so that same could be replicated in the state among the best practices, replacement of existing street lights by LED, promoting Solar Power, ensuring regular up-dation of District Gazetteers by DCs and use of GeM Potal for procurement Government products and Services. For enhanced transparency, in procurement, Chief Secretary urged the Administrative Secretaries to study the document of the Central Government regarding a one stop Government eMarketplace (GeM), for online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments/Organizations/ PSUs. Chief Secretary also reviewed the status of disposal of public grievances, settlement of SRO 43-cases, cases relating to adhoc/consolidated/ contractual employees, abolition of interviews for junior level posts, abolition of affidavits, disposal of pending departmental enquires, Aadhaar Based Bio-Metric & Skill Profiling of Casual and other Workers, up-dation of departmental websites, web based file tracking system and pending court cases.

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CS stresses on timely submission of UCs - Rising Kashmir - Rising Kashmir

'I've never worked on a show I've been this emotionally invested in' says 37-year-old Tate curator Zoe Whitely.

Originally from Washington, Whitely came to London for her MA before landing a curator job at the V&A. One of her first projects, Uncomfortable Truths, was an exhibition commemorating the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, and the first time contemporary African American art was shown at the V&A.

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Now continuing her pioneering work at the Tate, one of this year's most important retrospectives, Soul of a Nation features over 150 works, most of which have never been shown in the UK before. The exhibition asks, 'What did it mean to be a Black artist in the USA during the Civil Rights movement and the birth of black power?'

From the emergence of black feminism, to the way street activism manifested itself in posters and newspapers, to images of iconic figures such as Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali, gives an in-depth look at Black America during 1963-1968.

Here Zoe tells the story behind some of the exhibition's seminal pieces.

Wadsworth Jarrell, Revolutionary, 1972

'Jarrell was part of Africoba; a group of artists from Chicago who were thinking about how art could serve the black struggle and uplift the community. Incorporating text into the work was an important element, this poster portrait of activist Angela Davis is made out of words like 'beauty' and 'struggle', it's so uplifting, but also politically forward.'

Elizabeth Catlett, Black Unity, 1968

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'It's interesting how an image can be read in two different ways. On one side of the sculpture is the black fist of resistance; some would view that and see solidarity, other people would see aggression or something to be afraid of. On the other side of the sculpture you have these faces nestled into it, so there's this defiance but equally this tenderness.'

Barkley L. Hendricks, Icon for My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved Any Black People - Bobby Seale), 1969

'The bracketed part of the title is a quote from [Black Panther co-founder] Bobby Seale's trial for conspiracy to incite violence. Because of his outburst in the courtroom, the judge had him bound and gagged, so these shocking images circulated of someone in an American Court of Justice tied to their seat, unable to speak. It's interesting how a statement like that is overlaid with a far more playful approach here. It's a self-portrait, and with that he's painting himself into art history, he becomes the superhero, he's not waiting for anybody else.'

Emma Amos, Eva the Babysitter, 1973

'Amos was part of Spiral Group, a collective of artists that started meeting in 1963 after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She was the only woman in the group, and with that emphasis on gender, an image like Eva the Babysitter becomes so poignant. Her daughter is in the picture, and she's made the subject of this work the person who make it possible for her to paint, because childcare is an important issue. We try to address the facets around black feminism, and this painting is a very lovely and uplifting example.'

Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power is at the Tate Modern until October 22

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Soul of a Nation: The Exhibition You Need To See This Month - Elle UK Magazine

Elizabeth Bruenig haswrittenabout the distinction between liberals and the left. She proposes that everyone in the broad tent of what she calls non-Republicanism is actually a liberal, in the following sense:

The second sense in which almost every non-Republican is a liberal is that they all agree with the tenets of liberalism as a philosophy: that is, the worldview that champions radical, rational free inquiry; egalitarianism; individualism; subjective rights; and freedom as primary political ends. (Republicans are, for the most part, liberals in this sense too; libertarians even more so.)

This is an easy statement for me to agree with but I also think it brushes past some political distinctions that are important.

Am I a partisan of radical, rational free inquiry? I suppose I am, in that, like Marx, I endorse aruthless criticism of the existing order,one which will shrink neither from its own discoveries, nor from conflict with the powers that be.

