Next Events The Legacy of the “Ultraleft,” Part III: “Autonomism” Today Thursday, May 22nd, 7:30 PM in the Mess Hall (6932 N. Glenwood; 'Morse' stop on the Red Line) Bring food and drinks to share It is regularly taken for granted by political commentators that the roots of today's anti-authoritarian social movements can be traced back to events that took place between 1964 and 1970. While such analyses often prove insightful, fixation on the heroism of '68 threatens to elide the constellation of far-left, militant struggles that continued throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90's - most notably in Italy and Germany - supplying a vital link between the New Left and the decentralized revolutionary projects of the present. In this discussion, we will examine the writings of theorists whose thinking has been shaped by the spirit of these autonomous insurgencies, with particular attention paid to theoretical work that is grounded in contemporary global struggle. Primary Readings: Paolo Virno, A Grammar of the Multitude (Those who cannot read the entire text should concentrate on Day One of the seminar.) John Holloway, Change the World without Taking Power (Chapter 4) (Those who are short on time should begin at the beginning and advance as far as possible into the chapter.) Massimo De Angelis, The Beginning of History: Value Struggles and Global Capital (Part IV) Secondary Readings: Andre Gorz, Strategy for Labor (Chapter 4) (Key passages include pp. 88-94 and pp. 94-99.) George Katsiaficas, The Subversion of Politics (Chapter 3) This is part of an ongoing series of events: Work against Work A series of discussions, presentations, and participations aiming to understand the changing nature of work in our time and in history. All events approach work as a complex activity through which we may be utterly debased or magnificently elevated, through which we may destroy the world—or revolutionize it. All events take place on Thursdays at 7:30 PM in the Mess Hall Session 1: Jan. 17th – The Legacy of the “Ultraleft,” Part I: Left-Wing Communism in the Wake of WWI This version of Left theory and practice, advocating democracy through workers councils and an uncompromising rejection of bourgeois political methods, is often appealed to as a way to escape the pitfalls of the Stalinization of Marxist and Left politics. But it is rarely closely examined. We will take a critical and historical approach to these movements, attempting to understand them in their moment, understand what was revolutionary about them in that moment, and critically appropriate that which may still be revolutionary and may inform our contemporary left politics. We do not arrive at these texts with a dogma and are open to all directions that the discussion might lead us. This is a process of critical exploration. Session 2: Feb. 21st – Green Collar Jobs: Environmental Opportunity and the Labor Movement The mainstreaming of the environmental movement and the push toward an economy based on clean energy is leading the way toward the growth of "green collar jobs." What makes a job "green collar?" How many jobs will there be and where will they be found?  How can we ensure that these jobs will go to those who need jobs the most and provide a pathway out of poverty?  What is the role of Labor in growing these jobs and what impact could these jobs have on the Labor movement?  This presentation will attempt to provide an overview of current thinking, explore local, regional, and national research into the economic benefits of green collar jobs, and provide resources for those thinking about entering the green collar workforce or organizing green collar workers. Presented by Gregory Ehrendreich Session 3: March 6th – Film: "Finally Got the News" A documentary about the League of Revolutionary Black workers inside and outside of auto factories in Detroit, and their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, would respond to workers' problems. After Party Benegit for Finding Our Roots @ 6748 N. Newgard. Session 4: March 13th – The Legacy of the “Ultraleft,” Part II: Workerists and Gauchistes around 1968 The rebirth of global radicalism in the 1960s is best known by the image of a hippie counter-culture and a “New Left” student movement which (as it is popularly understood) had little interest in work or the working class. Some of the most important radical activity of the period, however, can be placed in the tradition of the “Left-Wing Communist” analysis of capitalism and its call for working-class self-activity and worker control. This discussion will focus on the “Workerists” (“Operaisti”) in Italy and the variety of “ultraleft” (gauchiste) tendencies that combined in the student-worker uprising across France in 1968. The goal is to understand each tradition in its own right and at the same time to understand their mutual relation and their place history. They are treated both as historical products and as theories worthy of consideration for practice today. Session 5: April 3rd – Anarcho-syndicalism and Shipyard resitance: The CNT in Puerto Real, Spain The history of a large strike of shipyard workers in Spain against closure. An important feature of this strike was not just the high level of militance but the active involvement of the local community and the directly democratic way the struggle was organized. Session 6: April 10th – The Labor of Ecology: Film, Presentation: The Northwest Ecosystem Survey Team (N.E.S.T.) - a group of forest defenders committed to protecting the habitat of rare