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 (optinal)
• 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.
  Combining economic and climate crises, food crisis,

Climate

• Tue. 08/12 : Reviewing Marxism.
  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.
  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.