Do I believe in egalitarianism? Naturally one of the basic structural features of mybookis the distinction between a hierarchical society, like our own, and one where everyone shares in both the benefits and the sacrifices that are possible or necessary given our level of technological development and ecological constraint.

Individualism? Also uncontroversial, although its not entirely clear what the term is supposed to mean. I side with Oscar Wilde, whosaidthat with the abolition of private property, then, we shall have true, beautiful, healthy Individualism. That instead of the false freedom of those condemned to work for others for a paycheck free in Marxs double sense of being free to sell our laborpower and free of anything else to sell we can have what Philippe Van Parijs calls real freedom, the freedom that comes from having the time and the resources to pursue self-actualization.

As for subjective rights, Im not completely sure what thats supposed to mean. Rights that are politically stipulated and democratically assigned, I guess, rather than arising from some divine concept of natural law? In that case, again, Im on board, and I think the social rights arguments of people likeT.H. Marshallcan be usefully synthesized with the politics of opposing oppression and exploitation.

And then, of course, there is freedom. A word lodged deeply in the liberal tradition, and in the American tradition. And one, I think, that should be at the center of socialist politics as well. But freedomfromwhat, and freedomtodo what?

Here is Bruenigs gloss on the meaning of socialism: the economic aspects of liberalism (free or freeish market capitalism) create material conditions that actually make people less free.

I like this, yet again I find it vague. In describing my own political trajectory, I often talk about my parents liberal politics, and my own journey of discovery, through which I concluded that their liberal ideals couldnt be achieved by liberal means, but required something more radical, and more Marxist.

But what would it mean to escape the economic aspects of liberalism? Would it mean merely high wages; universal health care and education; a right to housing; strong labor unions?

To be clear, I am in favor of all of those things.

But weve seen this movie before. Its the high tide of the welfare state, which is nowadays sometimes held up as an idyllic model of class peace and human contentment: everyone has a good job, and good benefits, and a comfortable retirement. (Although of course, this Eden never existed for much of the working class.) Who could want more?

The historical reality of welfare capitalisms postwar high tide, though, is thateveryonewanted more. Capitalists, as they always do, wanted more profits, and they felt the squeeze from powerful unions and social-democratic parties that were impinging on this prerogative.

More than that, they faced the problem of a working class that was becoming toopoliticallypowerful. This is what Michal Kaleckicalledthe political aspects of full employment, the danger that a sufficiently empowered working class might call into question the basic structure of an economy based on concentrated property rights and capital accumulation.

Sometimes socialists will emphasizeeconomic democracyas the core of our politics. Because as theDemocratic Socialists of Americasstatement of political principles puts it, In the workplace, capitalism eschews democracy. According to this line of argument, socialism means taking the liberal ideal of democracy into places where most people experience no democratic control at all, most especially the workplace.

But when you talk about introducing democracy, youre talking about giving people control over their lives that they didnt have before. And once you do that, you open up the possibility of much more radical and disruptive kinds of change.

For it is not just capitalists who always want more, but workers too. A good job is better than a bad job, is better than no job. Higher wages are better than low. But a strong working class isnt inclined to sit back and be content with its lot its inclined to demand more.

Or less, when it comes to the drudgery of most jobs. After all, how many people dream of punching clocks and cashing paychecks at the behest of a boss, no matter what the size of the check or the security of the job?

The song Take This Job and Shove It appeared in the aftermath of a period when many workers could make good on that threat, and did. In the peak year, 1969, there had been 766 unauthorized wildcat strikes in the United States, but by 1975 there were only 238.

All of this goes to the point that even if we could get back the postwar welfare state, that simply isnt a permanently viable end point, and we need a politics that acknowledges that fact and prepares for it. And that has to be connected to some larger vision of what lies beyond the immediate demands of social democracy. Thats what Id call socialism, or evencommunism, which for me is the ultimate horizon.

The socialist project, for me, is about something more than just immediate demands for more jobs, or higher wages, or universal social programs, or shorter hours. Its about those things. But its also about transcending, and abolishing, much of what we think defines our identities and our way of life.

It is about the abolition of class as such. This means the abolition of capitalist wage labor, and therefore the abolition ofthe working classas an identity and a social phenomenon. Which isnt the same as the abolition of work in itsother senses, as socially necessary or personally fulfilling labor.