species associated with old growth and late successional forests. NEST enforces environmental protections built into the Northwest Forest Plan (NWP). And: The Fox - Born in Aurora, Illinois, Philips was moticated by the environmental movement in the 1960s. He began a campaign of sabotage first plugging a sewage outfall after seeing dead ducks in the Fox River. In the next few years, his activism included plugging sewer outlets, placing caps on top of smoke stacks, leaving skunks on the doorsteps of the owners of polluting companies and, in one case, transporting 50 pounds of sewage from Lake Michigan into the reception room of the company that discharged it. June 12th – Hobohemia A presentation about the community of radical artists and intellectuals formed by Hobos and other migrant and occasional workers in twentieth-century North America. Given by Franklin Rosemont, author and editor of many books on the subject. The series is co-organized by the 49th St. Underground, Finding Our Roots, and members of the Industrial Workers of the World. See the bottom of this page for links to texts we have discussed at earlier events. Contact southsideanticap(at)riseup.net for more details. To participate in our online discussions, come here. Past Events Centering the Margin: Chicago Theory and Practice in Action Thursday, May 1, 4 PM at the New World Resource Center (1300 N. Western) What is precarity? Can Chicago activism benefit from it? A new and irregularly held series that will explore and crystallize the Chicago progressive/radical community's formulation of theory, strategy, and application. A central theoretical idea or topic will guide the discussion, with the intent of exploring what that idea/topic means to Chicago activism and whether there is a strategic usefulness to it. A social and friendly atmosphere will be stressed, where the intent is to foster non-hierarchical forms of debate and organization. Co-sponsored with precarity : chicago and Finding Our Roots. March 13th – The Legacy of the “Ultraleft,” Part II: Workerists and Gauchistes around 1968 7:30pm (bring food to share) at the Mess Hall (6932 N. Glenwood; 'Morse' stop on the Red Line; 773-465-4033) The rebirth of global radicalism in the 1960s is best known by the image of a hippie counter-culture and a “New Left” student movement which (as it is popularly understood) had little interest in work or the working class. Some of the most important radical activity of the period, however, can be placed in the tradition of the “Left-Wing Communist” analysis of capitalism and its call for working-class self-activity and worker control. This discussion will focus on the “Workerists” (“Operaisti”) in Italy and the variety of “ultraleft” (gauchiste) tendencies that combined in the student-worker uprising across France in 1968. The goal is to understand each tradition in its own right and at the same time to understand their mutual relation and their place history. They are treated both as historical products and as theories worthy of consideration for practice today. Central texts for discussion: Harry Cleaver: "Introduction" to Reading Capital Politically; also here Read especially pp. 51-70, an overview of the theoretical insights of the Italian New Left (operaismo); and for those very short on time, read p. 63. Daniel Cohn Bendit, Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative "Introduction", Section on "The Workers", Section on "The State", and "Conclusion" Other readings the provide a broader picture of the tendencies discussed: Mario Tronti, "The Struggle against Labor" Cornelius Castoriadis, "the Proletariat and Organization" Raoul Vaneigem, The Revolution in Everyday Life, Ch. 5 and Ch. 21 Enragés-Situationist International Committee, Council for Maintaining the Occupations "Address to all Workers" Further texts on workersism/autonomism and from Socialisme ou barbarie are available here, here, and here. Further texts from the Situationists and working-class mobilization are available here, here, here, and here. Feb. 21st – Green Collar Jobs: Environmental Opportunity and the Labor Movement 7:30pm (bring food to share) at the Mess Hall (6932 N. Glenwood; 'Morse' stop on the Red Line; 773-465-4033) The mainstreaming of the environmental movement and the push toward an economy based on clean energy is leading the way toward the growth of "green collar jobs." What makes a job "green collar?" How many jobs will there be and where will they be found?  How can we ensure that these jobs will go to those who need jobs the most and provide a pathway out of poverty?  What is the role of Labor in growing these jobs and what impact could these jobs have on the Labor movement?  This presentation will attempt to provide an overview of current thinking, explore local, regional, and national research into the economic benefits of green collar jobs, and provide resources for those thinking about entering the green collar workforce or organizing green collar workers. Presented by Gregory Ehrendreich Policy Associate, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Steering Committee, Chicago Green Collar Jobs Initiative Chicago General Membership Branch, IWW Left Wing Communism in the Wake of WWI Jan. 17, 7:30pm (bring food to share) at the Mess Hall (6932 N. Glenwood; 'Morse' stop on the Red Line; 773-465-4033) The 49th St. Underground would like to announce an evening discussion of the Left Communist and Council Communist traditions. This version of Left theory and practice is often appealed to as a way to escape the