Ecosocialist School 2014
The participants in the school are proposed by the organisations invited by the IIRE, with a maximum of 24 participants.
PROPOSED PROGRAM
Arrivals: Friday 22 November
Introduction
First module : Analysis of capitalist society and its multiple crisis and oppressions
Sunday 23
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 24
- 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
Tuesday 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
Wednesday 26
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 27
Women and the crisis of the capitalist system – Marijke Colle
- The situation of women under capitalism
- The need for an autonomous women's movement
- Women's struggles today
Friday 28
Imperialism today - Adam Hanieh
- 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
Saturday 29
Free Day
Sunday 30
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 1 December
Marx and Engels on ecology – Daniel Tanuro
- The theory of the historical co-evolution of humans and nature
- The theory of rent
- Marx’s anticipations, tensions and flaws
Tuesday 2
Ecological history of capitalism and ecosocialist alternative – Daniel Tanuro
- The history of the social/ecological crises
- The ecosocialist alternative
Wednesday 3
Climate and food crisis – Marijke Colle
- The climate crisis: mechanisms and tipping points
- The food crisis: link with climate, land grabbing, food sovereignty
- the fight for climate and global justice: which struggles, which alliances (workers, peasants, women, indigenous peoples, ecofeminism)
Thursday 4
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
Friday 5
Free Day
Third module : Strategic questions and situation in the different world regions
Saturday 6
The crisis in Europe and the strategic debates - François Sabado
- 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
Sunday 7
Revolutionary strategy in the 21st century – Pierre Rousset
- Rebuilding class consciousness and rebuilding mass organisations
- The role of the state: theory and actuality
- The conquest of power in the 21st century.
Monday 8
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 9
The political dynamics in Latin America -
- A “left turn”?
- Class struggles, social movements and Latin-American “progressisms”
- “Socialism of the 21st Century”? The new debates on strategy
Wednesday 10
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.
Thursday 11
Colonialism and struggles in Africa, from independence to the current crisis – Paul Martial
- An economic overview
- The political genesis of the Continent
- Overview of the social and political situation
Friday 12
Internationalism and the Fourth International – Penny Duggan
- Our concept of a revolutionary party
- What sort of parties do we want to build?
- Recent history of the Fourth International and current challenges in the different regions
Saturday 13
Balance sheet, cleaning
Structure of the day
9.00-9.40: Lecture part 1
9.40-9.50: Break
9.50-10.30: Lecture Part 2
10.30-10.40: Break
10.40-11:20: Lecture Part 3
11.20-11.30: Break
11.30-12.00: Questions and answers
12.00-15.00: Lunch and time for individual reading
15.00-16.30: Discussion in language groups
16.30-18.00: Final discussion starting with reports from the group
18.00-20.30: Reading time
20.30: Evening meal