It is about the abolition of race, that biologically fictitious, and yet socially overpowering idea. A task that is inseparable from the abolition of class, however much contemporary liberals might like to distract us from that reality.

As David Roediger details in his recent essay collection onClass, Race, and Marxism, much of the forgotten history of terms like white privilege originated with communists, who wrestled with the problem of racism not to avoid class politics but to facilitate it. People likeClaudia Jones, or Theodore Allen, whose masterwork,The Invention of the White Race, was, as Roediger observes, borne of a half century of radical organizing, much of it specifically in industry.

And so too, no socialism worth the name can shrink from questioning patriarchy, gender, heterosexuality, the nuclear family. Marx and Engels themselves had some presentiment of this, some understanding that the control of the means of reproduction and the means of production were intimately and dialectically linked atThe Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.

But they could follow their own logic only so far, and so it fell to the likes ofShulamith Firestoneto suggest radical alternatives to our current ways of organizing the bearing and raising of children. It took communists the likes ofLeslie FeinbergandSylvia Federicito complicate our simplistic assumptions about the existence of binary gender. And the more we win reforms that allow people to define their sexualities and gender identities, to give women control of their bodies, to lessen their economic dependence on men, the more this kind of radical questioning will spill into the open.

So thats what it means to me to be on the left. To imagine and anticipate and fight for a world without bosses, and beyond class, race, and gender as we understand them today. That, to me, is what it means to fight for individualism, and for freedom.

Thats one reason that I make a point of arguing for a politics that fights for beneficial reforms single-payer health care, living wages, all the rest but that doesnt stop there. A politics that fights for thenon-reformist reform: a demand that is not meant to lead to a permanent state of humane capitalism, but that is intentionally destabilizing and disruptive.

The other reason is that, for all the economic and political reasons noted above, we cant just get to a nicer version of capitalism and then stop there. We can only build social democracyin order to break it.

Is that what every liberal, or even every leftist, believes? From my experience, I dont think so. Thats not meant to be a defense of sectarianism or dogmatism; I believe in building a broad united front with everyone who wants to make our society more humane, and more equal. But I have my sights on something beyond that.

Because if we do all agree that the project of the Left is predicated on a vision of freedom and individualism, then we also have to regard that vision as a radicallyuncertainone. We can only look a short way into the future to a point where the working class has had its shackles loosened a bit, as happened in the best moments of twentieth-centurysocial democracy.

At that moment we again reach the point where a social-democratic class compromise becomes untenable, and the system must either fall back into a reactionary form of capitalist retrenchment, or forward into something else entirely. What our future selves do in those circumstances, and what kinds of people we become, is unknowable and unpredictable and for our politics to be genuinely democratic, it could not be any other way.

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What It Means to Be on the Left - Jacobin magazine

BANGKOK Aninfamous list of occupations reserved only for Thais may soon be a thing of the past, a labor official said Wednesday.

Citing the outdated nature of the law and the need for more foreign workers, labor department head Waranon Pitiwan said his office is considering relaxing the decades-old regulations that reserves 39 jobs for Thai nationals.

Its a law thats been used for a long time. In the present time, society has changed, so policies must change, Waranon told reporters. Some jobs that were forbidden may be relaxed so that foreign investors, technicians and academics can come to work here more easily.

He said some forbidden jobs in the existing regulation dont make any sense.

For example, the construction sector has a lot of problems because we only allow migrant workers to work as manual laborers, yet we forbid them from masonry, Waranon said.

Under the 1981 regulation, the 39 forbidden jobs include drivers, handcraft artisans, architects, street vendors and lawyers. The full list, which was once hilariously mistranslated, is available atthe Ministry of Labors website.

Migrant rights activist Adisorn Kerdmongkol said the promised change is in line with a new labor law which calls for the current regulation of forbidden jobs to be re-evaluated.

Adisorn said he welcomes the plan because Thailand has changed a lot since the law was first enacted.

The law was passed under the context of the society at the time, he said. There were fears of Communist threats and competition in the lower job market. Back then, Thais were working those jobs.

Waranon, the official, said he will discuss with business operations before establishing which jobs would be open to foreigners.

The move came after harsher fines under a new trafficking law prompted about 60,000 migrant workers from Myanmar to return home and sparked fear of a labor shortage.