pitfalls of the Stalinization of Marxist and Left politics. However, we have found that it is rarely closely examined. As always, we will take a critical and historical approach to these movements, attempting to understand them in their moment, understand what was revolutionary about them in that moment, and critically appropriate that which may still be revolutionary and inform our conteporary left politics. We do not arrive at these texts with a dogma and are open to all directions that the discussion might lead us. This is a process of critical exploration. Note: We have included a wide array of links to texts. If you find yourself interested and with a great deal of free time, read them all. However, if you are like most people you don't have the time to read all these articles--even as short as some of them are--, so please read a variety of articles and come prepared to present and to discuss what you have read. (The historical study by Gerber and the articles by Mattick might be the best place to start.) Texts: John Gerber: From Left Radicalism to Council Communism Rosa Luxemburg (Poland/Germany): The Mass Strike (1906) Anton Pannekoek (Netherlands): Marxist Theory and Revolutionary Tactics (1912) and World Revolution and Communist Tactics (1920) Alexandra Kollantai (Russia): The Workers Opposition (1921) Shliapnikov (Russia): Theses of the Worker's Opposition (1921) Karl Korsch (Germany and America): Why I am a Marxist (1934) and Lenin as Philosopher (1938) Paul Mattick (Germany and America): Council Communism (1939); Spontaneity and Organization (1949); and Anti-Bolshevist Communism in Germany (1949) Otto Ruehle (Germany): The Revolution is not a Party Affair (1920) and Report from Moscow (1920) Vladimir Lenin (Russia): Left Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder (1920) Hermann Gorter (Netherlands/Germany): Open Letter to Comrade Lenin (1920) Franz Pfempfert (Germany): The "Infantile Disorder" and the Third International (1920) Amadeo Bordiga (Italy): Is this the Time to Form "Soviets"? (1919); Toward the Establishment of Workers' Councils in Italy (1920); The Communist Left in the Third International (1926); Letter to Karl Korsch (1926) Those of you interested might want to pursue this tradition further at this site: Kurasje: Council Communist Archive Series: Labor and Neighborhoods: Organizing in Theory and Practice in Rogers Park, Chicago 2nd Thursday of each month (and more) Come at 7:30 for a dinner luck (bring food to share), at 8pm for the event At the Mess Hall (6932 N. Glenwood; 'Morse' stop on the Red Line; 773-465-4033) 1st session, Sept. 13 - Film: Harlan Co., USA 1976, Barbara Kopple (104 minutes) Barbara Kopple's searing 1976 documentary covers a strike between miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, and the Eastover Mining Company. Kopple shows poverty in Appalachia, violence by hired company hired thugs, and the ravages of black lung disease. The strike was part of the last major upsurge of the American working class -- a wave of fights that ended with the concession contracts in auto and the crushing of the PATCO strike in the early 80's. The movie has renewed relevance in the wake of the Crandall Creek and Sago mining catastrophes of the last few years -- not to be missed. 2d session, Sept. 27 - Presentation: "Creating Autonomous Neighborhood Associations" 3d session, Oct. 11 - Film: Recuperada and Recuperada dos 2004 and 2006, Julie Lastmann (85 minutes together) Julie Lastmann went to Argentina to film workers at the factories "recuperated" (taken over) after the political crisis in 2001. The result is a testament to workers' ingenuity and resolve. No bells or whistles, this film is primarily devoted to interviews with workers at four factories: two printing presses, a breadstick plant, and Zanon Tile (at 350 workers, the largest of the occupied plants). They describe how they restarted the factories, and the issues that face them -- both inside the plant and in connecting with the larger society. Interviews with a movement lawyer, the head of the association of workers cooperatives, and a Galeano-style economist add some commentary and context. The movie's sequel is a short recap filmed after a two year interval (with a couple new faces): there are new issues, there are old issues, but all the factories from the first film remain under worker control. 4th session, Oct. 27 (a Saturday) - Presentation: "An Introduction to the I.W.W." 5th session, Nov. 8 - Film: Five Factories 2006, Dario Azzelini (90 minutes) Workers in some shuttered factories in Venezuela, inspired by the cooperatively run factories in Argentina, took over and reopened their workplaces. This being Chavez's Bolivarian Republic, the takeover had a different character, which is evident both from the stories the workers tell and Azzelini's narrative style. The titular five factories were reactivated with the government's permission and involvement. Still, the film provides a window onto this interesting phenomenon. 