Marxist-Humanist Initiative will be sponsoring 2 talks in New York City:
March 22: Antti Ronkainen, "Crisis, Austerity, and Resistance in the Euro
Zone: A View from Finland"
April 13: Allan Armstrong, "Is an Emancipatory Communism Possible?"
and 3 panels at this weekend's Left Forum:
Is Socialism Possible? Part 1, with Andrej Grubačić, Anne Jaclard, Antti
Ronkainen, and Alex Steinberg
Is Socialism Possible? Part 2, with Michael Albert, Andrew Kliman, and Cindy
Milstein
The Great Recession and its Aftermath, with Alan Freeman, Andrew Kliman,
David McNally, and Fred Moseley
Further details on all of these events are below. Videos will be made
available on the MHI website, marxist-humanist-initiative.org.
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Crisis, Austerity, and Resistance in the Euro Zone: A View from Finland
A talk by Antti Ronkainen
Tuesday, March 22nd at 7:00 PM
TRS Inc, 44 East 32nd Street, 11th Floor
(between Madison & Park Avenues)
In the spring and summer of 2010, crisis gripped Europe, highlighting
the continued instability of the capitalist system across the globe.
Financial meltdown was averted only by means of a massive bailout
package, totaling as much as ?750 billion, and the European Central
Bank's move to begin purchasing sovereign debt of the weaker Euro zone
countries to prevent a breakup of the zone. Will the patch hold?
Antti Ronkainen will give special attention to the European Financial
Stability Facility (EFSF), established last summer to help safeguard
financial stability in the Euro zone. He will argue that the EFSF is
not designed to solve the Euro crisis, but rather allows the European
Central Bank to engage in potentially risky lending and provides a
mechanism for redistributing income from taxpayers to banks. Ronkainen
will also discuss the European workers and students' demonstrations
and strikes against new austerity programs, especially the current
situation in Finland. Will the resistance succeed in saving the unions
and government benefits?
Antti Ronkainen is a student of social sciences in Finland. He is an
editor of and writer for Megafoni, a Finnish autonomist web journal
(http://megafoni.org).
* * *
Is an Emancipatory Communism Possible?
A talk by Allan Armstrong
Wednesday, April 13th at 7:00 PM
TRS, Inc, 44 East 32nd Street, 11th Floor
(between Madison & Park Avenues)
Mention of the word "Communism" today conjures up visions of tyrants.
Young people, even when they clash violently with the representatives
of global capitalism in Seattle or London, call their protests "anti-
capitalist," not communist.
However, anti-capitalism is not enough. Revolutions can lead to
immediate feelings of intense liberation, but they are usually
followed by much longer periods of defense, setbacks, and painful
reconstruction. The 20th century was the "Century of Revolutions," but
it eventually produced so little for humanity at such a high cost,
that it is not surprising that many are very cautious, despite growing
barbarism.
Allan Armstrong will argue that it is vital that we outline a genuine
new human emancipatory communism, which takes full stock of the
failings of both "official" and "dissident Communism," and which can
persuasively show that human liberation can still be achieved. He will
explore Marx's vision, particularly as detailed in his "Critique of
the Gotha Program," which emphasizes the need to break with capitalist
production relations rather than expecting a new society to come about
through political changes.
Allan Armstrong, a republican, Scottish internationalist, and
communist, is currently co-editor of Emancipation & Liberation, the
journal of the Republican Communist Network. He is also involved with
the commune, a collective dedicated to outlining a new communism for
the 21st century. Armstrong is the author of "Why We Need a New
Emancipatory Communism"
(http://thecommune.co.uk/2009/06/02/why-we-need-a-new-human-emancipatory-communism)
and "The Communist Case for 'Internationalism from Below'"
(http://thecommune.co.uk/2010/06/06/the-communist-case-for-internationalism-from-below).
Presented by Marxist-Humanist Initiative (marxist-humanist-
initiative.org) & The New SPACE (http://new-space-nyc.org)
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At the Left Forum
Sat. & Sun. March 19 & 20
Pace University in lower Manhattan
Is Socialism Possible? Part 1: Saturday at 10:00 a.m., Room W623
Andrej Grubačić: "Anarchism, or Libertarian Socialism for the 21st
Century"
Anne Jaclard: "Yes, If a New Mode of Production Lays the Ground"
Antti Ronkainen: "Socialization of the Banking System"
Alex Steinberg: "Socialism and the Role of Consciousness"
The Great Recession and its Aftermath: Saturday at 3:00 p.m., Room LHN
Andrew Kliman: "The Great Recession and the Persistent Frailty of
Capitalist Production"
Alan Freeman: "Waking from the Dream: Europe in the Great Recession"
Fred Moseley: "A Lost Decade for Jobs, Unless ..."
David McNally: "Global Slump, Age of Austerity, and the Growing
Resistance"
Is Socialism Possible? Part 2: Sunday at 3:00 p.m., Room W504
Michael Albert:"Yes, But Which Socialism?"
Andrew Kliman: "Marx's Lower Phase of Communism: Not Another 'Labor
Money' Scheme"
Cindy Milstein
MHI will also have a book table in the Exhibitors area (be sure not to
confuse MHI's table and panels with those of other groups calling
themselves Marxist-Humanists).
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