Rights groups have complained the exodus was fueled by the arrests and extortion of workers nationwide as soon as the law was passed, while business operators said there is not enough time to comply with the new legislation.

Asked whether he believes the abolition of some job reservations might mean harder employment for Thais, Adisorn said some occupations, such as engineers and architects, already have qualification exams that demand the applicants be Thai and speak Thai.

Instead of having a blanket ban, the government can also pass a resolution when certain Thai jobs are threatened, he said.

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'Forbidden Careers' For Expats May Be Relaxed, Official Says - Khaosod English

commentary By Christopher H. Evans | 10 hours ago A Moral Monday protest led by a preacher, Rev. William Barber. AP Photo/Martha Waggoner

(The Conversation) Throughout American history, religion has played a significant role in promoting social reform. From the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century to the civil rights movement of the 20th century, religious leaders have championed progressive political causes.

This legacy is evident today in the group called religious progressives, or the religious left.

The social gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as I have explored in my research, has had a particularly significant impact on the development of the religious left.

What is the social gospel movement and why does it matter today?

The social gospels origins are often traced to the rise of late 19th-century urban industrialization, immediately following the Civil War. Largely, but not exclusively, rooted in Protestant churches, the social gospel emphasized how Jesus ethical teachings could remedy the problems caused by Gilded Age capitalism.

Movement leaders took Jesus message love thy neighbor into pulpits, published books and lectured across the country. Other leaders, mostly women, ran settlement houses designed to alleviate the sufferings of immigrants living in cities like Boston, New York and Chicago. Their mission was to draw attention to the problems of poverty and inequality especially in Americas growing cities.

Charles Sheldon, a minister in the city of Topeka, Kansas, explained the idea behind the social gospel in his 1897 novel In His Steps. To be a Christian, he argued, one needed to walk in Jesuss footsteps.

The books slogan, What would Jesus do? became a central theme of the social gospel movement which also became tied to a belief in what Ohio minister Washington Gladden called social salvation. This concept emphasized that religions fundamental purpose was to create systemic changes in American political structures.

Consequently, social gospel leaders supported legislation for an eight-hour work day, the abolition of child labor and government regulation of business monopolies.

While the social gospel produced many important figures, its most influential leader was a Baptist minister, Walter Rauschenbusch.

Rauschenbusch began his career in the 1880s as minister of an immigrant church in the Hells Kitchen section of New York. His 1907 book, Christianity and the Social Crisis asserted that religions chief purpose was to create the highest quality of life for all citizens.

Rauschenbusch linked Christianity to emerging theories of democratic socialism which, he believed, would lead to equality and a just society.

Rauschenbuschs writings had a major impact on the development of the religious left in the 20th century. After World War I, several religious leaders expanded upon his ideas to address issues of economic justice, racism and militarism.

Among them was A.J. Muste, known as the American Gandhi, who helped popularize the tactics of nonviolent direct action. His example inspired many mid-20th century activists, including Martin Luther King Jr.

The intellectual influences on King were extensive. However, it was Rauschenbusch who first made King aware of faith-based activism. As King wrote in 1958,

It has been my conviction ever since reading Rauschenbusch that any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul, is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.

Kings statement highlights the importance of the social gospel concept of social salvation for todays religious left.

Although many of its primary leaders come out of liberal Protestant denominations, the religious left is not a monolithic movement. Its leaders include prominent clergy, such as the Lutheran minister Nadia Boltz-Weber as well as academics such as Cornel West. Some of the movements major figures, notably Rev. Jim Wallis, are evangelicals who identify with what is often called progressive evangelicalism.

Others come from outside of Christianity. Rabbi Michael Lerner, founder of the organization Network of Spiritual Progressives, seeks not only to promote interfaith activism but also to attract persons unaffiliated with any religious institutions.

These leaders often focus on different issues. However, they unite around the social gospel belief that religious faith must be committed to the transformation of social structures.

The Network for Spiritual Progressives mission statement, for example, affirms its desire

To build a social change movement guided by and infused with spiritual and ethical values to transform our society to one that prioritizes and promotes the well-being of the people and the planet, as well as love, justice, peace, and compassion over money, power and profit.