6th session, Dec. 13 - The Past & Future of Militant Anti-Capitalist Street Protest in North America Anti-capitalist sentiment erupted in 1999 with the disruption of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. However, the massive movement against globalization following and inspired by these protests has largely declined. With emphasis on the recent outbursts against globalization from 1999 to 2003 and anti-war activity from 2003 to the present, the presenter will critique the "summit hopping" model of the anti-globalizaiton period, but also discuss how the past can inform the future of anti-capitalist organizing. Eyeing the expected mass demonstrations against the Republican National Convention in September 2008, we hope to discuss the how possiblities contained in these demonstrations can be used to build a radical movement against capitalism and state. Recommended reading: How to Fight a War: A letter to young & aging radicals Series co-organized with members of the Industrial Workers of the World in Rogers Park, and with the Mess Hall Discussion Series on Soviet Bloc Society, Part V: Toward What Revolution? 1968-1989 Weds., Sept. 12, 6:00 to 9:00PM 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 Chicago IL, 60603 USA (the office of News & Letters) The period from 1968 to 1989 marks the birth of the "dissident" movement, which arguably made the first attempt to critique Soviet-society "from below," rather than as a loyal opposition within the Communist Party. This opened new possibilities for radical democratic change, especially when dissident intellectuals joined with a mass movement like Poland's "Solidarity." At the same time, the dissidents began to move away from many of the radical positions that their predecessors had developed. After moving away from Marxism, many moved away from progressive politics altogether, helping to pave the way for the thoroughly dissappointing revolutions of 1989-1991. As we conclude our series on Societ-type society, we will look at both the potential and the limitations contained in dissident thought and practice--which, although they are rarely studied (if often heroicized), have done a great deal to shape the world in which we live today. Central text: Ferenc Feher, "Dictatorship of Needs": a concise (10-page) analysis of the late-Soviet-type social system, expressing many ideas that were fundamental to dissident thought throughout the region at this time. Additional texts, for those interested: - Katherine Verdery, "Theorizing Socialism": a very clear synthesis of many critical analyses of the Soviet System, written "after the fall" by an anthropologist - Gyorgy Markus, "Eastern European Societies and the Western Left" (from the book Dictatorship over Needs, co-written with Feher and Agnes Heller): a critique of Western attempts to understand Soviet-type societies, including a critique of theories of "state capitalism" - David Ost, "Communist and Post-Communist Experiences of Class": illuminates the relationship between society, enterprises, managers, and workers in Poland, which in many ways ran counter to what one would expect in a market-capitalist society - Andre Gorz, "Socialism and the Motorcar" Schedule of the discussion: 1st presentation: Eric T on "The Vanishing Hectare," by K. Verdery: providing ethnographic background on late-Soviet-era society, with a case study of rural Rumania (6:00 to 6:30) 2d presentation: Parker E on The Alternative in Eastern Europe by Rudolf Bahro: an original critical reponse to the Soviet system (in East Germany) (6:30 to 7:00) break (7:00 to 7:10) 3d presentation: Joe GF on "Anti-political Politics" by Vaclav Havel: a very typical dissident piece from the most famous dissident (7:10 to 7:40) 4th presentation: Peter H on Agnes Heller: on the "Dictatorship over Needs" (7:40 to 8:10) General discussion (8:10 until 9:00; can be shortened if time is not needed) Critical Responses to the Neo-Liberal/Post-Modern Era Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 6:30-9:30 PM 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 Chicago IL, 60603 USA (the office of News & Letters) In this forum we will try to grasp our present form of capitalism in its various guises from post-modernism to fundamentalism, from neo-liberal cosmopolitanism to left-nationalism, from imperial triumphalism to particularistic isolationism. We will take as a starting point two historical ruptures 1968 and 1973 and analyze changes in capitalism since that time, beginning with the seventies and early eighties. The goal of this set of meetings is to theorize the present with particular attention to grounding contemporary ideologies in the socio-economic transformations since '68/'73 and criticizing the contemporary triumverate of antinomies: post-modernism/religious essentialism, Neo-liberalism/Left- nationalism or Chavismo, and Neo-Conservative Imperialism/Isolationism. We hope to develop, through these meetings, a political analysis adequate to this new regime of capital accumulation. The discussion will be orgainzed around a single framing article that will be complimented by a number of 5-10 presentations of key texts that we hope will help us in grasping the problem of global-neo-liberal capital and its ideological manifestations. Main Text Moishe Postone, "Contemporary Historical Transformations: Beyond Postindustrial Theory and Neo-Marxism" (in Current Perspectives in Social Theory Vol. 19, 1999, pp. 3-53.) Meeting Schedule: Presentations: 1. Henri Lefebvre, _The Explosion_ New York: Monthly Review Press, 1969. 2. Herbert Marcuse, "The Historical Fate of Bourgeois Democracy" (in Towards a Critical Theory of Society: The Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse, vol. 2, Edited by Douglas Kellner, London; New York : Routledge, 2001, pp. 163-186). 3. David Harvey, _The Conditions of Post-Modernity_ Oxford [England] ; Cambridge, Mass., USA : Blackwell, 1989. Discussion Break 4. Andre Gorz, _Farewell to the Working Class_ Boston: South End Press, 1982. 