James Brink

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A student-at-law responds

James Brink Mar 7, 2008

A student-at-law responds

No one will admire us for not padding our dockets, or hold parades because we held to the spirit, and not just the letter, of convoluted tax or securities provisions.

James Brink Jun 10, 2005

Topics:

How to Start a Slow Reformation in a Fast and Easy Society

My argument is that, in order to accomplish a reformation, in order to change the world, we need to build institutions. A thorough-going reformation takes time. Perhaps it takes a long time. It took a generation to build Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario (my alma mater) to the point it is at now. It took a generation before the Work Research Foundation acquired the staff, resources, and networks to do the quality work it is doing now.

James Brink Aug 1, 2004

Topics:

New Wine into Old Skins

In my last article, I said guilds could be the vanguard of a new civil society. Valiant words, but there are significant obstacles to overcome before we see any progress. Moreover, all the examples of functioning guilds that I have used so far have one thing in common: they are not in Canada. The question then arises, can guilds can ever take hold in Canada? If so, how?

James Brink Apr 1, 2004

Topics:

Guilds and Civil Society

The new economy is not a friendlier economy. Revamped hiring practices make it easier to discharge workers… If you’re in, great. If you’re out, well, it’s awfully difficult to get inside. Imbalances in the organization of work make it tough to argue for a civil society where all the spheres, including the economic realm, are largely self-regulating.

James Brink Jan 1, 2004

Topics:

Guilded Independence

The company man is a classic figure of the employer/employee model. We know the type: he—it's usually a man—started sweeping the shop-floor as a youth of 17 and stayed in the same town with the same company his whole life. After 25 years, he received his gold watch;...