Monthly Review and Monthly Review Press are proud to sponsor the following panels at this year’s Left Forum.
March 16 to 18
Pace University
New York City
A unique phenomenon in the U.S. and the world, Left Forum convenes the largest annual conference of a broad spectrum of left and progressive intellectuals, activists, academics, organizations and the interested public. Conference participants come together to engage a wide range of critical perspectives on the world, to discuss differences, commonalities, and alternatives to current predicaments, and to share ideas for understanding and transforming the world. We hope you can join us for these and many more important discussions with participants from around the globe. And don’t forget to visit the MR table for a wide selection of books, new and old, and current issues of the magazine.
Visit Left Forum online for more information and registration.
Occupy Consciousness: Mészáros’s Toolbox
Sat 5:00pm – 6:40pm, Room W610
The presenters will offer their reflections on István Mészáros‘s latest work and relate that to the current situation. The presenters will contend that the American mind is stocked with the categories and symbols and rules of the 1 percent and that it is absolutely necessary to start discarding and restocking with the relevant structures of the 99 percent.
Participants: Liz Mestres, Brecht Forum; Mario Rendon, American Institute of Psychoanalysis; Irv Kurki, essential discussions; Doug Enaa Greene, Kasama Project
Wisconsin Uprising: Labor Fights Back
Sun 12:00pm – 1:50pm, Room E307
A panel based on the new book from Monthly Review press featuring several contributors. There are lessons to be learned from the Wisconsin revolt. This timely book brings together some of the best labor journalists and scholars in the United States, many of whom were on the ground at the time, to examine the causes and impact of events, and suggest how the labor movement might proceed in this new era of union militancy.
Participants: Steve Early, Monthly Review, Labor Notes; Stephanie Luce, Associate Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY; Jon Flanders, IAM 1145, Troy Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Railroad Workers United; Sam Mayfield, Film Maker; Lee Sustar; Michael Zweig; Fernando Gapasin; Frank Emspak, Workers Independent News
Radical Theory in Social Change: the work of Michael Lebowitz
Sun 10:00am – 11:50am, Room W503
The separation of radical theory from practical struggles is a weakness that can be overcome. Michael Lebowitz’s recent works (Build It Now, The Socialist Alternative) elucidate the powerful potential of integrating radical theory and practice as in the transformative struggles in revolutionary Venezuela. The speakers will draw out the universal lessons in his work and discuss possible applications.
Participants: Irv Kurki, essential discussions; Amy Hendrickson, Grassroots Activist; Jim Barton, Independent Scholar
Capitalism, Imperial Geopolitics and the Climate Crisis: Where Next for the Climate Justice Movement?
Sat 3:00pm – 04:50pm, Room E303
co-sponsored by Haymarket Books
The Copenhagen climate negotiations two years ago were described by government representatives as the “last chance” to take urgent international action to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Three years ago then-presidential nominee Barack Obama described taking action to curb US emissions and tackle climate change as his most urgent and important priority when in office. Yet, Obama promotes “clean” coal, nuclear power, biofuels and more off-shore drilling to “reduce our dependence on foreign oil. During the recent Durban climate negotiations, the US continued to play an obstructive role, and international action was put off for another 8 years. Still, environmentalists often overlook the operation of capitalism on the world stage and the relationships between accelerating resource exploitation, imperial competition, and open warfare. This panel will analyze the continuing failure of almost two decades of international climate negotiations, investigate the United States’ unique role, and scrutinize the need for a deeper environmental analysis of capitalism and its geopolitical intrigues, as we build a movement for climate justice.
Participants: Emily Giles; Fred Magdoff, Monthly Review; Brian Tokar; Marcela Olivera, Water for All Campaign, Rutgers University; Chris Williams, Haymarket Books, ISR
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