5. Frederic Jameson, "Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism" (New Left Review I/146, July-August 1984, pp. 53-92). Discussion Discussion Series on Soviet Bloc Society, Part IV: Reform or Revolution? 1953-1968 Time and date: Tuesday, July 10th, 6pm Place: 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 (the office of News & Letters) We continue to ask 2 central questions in this series: 1) How should we understand the changing social system in the Soviet sphere, both internally and as it relates to the world at large? 2) How was this social system critically understood and opposed by people living within it; and what forms of opposition were possible but not realized? Texts presented will include some written at a critical distance from the time and place in question, and others written by people critiquing the Soviet system from within. One of the tasks of this discussion will be to compare "the 60s" in the Soviet sphere with the "the 60s" in the West and in other parts of the world. What can we learn from the developing left/opposition in the Soviet sphere, as it relates both to the Soviet system and to the global left of this period? This will help lead into our future discussions on the changes in contemporary capitalism after 1968, and a possible discussion on the 1960s or 1968 in the West. More generally, this can help us to understand the current state of capitalism and anti-capitalism, which bear the legacy of these developments. Central readings: - Jacek Kuron and Karol Modzelewski, Open Letter to the Party: An important historical document of opposition to Communist Party rule in Poland; a critique of the system and a program for revolution from a relatively traditional, but still radical and original, Marxist-Leninist position. - Karel Kosik, "Our Current Crisis": An analysis of Czechoslovakia and the world during a critical moment in 1968; written by one of the age's most original Marxist humanists. Additional readings (to be presented or useful as background material): - Herbert Marcuse, *Soviet Marxism* (a critique of Soviet ideology in the late 1950s) - Peter Hudis, "The 1956 Hungarian Revolution with Eyes of Today" - Leszek Kolakowski, "The Concept of the Left" (another prominent Marxist humanist) - Ron Suny, The Soviet Experiment "Khrushchev and the Politics of Reform" (for historical background) Series on Soviet Society, Part III: Purges, War, and Stalin's last years Friday, May 18th, 6pm 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 (the office of News & Letters) With this discussion we continue our attempt to understand the Soviet Union in terms of its underlying structural character and at the same time as it changed through history. The events of the period in question--the Spanish Revolution and Civil War, World War II, the beginings of the Cold War--offer us a chance to look at the role of the Soviet Union in its international context. Readings: We choose one text as a central background reading. In this case the text is fairly long, so we encourage everyone attending to look at it, but to read more carefully the sections of it that appear more interesting. It is a historical overview of the whole period in question, from the mid 1930s to the mid 1950s: Ron Suny, The Soviet Experiment "The Great Purges", on Communism and fascism, "The Great Fatherland War", "The Cold War", "Late Stalinism" Other texts discussed: Herbert Marcuse, Soviet Marxism Peter Hudis, "The 1956 Hungarian Revolution with Eyes of Today" Series on Soviet Society, Part II: What Was Stalinism? Friday, April 13, 6pm, 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 (the office of News & Letters) With this meeting we continue our short discussion series on the history and social character of Soviet-type society. After discussing the origins of the Soviet Union in our first discussion, we move now to the system as it consolidated under Stalin in the 1930s. Without excluding any topic from discussion, we hope to focus on seeking and understanding the overarching logic of the system. Within that framework, we will begin with short presentations on several aspects of this logic (the economy, the arts, everyday life, Stalin himself). As always, our goal is critique with a view toward understanding the situation of politics and society today. But first we will try to understand the system as it functioned in its own terms (or, depending on one's interpretation, as it failed to function, failed to consolidate itself, failed to become a coherent system). All are welcome to attend, even those who did not attend our first session. But please RSVP to southsideanticap(at)riseup.net so that we know how many people to expect. And come prepared to participate actively. Readings: All people attending should read this central text, which is short but full of information: David Shearer, "Stalinism". Other texts to be discussed and presented include: Victor Serge, Russia Twenty Years After; Sheila Fitzpatrick, Everyday Stalinism; Cornelius Castoriadis, "From the Analysis of Bureaucracy to Workers Management"; L. A. Leontiev, et al., "The Teaching of Economics in the Soviet Union; Leon Trotsky, "The Class Nature of the Soviet State" What Was Soviet Society and How Did It Come to Be? Friday, March 9, 7pm, 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 (the office of News & Letters) An in-depth discussion of the origins of the Soviet Union and the significance of its social and political system in the 20th century and today. The discussion will revolve around chs. 5, 6 & 7, 8 & 9, and 10 & 11 of Arthur Rosenberg's History of Bolshevism. The meeting