Ecosocialist School 2013

The participants in the school are proposed by the organisations invited by the IIRE, with a maximum of 26 participants.

Arrivals: Saturday 23

First module : Analysis of capitalist society and its multiple crisis and oppressions

Sunday 24

Introduction to Marxism – Alex Merlo

• Marx's materialism: The Theses on Feuerbach. Self-emancipation.
• Introduction to historical materialism: The notions of base and superstructure.
• Introduction to the Marxist critique of political economy: use value, exchange value, surplus value, exploitation.

Monday 25 A Marxist-feminist view on gender – Nadia De Mond origins and different aspects of women’s oppression, patriarchal attitudes and mechanisms that influence our way of looking at the family, reproduction, sexual identities, sexual politics in general. The LGBT movement, homophobia and sexual identity

Tuesday 26 The working class - The extraction of absolute and relative surplus value - What is the working class (today)? Industry workers, service workers, etc. Precarity and flexibility. - The productive structure on a world scale, the fragmented workers movement

Wednesday 27 The global economic crisis – Nacho Alvarez - The Marxist analysis of crisis: rate of profit (tendencies and countertendencies), long waves. - The neoliberal answer to the crisis since the 1980’s - The current economic crisis and the different alternatives

Thursday 28 Women and the crisis of the capitalist system – Marijke Colle - The situation of women under capitalism - Women and the global social/ecological crisis (food, reproductive rights, violence) - Autonomous women's movement: struggles today; the concept of ecofeminism

Friday 29 Free Day

Saturday 30 Imperialism today - The classic theory of imperialism (origins, Lenin’s analysis, first world war) - theory of permanent revolution vs stageism and campism. - Imperialism under US hegemony (post Second World War) geopolitics today,

Sunday 1 The role of specific identities – Peter Drucker - National oppression and self determination - The religious factor in class struggle - Intersectionality and the formation of class consciousness

Second module : The ecological crisis and ecosocialism

Monday 2 Marx and Engels on ecology – Alain Tondeur - the theory of the historical co-evolution of humans and nature - the theory of rent - Marx’s anticipations, tensions and flaws

Tuesday 3 Ecological history of capitalism and ecosocialist alternative – Alain Tondeur - the history of the social/ecological crises - the ecosocialist alternative

Wednesday 4 Climate and food crisis – Marijke Colle - the climate crisis: mechanisms and tipping points - the food crisis: link with climate, land grabbing, food sovereignty - the impossible green capitalism; the fight for climate and global justice: which struggles, which alliances (workers, peasants, women, indigenous peoples);

Thursday 5

Socialist democracy – Catherine Samary - The problem of bureaucracy after the overthrow of capitalism - Democracy and political representation; democracy and the Law; self-organisation of social movements - Socialist democracy and political pluralism (Reading text: “Socialist democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat” Resolution)

Friday 6 Free Day

Third module : Strategic questions and situation in the different world regions

Saturday 7 Revolutionary strategy in the 21st century – Pierre Rousset - Rebuilding class consciousness and rebuilding mass organisations - Mass mobilisation and united fronts - The conquest of power in the 21st century.

Sunday 8 Dynamics of the left forces in Asia – Pierre Rousset - The economies of the emergent countries, the role of China - Ongoing conflicts: workers movements, peasant movement, indigenous peoples movement - The dynamics of the left, new parties.

Monday 9

Further deepening of the crisis in the Arab region – Jacques Babel - Socioeconomic roots of the Arab spring; - Dynamics of the processes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, (Syria?); - The fight for dignity and democracy; role of Islamic forces; women’s liberation.

Tuesday 10 Latin America – Frank Gaudichaud ?? - A “left turn”? - Class struggles, social movements and Latin-American “progressisms” - “Socialism of the 21st Century”? The new debates on strategy

Wednesday 11 Europe - The current economic crisis in different parts of Europe; center and periphery - The debt crisis and the attacks against all social gains from the past; - the fight for an anti-austerity government and/or the fight for a worker's government/transitional program

Thursday 12 Africa – Paul Martial - An economic overview - The political genesis of the Continent - Overview of the social and political situation

Friday 13 Internationalism and the Fourth International – Penny Duggan - The building of the revolutionary party today - The current situation of the Fourth International - Perspectives

Balance sheet, cleaning Saturday 14