IAP 2001 Activity

Progress and Decline: Issues in Contemporary Marxism Felix Kreisel Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below) Limited to 50 participants. Participants welcome at individual sessions (series) Prereq: Read the World Socialist Web Site at www.wsws.org Progress and decline of civilization, issues in contemporary Marxism. Web: http://web.mit.edu/fjk/Public/iap/ Contact: Felix Kreisel, 8-105, x3-8625, fjk@mit.edu Sponsor: Felix Kreisel, NW21-207, 617 253-8625, fjk@psfc.mit.edu Russia in the Year 2001: Collapse of a Society Felix Kreisel Last summer's sinking of the Kursk submarine and the fire which destroyed the Ostankino TV tower in Moscow highlighted the scope of the industrial and economic collapse of Russia. The catastrophic mortality rates and the plunging birth rate indicate its social decline. We shall examine the real state of affairs in the former USSR. Thu Jan 11, 06-08:00pm, 8-105 Necessity and Decline in the Roman Empire This lecture will examine the rise and decline of the Roman world from a Marxist viewpoint. Was the decline of the Roman Empire inevitable? We will discuss Aristotle's, Hegel's, and Marx's dialectical concepts of necessity and accident as they were manifested by a thousand years of class struggle; and the passage of the Roman world from a state of relative equality among citizens in the early Republic to the extensive social inequality of the Late Roman Empire and the collapse of the Imperial state. Thu Jan 18, 06-08:00pm, 8-105 The 1917 Socialist Revolution from an Historical Perspective Felix Kreisel The Russian revolution of 1917 can only be understood as a world historical phenomenon, not in isolation. Could socialism be built in Russia, and what was the program of the Russian Marxists? Why Stalin and the terror? What next for Russia, China, and the other "emerging" states? Suggested reading: L. Trotsky, "The Revolution Betrayed" Thu Jan 25, 06-08:00pm, 8-105 The Value of Utopia This lecture will discuss the legacy of pre-Marxian socialism, ranging from ancient and Mediaeval ideal worlds to the socialist Utopias of the 19th century. What significance do the old dreams of a better world have for the 21st century? What sociological basis did these ideas have in their respective societies? We propose that a study of Utopias can contribute to a scientific understanding of the world today and to the prospect of creating a classless society. Thu Feb 1, 06-08:00pm, 8-105 The Crisis of Contemporary Science and Dialectics Alex Steinberg, MA in philosophy. This talk is about the intellectual crisis that modern science has engendered. What is the crisis about? We'll explore the historical background and discuss why modern scientific thinking is still stuck in the conceptual apparatus created by Galileo and Newton three centuries ago. What are the implications of the new developments in science for philosophy, for contemporary physics, biology, and the social sciences? We will point to a possible resolution of the crisis. Fri Feb 2, 06-08:00pm, 8-105 Latest update: 04-Nov-2000

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