Global Justice School 2009

Global Justice School 2009

See also readings from the Global Justice School 2008

28 November – 19 December 2009

Crisis

• Sat. 28/11 : Arrivals
• Sun. 29/11 : Historical Overview. (Stéphanie)
  Theory of crises, long waves. Crises 1873, 1929, 1973.
• Mon. 30/11 : Current crisis. (Stéphanie)
  How bad is it? Why economical, not only financial, crisis. Regional integration. Roots in neoliberal globalisation. Crisis of capitalism?
• Tue. 01/12 : Gender dimension of crisis. (Marijke)
  Marxist analysis of gender, women in work force, how crises affects women (ideological, social)
• Wed. 02/12 : Working class recomposition. (Antonio)
  Definition of 'working class'. Fragmentation, identity and heterogeneity of working class. How to fight for unity. What state after 25 years of neoliberalism → and affected by crisis.
• Thu. 03/12 : Crisis and migration. (Murray)
  Theoretical approach to migration (why, who) – not just individual, rational choice. Gender dimension, distinction between legal and illegal migration, migrations caused by war. Internal migration. Right wing populism, anti fascist struggle.
• Fri. 04/12 : Day off. Walking tour of Amsterdam (optional)
• Sat. 05/12 : Crisis and Identity: Religion, ethnicity, sexuality. (Peter)
  Fragmentation of working class → Alternatives to class identity. Religion (fundamentalism, liberation theology) nationalism, LGBT.
• Sun. 06/12 : Crisis of World Order. (Gilbert)
  Imperialism, Globalisation, Emerging powers, Military globalisation, Latin American integration.
• Mon. 07/12 : Economic and ecological crisis - our responses. (Lot)
  Combining economic and climate crises, food crisis,

Climate

• Tue. 08/12 : Reviewing Marxism (Svend)
  Is Marxism productivist, Marx/Engels on nature., possibilities in USSR in 1920'Renewal of Marxism through the interaction with feminism and the broad conception of Marxism as "a theory of the moving contradictions of capitalism".
• Wed. 09/12 : Current climate crisis, (Marijke)
  Scientific explanation, roots of climate crisis in late capitalism, green capitalism, climate movement.
• Thu. 10/12 : Climate change + our programme. (Marijke)
  Non productivism, scarcity of resources, what is an ecological society
• Fri. 11/12 : Day off.
  Visit to International Institute of Social Histoty (IISH).

Strategy and programme

• Sat. 12/12 : Social movements and democracy, gender, class, sexuality. (Penny)
  Role of movements, autonomy, alliances. Organising at work place and outside work place. How does radicalisation happen? Consciousness. Non-progressive movements.

• Sun. 13/12 : Latin America, workers, governments. (Franck)
  Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, popular mobilisations, elections, governments. Increasing break with neoliberalism and imperialism. Review of previous day's concepts and experiences, such as Comintern debates on "workers' governments" and their relevance for today.

• Mon. 14/12 : Europe: broad parties and state. (Soren)
  United front, popular front. Extra-parliamentary struggles, pre-conditions of government participation, Iceland.

• Tue. 15/12 : Democracy, Society and state: self management and the conquest of power. (Sabado)
  Bourgeois state, roots of bureaucratisation, challenges to the state (reform vs. revolution), self organisation, strikes, alternative ways of organising. (Bolivia, resistance to water privatisations, Porto Allegro, Oaxaca)

• Wed. 16/12 : Socialist democracy: Plan, market and democracy. (Catherine)
  How much room to market? Understanding of democracy: represent people by community? What is socialist governance.

• Thu. 17/12 : Building anti-capitalist parties/why parties? (Léon)
  Importance of parties. What kind of parties? Role of parties. How our parties differ from bourgeois parties. Democratic Centralism.

• Fri. 18/12 : Why Internationalism and an International? (Léon)
  How resistance is globalising, Solidariy, another international?

• Sam. 19/12 : Evaluation, cleaning, departure.

Structure of each day

9.00-9.30: Lecture, part I

9.30-9.40: Break

9.40-10.10: Lecture, part II

10.10-10.20: Break

10.20-10:50: Lecture, part III

10.50-11.00: Break

11.00-12.00: Q&A

12.00-16.00: Lunch and time for reading

16.00-17.30: Discussion by language group

17.30-19.00: Concluding discussion, beginning with reports from each group.