Felix Kreisel
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
World capitalist order, established by the US at the end of World War II and based on its economic hegemony, has crashed and the United States is at the center of economic and political convulsions. The American ruling elite is trying to reverse its long-term economic decline through frenetic military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran and elsewhere, and by exporting its crisis to competitors. Collapse of the Soviet Union and other so-called "socialist" states has exacerbated rivalries among the advanced capitalist countries and flashpoints of future wars are growing around the world.
Contact: Felix Kreisel, NW21-109, 617 253-8625, FJK@MIT.EDU
| Jan/07 | Tue | 05:00PM-07:00PM | 6-120 |
From Greece to the US, capitalism is characterized by permanent budget crises, as global financial institutions drive the various governments to impoverish the working class and reverse social gains of the past century. In response we see an eruption of mass struggles: the anti-budget cut protests in Greece, the Occupy movement, etc. Class struggle to oppose capitalist dictatorship is again the driving force of history.
Felix Kreisel
| Jan/14 | Tue | 05:00PM-07:00PM | 6-120 |
We shall present an understanding of the 1917 Russian Revolution and its place in history, then view a documentary film "Tsar to Lenin", with original footage from the Russian Revolution. The preview can be seen here: http://tsartolenin.com/ The film will be followed by discussion. Suggested reading: Trotsky's "History of the Russian Revolution".
Felix Kreisel
| Jan/23 | Thu | 05:00PM-07:00PM | 6-120 |
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".
Felix Kreisel
| Jan/28 | Tue | 05:00PM-07:00PM | 6-120 |
What is the balance sheet of capitalist restoration in the former Soviet Union 22 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.
Vladimir Volkov, WSWS reporter, St. Petersburg, Russia