March 4, 2011Dear Friends of MHI,It's great to see revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East, and workers' resistance to attacks on unions in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the U.S. and in Europe. We can't think of a better time to invite you to our coming discussions in New York City. Those of you who can't get here will be able to view videos on our website afterwards (http://marxist-humanist-initiative.org). Sat. & Sun. March 19 & 20, we are sponsoring 3 panels at the Left Forum at Pace University in lower Manhattan (http://www.leftforum.org/conference/2011):The Great Recession and its Aftermath: Saturday at 3:00 p.m., Room LHNAndrew Kliman: "The Great Recession and the Persistent Frailty of Capitalist Production"Alan Freeman: "Waking from the Dream: Europe in the Great Recession"Fred Moseley David McNally: "Global Slump, Age of Austerity, and the Growing Resistance"Is Socialism Possible? Part 1: Saturday at 10:00 a.m., Room W623Andrej Grubačić: "Anarchism, or Libertar! ian 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"Is Socialism Possible? Part 2: Sunday at 3:00 p.m., Room W504Michael Albert:"Yes, But Which Socialism?"Andrew Kliman: "Marx's Lower Phase of Communism: Not Another 'Labor Money' Scheme"Cindy MilsteinWe 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). Just after Left Forum, on Tuesday March 22 at 7:00 p.m., we are co-sponsoring (with The New SPACE, http://new-space-nyc.org) a talk by Antti Ronkainen, who is coming here from Finland. His topic will be Crisis, Austerity, and Resistance in the Euro Zone: A View from Finland. A description appears at the end of this letter.Next month, on Wednesday April 13 at 7:00 p.m., we are co-sponsoring Allan Armstrong,! a Scottish thinker-activist, speaking on "Is an Emancipatory Communis
m Possible?" See below. Both these talks will be held in mid-Manhattan, at TRS Inc. Professional Suites, 44 East 32nd Street, 11th floor (between Madison and Park Aves). If you need directions to either Left Forum or TRS, or for any other information about our events, write or call us.We look forward to seeing you! In Solidarity,Anne Jaclard for Marxist-Humanist Initiative* * *Crisis, Austerity, and Resistance in the Euro Zone: A View from FinlandA talk by Antti RonkainenTuesday, March 22nd at 7:00 PMTRS 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 ArmstrongWednesday, April 13th at 7:00 PMTRS, Inc, 44 East 32nd Street, 11th Floor(between Madison & P! ark 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 wi! th 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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