One of the most important voices of the religious left is North Carolina minister William Barber. Barbers organization, Repairers of the Breach, seeks to train clergy and laity from a variety of faith traditions in grassroots activism. Barbers hope is that grassroots activists will be committed to social change by rebuilding, raising up and repairing our moral infrastructure.

Other organizations associated with the religious left express similar goals. Often embracing democratic socialism, these groups engage issues of racial justice (including support for the Black Lives Matter movement), LGBT equality and the defense of religious minorities.

Despite the public visibility of activists like Barber, some question whether the religious left can become a potent political force.

Sociologist James Wellman observes that often religious progressives lack the social infrastructure that creates and sustains a social movement; its leaders are spiritual entrepreneurs rather than institution builders.

Another challenge is the growing secularization of the political left. Only 30 percent of Americans who identify with the political left view religion as a positive force for social change.

At the same time, the religious lefts progressive agenda in particular, its focus on serving societys poor might be an attractive option for younger Americans who seek alternatives to the perceived dogmatism of the religious right. As an activist connected with Jim Walliss Sojourners organization noted,

I think the focus on the person of Jesus is birthing a younger generation. Their political agenda is shaped by Jesus call to feed the hungry, make sure the thirsty have clean water, make sure all have access to healthcare, transform America into a welcoming place for immigrants, fix our inequitable penal system, and end abject poverty abroad and in the forgotten corners of our urban and rural communities.

This statement not only circles back to Charles Sheldons nineteenth century question, what would Jesus do? It illustrates, I argue, the continued resiliency of the core social gospel belief in social salvation for a new generation of activists.

Can the religious left achieve the public status of the religious right? The theme of social salvation that was critical to Walter Rauschenbusch, A.J. Muste and Martin Luther King Jr. might, I believe, very well galvanize the activism of a new generation of religious progressives.

(Christopher H. Evans, is a professor of the history of Christianity at Boston University.This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article)

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How the social gospel movement explains the roots of today's religious left - Religion News Service

The Paramount Chief of Sagnarigu, Naa Yakubu Abdulai, has suggested for Ghana to do away with the concept of an all-inclusive government.

He explained that such a concept sets the stage for disaster and could eventually hinder the execution of the plans of the administration in office. Naa Abdulai noted that it is usually difficult for an opposition party to play a vital role in the work of the party in power, as their ideologies may clash.

He made the suggestion at a roundtable discussion organised by the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) in Accra. The end result, Naa Abdulai stated is that the well-being of the citizenry hangs in the balance and the approach gives the government the opportunity to implement all of its policies.

On the issue of vigilantism, he advised that the government, political parties, security agencies as well as all Ghanaians should come together to deal with the issue before it becomes uncontrollable.

Naa Abdulai pointed out that the recent attacks on state institutions and people by some young persons who sought to associate themselves with the ruling party were not the best. He indicated that political parties should be committed to a peace pledge, so that they would be held accountable should they digress from the tenets of their pledge.

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Chief calls for the abolition of winner takes all concept - BusinessGhana

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Christopher H. Evans, Boston University

(THE CONVERSATION) Throughout American history, religion has played a significant role in promoting social reform. From the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century to the civil rights movement of the 20th century, religious leaders have championed progressive political causes.

This legacy is evident today in the group called religious progressives, or the religious left.

The social gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as I have explored in my research, has had a particularly significant impact on the development of the religious left.

What is the social gospel movement and why does it matter today?

The social gospels origins are often traced to the rise of late 19th-century urban industrialization, immediately following the Civil War. Largely, but not exclusively, rooted in Protestant churches, the social gospel emphasized how Jesus ethical teachings could remedy the problems caused by Gilded Age capitalism.

Movement leaders took Jesus message love thy neighbor into pulpits, published books and lectured across the country. Other leaders, mostly women, ran settlement houses designed to alleviate the sufferings of immigrants living in cities like Boston, New York and Chicago. Their mission was to draw attention to the problems of poverty and inequality especially in Americas growing cities.

Charles Sheldon, a minister in the city of Topeka, Kansas, explained the idea behind the social gospel in his 1897 novel In His Steps. To be a Christian, he argued, one needed to walk in Jesuss footsteps.

The books slogan, What would Jesus do? became a central theme of the social gospel movement which also became tied to a belief in what Ohio minister Washington Gladden called social salvation. This concept emphasized that religions fundamental purpose was to create systemic changes in American political structures.

