Marxism Today, 20 Years Since Its "Collapse"
Felix Kreisel
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
World capitalist order based on American economic hegemony has crashed and the US is at the center of economic and political convulsions. Collapse of the USSR and other "socialist" states has exacerbated rivalries among capitalist countries. The US is trying to reverse its long-term economic decline through frenetic military interventions in Afghanistan and elsewhere and by exporting its crisis to competitors.
Web: http://wsws.org
Contact: Felix Kreisel, 6-120, x3-8625, fjk@mit.edu
Sponsor: Felix Kreisel, NW21-109, 617 253-8625, fjk@mit.edu
Reemergence of class struggle
Felix Kreisel MIT
World banks and markets drive the various national governments to impoverish the working class and reverse social gains of the past century. In response we have seen an eruption of social struggles, from Wisconsin and #Occupy Wall St. to Arab Spring and the anti-budget cut protests in Greece. World politics is dominated by various forms of workers' resistance and rise of class struggle to oppose capitalist dictatorship.
Tue Jan 10, 06-08:00pm, 6-120
From Tzar to Lenin - the Russian Revolution
Felix Kreisel
We shall look at the Russian Revolution of 1917 within the context of the international situation in the early 20th century. How did the revolution come about? What was the outlook and the program of the Bolsheviks? What alternative paths existed for Russia in 1917? Suggested reading: Trotsky's "History of the Russian Revolution" and "Permanent Revolution".
Tue Jan 17, 06-08:00pm, 6-120
Capitalist Russia Today
Vladimir Volkov, WSWS reporter, St. Petersburg, Russia
What is the balance sheet of capitalist restoration in the former Soviet Union 20 years after its demise? While high oil and gas prices have propped up the Putin regime and the energy exporting Russian economy, its overall health is fragile. We shall look at the trends in the economy and society, the recent election protests and see where Russia and the other successor states are heading.
Tue Jan 24, 06-08:00pm, 6-120
Stalinism vs. Socialism
Felix Kreisel
We shall review the history of the Soviet state over its 74-year lifetime, examine its internal contradictions, great strides forward, achievements and bitter defeats, the ruling Stalinist regime's crimes against its own people and its betrayal of socialism. We shall examine the collapse of the USSR and suggest lessons for the future. Suggested reading: Leon Trotsky's "The Revolution Betrayed".
Tue Jan 31, 06-08:00pm, 6-120
Latest update: 20-Dec-2011
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