will begin with short presentations on readings that offer several different critical perspectives on early Soviet history. Please write to southsideanticap@riseup.net if you would like to attend. This will be the first of a short series of discussions that attempt both to understand Soviet-type society in its own terms and context, and to grasp its significance for us today. Please come prepared to participate actively in what will be a kind of workshop for us to develop our various critical perspectives on this topic. Our aim is that this be neither a purely academic discussion nor a properly political meeting, but a place for people to work out different approaches to society and politics. Possibilities that are not yet Join us for an informal discussion of Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology by David Graeber. Tuesday January 9th at 6pm Harper Hall, room# 125 University of Chicago 1116 E. 59th St (on the Midway), Chicago reach by the Metra Electric or CTA bus #s 2, 6, 28X, or 55 Breaking with various orthodoxies in the academic world as well as much of leftist politics, this book discusses the possibility of radical social change the role of intellectuals in helping bring about that change without taking control of the movements they serve. While anarchism and anthropology serve as the two central points of Graeber's argument, the issues should be of interest to people in many walks of life and politics who share an interest in changing the world. Everyone is invited. Text available in many bookstores or free online at Prickly Paradigm Press Co-sponsored by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the 49th St. Underground of Chicago, with the help of the University of Chicago Anthropology Students Association Presentation and discussion of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution jointly sponsored by the 49th St. Underground and News & Letters Monday, Nov. 13, 6:30pm News & Letters office 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 (near Loop "L" stop "Adams and Wabash") (Chicago) Presentation by Kevin Anderson, author of Foucault and the Iranian Revolution Discussion will follow Participants are encouraged to read an article on the revolution by Raya Dunayevskaya, and to come to the meeting with comments or critiques. Discussion of PARTICIPATORY ECONOMICS Wed. October 25th, 6:30 PM GOURMAND Cafe- 728 S. Dearborn, Chicago (near the Red Line Harrison and Blue Line Jackson stops) Join 49th St. Underground and the Chicago Area Participatory Economics Society for a discussion of Participatory Econonomics (Parecon) in context at Gourmand Cafe. Our brief reading is "In Search of Economic Justice" by Steven Shalom, a review of Pareconomist Robin Hahnel's latest work, and Hahnel's response. Please come even if you can't do the reading. Why you should come: "Participatory Economics" is a vision of post-capitalist society developed by Robin Hahnel and Michael Albert, a founder of Z Magazine and Z-Net. It has been fairly influential among alter-globalization activists, and would deserve our consideration for that reason alone. But it's also intersting from more general theoretical perspectives: What is the importance of utopian speculation for us today? How should a post-capitalist society be set up and how does our vision of it relate to our political practice today? Michael Albert also has criticized Soviet ideology and Marxism itself, claiming the need for non-Marxist emancipatory politics in order to avoid letting a "managerial class" take control of the next revolution. Agree or disagree, it should be an interesting discussion. Screening of film RECUPERADA ("Occupied") By Julie Lastmann About worker-controlled occupied factories in Argentina. Tues., Sept. 12, 7pm at Decima Musa, 1901 S. Loomis, Chicago "L" stop: Blue Line "18th St.", CTA buses #18 and #21 Suggested donation of $5 - $10 to help defray our costs (No one turned away!) See here for more information. Agitational Excursion to the Indiana Dunes Sunday, May 14th, 9:45 am, Randolph Metra Station (Chicago) Join the 49th St. Underground Sunday, May 14th for a trip to the foment revolution in the best park easily accessible from Chicago. Meet at 9:45 am in the Randolph Metra Station (Randolph and Michigan). The South Shore Line will whisk us away at 10 am. If you miss the train, you will have to find the nearest boxcar, which might be filled with coal or slag heading toward the steelworks in Gary, Indiana. Escape the commercial wasteland of Chicago, manoeuver through the industrial wasteland of Gary, to find at last this lost, hilly utopia rising up above the smokestacks and skyscrapers of the Midwest. We can reflect on what a better world will be, we can leave propaganda in the boxes that usually contain park maps, and we can make ourselves strong and healthy for the revolution--all at once. In addition, there will be an opportunity to perform an agitational piece entitled "Indiana Dunes and the Raiders of the Lost Revolution." May Day! March and general strike for Immigrant workers rights! And for all workers' rights! And for a better world for all! And against the bosses who are trying to take over the movement for immigrant rights! Find the march before noon in Union Park (Ashland and Lake, Chicago, IL) and later at Grant Park, and still later Haymarket Square. Don't miss it! Protest against the Occupation of Iraq And (for us) against all undemocratic occupations. Saturday, March 18th, in Chicago at 3pm in Union Park, and at 7pm along Michigan Ave. March and general