Consequently, social gospel leaders supported legislation for an eight-hour work day, the abolition of child labor and government regulation of business monopolies.

While the social gospel produced many important figures, its most influential leader was a Baptist minister, Walter Rauschenbusch.

Rauschenbusch began his career in the 1880s as minister of an immigrant church in the Hells Kitchen section of New York. His 1907 book, Christianity and the Social Crisis asserted that religions chief purpose was to create the highest quality of life for all citizens.

Rauschenbusch linked Christianity to emerging theories of democratic socialism which, he believed, would lead to equality and a just society.

Rauschenbuschs writings had a major impact on the development of the religious left in the 20th century. After World War I, several religious leaders expanded upon his ideas to address issues of economic justice, racism and militarism.

Among them was A.J. Muste, known as the American Gandhi, who helped popularize the tactics of nonviolent direct action. His example inspired many mid-20th century activists, including Martin Luther King Jr.

The intellectual influences on King were extensive. However, it was Rauschenbusch who first made King aware of faith-based activism. As King wrote in 1958,

"

It has been my conviction ever since reading Rauschenbusch that any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul, is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.

Kings statement highlights the importance of the social gospel concept of social salvation for todays religious left.

Although many of its primary leaders come out of liberal Protestant denominations, the religious left is not a monolithic movement. Its leaders include prominent clergy, such as the Lutheran minister Nadia Boltz-Weber as well as academics such as Cornel West. Some of the movements major figures, notably Rev. Jim Wallis, are evangelicals who identify with what is often called progressive evangelicalism.

Others come from outside of Christianity. Rabbi Michael Lerner, founder of the organization Network of Spiritual Progressives, seeks not only to promote interfaith activism but also to attract persons unaffiliated with any religious institutions.

These leaders often focus on different issues. However, they unite around the social gospel belief that religious faith must be committed to the transformation of social structures.

The Network for Spiritual Progressives mission statement, for example, affirms its desire

"

To build a social change movement guided by and infused with spiritual and ethical values to transform our society to one that prioritizes and promotes the well-being of the people and the planet, as well as love, justice, peace, and compassion over money, power and profit.

One of the most important voices of the religious left is North Carolina minister William Barber. Barbers organization, Repairers of the Breach, seeks to train clergy and laity from a variety of faith traditions in grassroots activism. Barbers hope is that grassroots activists will be committed to social change by rebuilding, raising up and repairing our moral infrastructure.

Other organizations associated with the religious left express similar goals. Often embracing democratic socialism, these groups engage issues of racial justice (including support for the Black Lives Matter movement), LGBT equality and the defense of religious minorities.

Despite the public visibility of activists like Barber, some question whether the religious left can become a potent political force.

Sociologist James Wellmanobserves that often religious progressives lack the social infrastructure that creates and sustains a social movement; its leaders are spiritual entrepreneurs rather than institution builders.

Another challenge is the growing secularization of the political left. Only 30 percent of Americans who identify with the political left view religion as a positive force for social change.

At the same time, the religious lefts progressive agenda in particular, its focus on serving societys poor might be an attractive option for younger Americans who seek alternatives to the perceived dogmatism of the religious right. As an activist connected with Jim Walliss Sojourners organization noted,

"

I think the focus on the person of Jesus is birthing a younger generation. Their political agenda is shaped by Jesus call to feed the hungry, make sure the thirsty have clean water, make sure all have access to healthcare, transform America into a welcoming place for immigrants, fix our inequitable penal system, and end abject poverty abroad and in the forgotten corners of our urban and rural communities.

This statement not only circles back to Charles Sheldons nineteenth century question, what would Jesus do? It illustrates, I argue, the continued resiliency of the core social gospel belief in social salvation for a new generation of activists.

Can the religious left achieve the public status of the religious right? The theme of social salvation that was critical to Walter Rauschenbusch, A.J. Muste and Martin Luther King Jr. might, I believe, very well galvanize the activism of a new generation of religious progressives.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here: http://theconversation.com/how-the-social-gospel-movement-explains-the-roots-of-todays-religious-left-78895.

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How the social gospel movement explains the roots of today's religious left - The Edwardsville Intelligencer