----------------- HES POSTING -----------------
You are invited to a series of four discussions on
*****************************************************
CAN HUMANITY FREE ITSELF FROM GLOBAL CAPITALISM?
A new look at
_Marxism and Freedom, from 1776 until Today_
Alternate Sunday evenings in
November and December in New York City
Parlor of Parish House
Washington Square United Methodist Church
133 W. 4th Street, Manhattan
Sponsored by News and Letters Committees.
Free Admission. For copies of _Marxism and Freedom_,
or for more information, call (212) 663-3631.
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
*****************************************************
These four open discussions will explore some of the central questions
facing today's freedom movements. They include: What is capitalism,
and how can it be uprooted? Why has Marx's thought taken on new
importance in light of the struggles against globalized capital?
What is the legacy of the revolutions and revolutionary movements of
the past century? How can we ensure that a new bureaucracy does not emerge
after a revolution? Why was Hegel's philosophy important to Marx, and
what significance does it have for the social movements of our day?
These questions are central to Raya Dunayevskaya's _Marxism and
Freedom, from 1776 until Today_. Hailed as one of the most important
works in Marxist theory of the past half century, it has been translated
into Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, and Chinese. A new English-
language edition has recently been published by Humanity Books. Join us
in exploring this work with new eyes, as part of breaking down the
separation between philosophy and action.
===========================
Sunday, November 5, 6:30 pm
===========================
Hegel's Dialectic and Marx's Humanism:
Their Objectivity and Meaning
Opening the discussion: Anne Jaclard
Hegel's revolution in philosophy emerged from the impact of the
French Revolution, and Marx's philosophy of revolution emerged from
the impact of a new era of proletarian revolts. This class explores
the contemporary significance of Hegel's dialectic and the new humanism
born from Marx's _Economic-Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844_ in light
of the struggles of workers, women, youth, Blacks and other minorities
for non-alienating human relations.
Suggested readings from _Marxism and Freedom_:
Chapter 1: The Age of Revolutions
Chapter 3: A New Humanism: Marx's Early Economic-Philosophic Writings
Chapter 16: Automation and the New Humanism
============================
Sunday, November 19, 6:30 pm
============================
Marx's _Capital Reconsidered_: American Roots of Marxism and the
Black Dimension
Opening the discussion: Paul Geist and Russell Rockwell
Marx's greatest theoretical work, _Capital_, has taken on new importance
in light of global capital's incessant drive to commodify every sphere of
human and natural existence. In exploring _Capital_ with eyes of today's
economic-political realities, this class will also focus on how the
development of Marx's work was influenced by the freedom struggles of
his own period, especially the struggles against slavery and the fights
for a shorter working day.
Suggested readings from _Marxism and Freedom_:
Chapter 5: The Impact of the Civil War on _Capital_
Chapter 6: The Paris Commune Illuminates and Deepens the Content
of _Capital_
Chapter 7: The New Humanism and Dialectic of _Capital_, Vol. I
Chapter 8: Sections 1 & 3: The Logic and Scope of _Capital_, Vols.
II and III
===========================
Sunday, December 3, 6:30 pm
===========================
Revolution and Counter-Revolution in the Era of Globalized
State-Capitalism
Opening the discussion: A. Anielewicz
What happens after the revolution? What was achieved with the Russian
Revolution of 1917, and why did it become transformed into a totalitarian
state-capitalist society under Stalin? How did state-capitalism emerge as
a new global stage of production, and what is disclosed by the emergence
of new revolts against it, especially in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin
America, and China? This class will explore the legacy of 20th-century
revolutions and the central problem disclosed by them -- that of counter-
revolution emerging from within revolution itself.
Suggested readings from _Marxism and Freedom_:
Chapter 12: What Happens After?
Chapter 13, Section C: The Third Five Year Plan
Chapter 15: The Beginning of the End of Russian Totalitarianism
Chapter 17: Sections C: The Economic Compulsion of State-Capitalism
============================
Sunday, December 17, 6:30 pm
============================
Beyond Post-Marx Marxism: Towards a New Unity of Theory and Practice
in the Abolitionist and Marxist-Humanist Tradition
Opening the discussion: Eli Messinger and Ted Rosmer
This class explores the need for a new unity of theory and practice,
and of philosophy and organization, that transcends the legacy of
"post-Marx Marxism." We will look at the state socialism of Ferdinand
Lassalle and the anarchism of Pierre Proudhon; the reformism of the
Second International and Lenin's great divide in turning to Hegel in
1914. We will also look at Stalin, in terms of what enables someone
who was once a revolutionary to succumb to the impulses from an alien
class. Our focus is on how the development of Marxist-Humanism poses
an alternative to post-Marx Marxism, in a way that speaks to today's
"new passions and forces."
Suggested readings from _Marxism and Freedom_:
Chapter 4: Worker, Intellectual, and the State
Chapter 9, Sections 2 & 3: The Second International
Chapter 10: The Break in Lenin's Thought
Chapter 14: Stalin
Introduction (1985): "Dialectics of Revolution: American Roots
and Marx's World Humanist Concepts"
_Constitution_ of News and Letters Committees
_The Philosophic Moment of Marxist-Humanism_ (Chicago: News and
Letters, 1989)
"An oasis in the desert of Marxist thought .. Raya Dunayevskaya's
book shows not only that Marxian economics and politics are throughout
philosophy, but that the latter is from the beginning economics and
politics." -- Herbert Marcuse, from the original preface (1957)
------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------
For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]
|