strike for immigrant rights The 49th St. underground participated in this rising struggle for a world without borders Friday, March 10, beginning noon in Chicago's Union Park Between 100,000 and 1,000,000 people are estimated to have come to the march, including between 1 and 10 49th St. Undergrounders. An article has been written about the event. Film showing and discussion: Land and Freedom on the Spanish Revolution and Civil War Sat. Dec. 10, 6pm, 5404 S. Ridgewood (Hyde Park, Chicago, near CTA bus route #6) Film showing/watching: La haine (Hate) with discussion of the current (revolt? rebellion? riot? revolution? violence? hope? despair? should we revolt too? or criticize? or turn the revolt into something else? general strike until they fix this messed-up world? keep dancing while the carnival lasts?) situation in France Sat. Nov. 19, 5:17 PM 2717 N. Sawyer Ave., apt. 2. (Chicago) (just north of the Blue Line Logan Square stop) Bring food and/or drink Venezuela Rising Date: Saturday, November 12, 3:30-6:00pm Venue: New World Resource Center, 1300 N. Western Ave. Panel: John Reinman (Rank and File leader of '99 Bay Area Wildcat Strike, Expelled Union Member, Labor's Militant Voice); David Bholat (University of Chicago Student, World Youth Festival Participant); Christina Perez (Assit. Professor of Sociology, Dominican Univ.); and more... Downloadable flier: in English Flier text: Is the Boss continually on your back? Are you tired of what's going on in the workplace? Sick of having half your paycheck or more go to health insurance? No insurance at all? Worried that at any moment a natural disaster will destroy your livelihood? Then come to a forum on Venezuela to hear some of the solutions the people of Venezuela are discussing and doing! Speakers will be drawing on their recent experiences traveling in VZ and their dialogues with the people. Some things we're going to be talking about: - What is the period VZ finds itself in and what is meant by the Bolivarian Revolution? - What concrete gains has the Revolution made (i.e. literacy, healthcare, cooperative movement, worker organizing) and what is the perspective for the future? What challenges and problems remain? - And more generally, do the events in VZ offer us solutions here and now in the USA? $5 suggested donation, no one turned away The Capitalist Lesson Plan in Chicago Date: Wednesday, Oct. 26th Time: 7-9pm Venue: News & Letters office, 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 Directions: The nearest El-train stop is Madison and Wabash, in the Loop. Speakers: Alyson Kennis, Earl Silbar, and others Downloadable flier: in English, en español Flier text: We will discuss the impact of Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, Daley’s Renaissance 2010 plan and military recruitment in the schools of Chicago. We will talk about the rationale behind these, what opportunities exist for change and what the response has been from teachers, students and parents. At the same time we will discuss more generally, the role of education in contemporary capitalist society and how this role is changing. Protest the Chicago Minuteman Project Saturday, October 15 2005 Rally at 7:30 AM, March at 8:15 AM Congregate at the Southeast corner of Olympic Park (Olympic Park is on Ridge Street just north of Euclid in Arlington Heights, IL) March to the Christian Liberty Academy (Christian Liberty academy is at 502 W. Euclid) Picket until they go home! Or until you get too tired. Agitational fliers are here and here. Readings from our Reading Group: We provide the following texts for those internauts who might like to read along with us during their travels through cyberspace. We welcome your comments and will gladly open up our circle a bit for you to join in. (Write to us at southsideanticap(at)riseup.net or join our online discussion list here). We provide the texts here without the discussion that accompanied them, but be assured that the discussion was lively! The texts have been chosen by many different people and do not form a coherent "class"--it is up to us all to create coherence out of them. Series 1: Scouring the corners of radical intellectual history First session: Mario Tronti, "The Strategy of the Refusal" Second session: V. I. Lenin, "Should Revolutionaries Work in Reactionary Trade Unions?" and " Should we Participate in Bourgeois Parliaments?" from Left-Wing Communism: an Infantile Disorder Third session: Paul and Percival Goodman, selections from Communitas Fourth session: G. Plekhanov, "The Meaning of Hegel" Fifth session: Gajo Petrovic, "Dialectical Materialism and the Philosophy of Karl Marx", "Marxism versus Stalinism", and "What is Freedom?" from Marx in the Mid-Twentieth Century ; and Mihailo Markovic "The Hegelian and the Marxist Dialectic" Supplement to the fifth session: Mihailo Markovic, "Philosophical Foundations of the Idea of Self-Management"; Mihailo Markovic, "Economism or Humanization of the Economy"; Raya Dunaevskaya "Marx's Humanism Today"; and Louis Althusser, "Marxism and Humanism" Sixth session: L. D. Trotsky, chapters 1-3 from The Revolution Betrayed Seventh session: Trotsky, chapters 4-6 from The Revolution Betrayed Eighth session: Moishe Postone, "History and Helplessness: Mass Mobilization and Contemporary Forms of Anticapitalism" Ninth session: Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capitalism, chapter 12 on "The Modern Corporation" and chapter 15 on "Clerical Work" Tenth session: Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch Eleventh session: Steven Shalom, "In Search of Economic Justice", a review of participatory economist Robin Hahnel's latest work, and Hahnel's response Twelfth session: David Graeber, Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology Series 2: What Was Soviet Society and Why Does It Matter? First session (1917-1928), central text: Arthur Rosenberg, A History of Bolshevism, chs. 5, 6 & 7, 8 & 9, and 10 & 11 Also discussed: Guy Debord, "The Proletariat as Subject and as Representation"; L. D. Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed; Rudi Dutschke, "Attempt to place Lenin on his feet: on the half-Asian and Western European paths to socialism."; and Friedrich Pollock, Experiments in Economic Planning in Russia 1917-27 Second session (1928-1936), central text: David Shearer, "Stalinism" Also discussed: Victor Serge, Russia Twenty Years After; Sheila Fitzpatrick, Everyday Stalinism; Cornelius Castoriadis, "From the Analysis of Bureaucracy to Workers Management"; L. A. Leontiev, et al., "The Teaching of Economics in the Soviet Union; Leon Trotsky, "The Class Nature of the Soviet State" Third Session (1936-1953): Ron Suny, The Soviet Experiment"The Great Purges", "The Great Fatherland War", "The Cold War", "Late Stalinism" Fourth Session (1953-1968): Central texts: Jacek Kuron and Karol Modzelewski, Open Letter to the Party; Karel Kosik, Karel Kosik, "Our Current Crisis" Additional readings: Herbert Marcuse, Soviet Marxism (a critique of Soviet ideology in the late 1950s); Peter Hudis, "The 1956 Hungarian Revolution with Eyes of Today"; Leszek Kolakowski, "The Concept of the Left" (another prominent Marxist humanist); Ron Suny, The Soviet Experiment "Khrushchev and the Politics of Reform" Fifth Session (1968-1989): Central text: Ferenc Feher, "Dictatorship of Needs" Additional readings: Katherine Verdery, "Theorizing Socialism"; Gyorgy Markus, "Eastern European Societies and the Western Left" and "Corporate Property and Command Economy"(from the book Dictatorship over Needs, co-written with Feher and Agnes Heller); David Ost, "Communist and Post-Communist Experiences of Class"; Andre Gorz, "Socialism and the Motorcar"Katherine Verdery, "The Vanishing Hectare"; Rudolf Bahro, The Alternative in Eastern Europe; Vaclav Havel, "Anti-political Politics"; Ivan Szelenyi and George Konrad, "Models of Economic Integration and the social structure" Series 3: Legacy of the "Ultraleft" First Session: Left Wing Communism in the Wake of WWI Texts: John Gerber, From Left Radicalism to Council Communism Rosa Luxemburg (Poland/Germany), The Mass Strike (1906) Anton Pannekoek (Netherlands), Marxist Theory and Revolutionary Tactics (1912) and World Revolution and Communist Tactics (1920) Alexandra Kollantai (Russia), The Workers Opposition (1921) Shliapnikov (Russia), Theses of the Worker's Opposition (1921); Karl Korsch (Germany and America), Why I am a Marxist (1934) and Lenin as Philosopher (1938) Paul Mattick (Germany and US), Council Communism (1939); Spontaneity and Organization (1949); and Anti-Bolshevist Communism in Germany (1949) Otto Ruehle (Germany), The Revolution is not a Party Affair (1920) and Report from Moscow (1920) Vladimir Lenin (Russia), Left Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder (1920) Hermann Gorter (Netherlands/Germany), Open Letter to Comrade Lenin (1920) Franz Pfempfert (Germany), The "Infantile Disorder" and the Third International (1920) Amadeo Bordiga (Italy), Is this the Time to Form "Soviets"? (1919); Toward the Establishment of Workers' Councils in Italy (1920); The Communist Left in the Third International (1926); Letter to Karl Korsch (1926) Additional texts at Kurasje: Council Communist Archive Second Session: Workerists and Gauchistes around 1968 Central texts: Harry Cleaver, "Introduction" to Reading Capital Politically; also here Read especially pp. 51-70, an overview of the theoretical insights of the Italian New Left (operaismo); and for those very short on time, read p. 63. Daniel Cohn Bendit, Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative "Introduction", Section on "The Workers", Section on "The State", and "Conclusion" Other readings: Mario Tronti, "The Struggle against Labor" Cornelius Castoriadis, "the Proletariat and Organization" Raoul Vaneigem, The Revolution in Everyday Life, Ch. 5 and Ch. 21 Enragés-Situationist International Committee, Council for Maintaining the Occupations "Address to all Workers" Further texts on workersism/autonomism and from Socialisme ou barbarie are available here, here, and here. Further texts from the Situationists and working-class mobilization are available here, here, here, and here. Although we don't like the law, we believe that all texts provided here are in accordance with it, as "fair use." Some of them are out of print or difficult to find, and we hope to bring them into the commons for debate, rather than leaving them on dusty library shelves until some new publisher should come along to sell them. But we hope that no profit will be made by anyone copying these texts, or at least that the producers of the texts receive a fair share of it. We oppose private intellectual property as much as we oppose other forms of private property, but we do respect the contributions made by individual authors. Although we generally have little respect for the publishing companies that own copyrights, we will remove any text provided here at the request of the author or (more grudgingly) of the publisher. For some reflections on private intellectual property, written by a couple of our collaborators, come here.