Communist University 2012 (1 Viewer)

Psycho Punk

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CU 2012 takes place from August 20-26
http://cpgb.wordpress.com/

Communist University 2012 starts on Monday August 20 at 2pm. Because of the Olympic Games, we have moved to a new venue:

Glenthurston Apartments, 30 Bromley Rd. London, SE6 2TP

5 min walk from Catford railway station – there are trains leaving London Bridge Station every 10-15 minutes.

Map: SE6 2TP - Google Maps

Organised by Communist Party of Great Britain.

Speakers and sessions
Speakers and sessions |

Confirmed speakers include:

Paul LeBlanc, author of “Lenin and the Revolutionary Party”

Hillel Ticktin, editor of “Critique”

Mark Fisher, author of “Capitalist Realism”

Yassamine Mather, chair of Hands Off the People of Iran

Moshe Machover, Israeli socialist and founder of Matzpen

Reza M. Shalgouni, Organisation of Revolutionary Workers in Iran (Rahe Kargar)

Mike Macnair, Communist Party of Great Britain and author of “Revolutionary Strategy”

Jack Conrad, Communist Party of Great Britain and author of “Fantastic Reality”

Lawrence Parker, author of “The Kick Inside – revolutionary opposition in the CPGB 1960-1991?

Chris Knight, author of “Blood Relations”

We are still working on the timetable. But to get a taste for the event, have a look at last year’s sessions:

The timetable from 2011 is available DOC and PDF file. There were a number of sessions dealing with the crisis of capitalism and, of course, the Arab Revolution.

http://cpgb.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/cu-2011-timetable-5.doc

http://cpgb.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/cu-2011-timetable-5.pdf

Highlights included:

On Saturday August 13 (2pm) Moshe Machover (Israeli socialist) and Mohammed Reza Shalgouni (Organisation of Revolutionary Workers in Iran) opened our school with a session on ‘The Arab Revolution’. The video below features both speakers (plus Mike Macnair and Yassamine Mather) addressing some of the issues.

Owen Jones (author of ‘Chavs: The demonisation of the working class’ was speaking on ‘The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition’: seeds of a new workers’ party or a useless halfway house?

Anne McShane (Irish socialist) was speaking on ‘The economic crisis and the growth of the left in Ireland’

Mark Fischer (CPGB): Unity is strength? Why the left keeps splintering
Camilla Power was addressing the issue: ‘Our Neanderthal cousins and the human revolution’

Jack Conrad, (CPGB, author of Fantastic Reality. Marxism and the politics of religion) was speaking on ‘The CPGB’s Draft programme and our differences with the left. What programmes are, how they should be organised and why they are so important’

Mike Macnair – CPGB, author of Revolutionary Strategy adressed the question of ‘Law, international relations and Marxism’

Chris Knight on ‘The first communist revolution: the origin of cosmetics, abundance, language, morality and being human’

Yassamine Mather(chair, Hands Off the People of Iran) on ‘Explaining the longevity of the Iranian theocratic regime’

Yassamine is an Iranian socialist in exile in Scotland. Her political activities on the Iranian left started in the 1980s in Tehran and later in Kurdistan. In exile, she has been a member of the coordinating committee of Workers Left Unity Iran. She is a member of the Centre for Socialist Theory and Movements (Glasgow University), the deputy editor of the journal Critique. As chair of Hands Off the People of Iran she is in daily contact with workers, women and students in Iran who are fighting against the threats of imperialism and their own theocracy – without a green scarf in sight, as she explains in this video:

Hillel Tickin – Editor of Critique
Communist Student spoke to Hillel Ticktin about the ‘credit crunch’ and what it tells us about the dynamics of capitalism today

Capitalism in decline and the transition to socialism
Capitalism in decline and the transition to socialism

Details
Details |

How to book your place

full week, incl. accommodation in shared rooms – £170 normal price; £200 solidarity; £110 unwaged

first weekend, incl. one night’s accommodation – £35 (£20);

day – £10 (£5);

session – £5 (£3);

whole week, no accommodation: £60 (£30).

Our apartments consist mainly of double and triple rooms. If you would like to share with somebody in particular, please let us know. There is a heated indoor swimming pool in the venue and we collectively prepare lunch and dinner.

Please note that you can turn up on the day and pay for your ticket then (unless you want to stay over, in which case you need to let us know as soon as possible). Some comrades on low wages have taken up standing orders to pay for CU – let us know if you’d like to do that and we’ll send you the details

Send a cheque or postal order for a minimum of £30 to BCM Box 928, London WC1N 3XX (please mark the back with ‘CU 2011?). Alternatively, you can use your debit or credit card to pay via PayPal on our homepage Communist Party of Great Britain. Just click on the button below – and make sure you tell that this payment is for CU.

Creche

We are investigating the possibility of organising a creche at this year’s event – if enough people are interested. Please let us know asap if and when you would require this facility.

Introduction to Marxism and the CPGB

In addition to the normal programme, we will be running again a number of more informal meetings specifically designed to give an introduction to basic principles of Marxism and the politics of the CPGB. Especially younger comrades and those new to the CPGB are encouraged to ask questions, raise disagreements or any other points arising from the sessions at CU.

Videos and resources
Videos and resources |

In this video, CPGB national organiser Mark Fischer gives an introduction to Communist University. He explains why this event is qualitatively different from, say, the Socialist Workers’ Party’s “Marxism” event.

For the full list of videos from the event in 2011 , visit Communist University 2011 on Vimeo


NB: Sense of humour essential of you wish to attend.

zombiemarxism.jpg
 
Eh, when did the politics thread become a bulletin board for far-left politics? I thought the idea was to discuss political issues/controversies.
 
How is it controversial to advertise a summer school which discusses political issues/controversies?

There'll even be a Cork person speaking at it, was last year. See, we're even kind to culchies.

anyway, this is now a controversial political issue so lets discuss it.
 
communism fails because it would either have to be entirely worldwide administered by a tiny linux program or otherwise it is left in a postition where it must turn the country into a company that has to compete financially on the world market for its imports and exports, you know, food and stuff. because humans are human the people A: most communist in ideals and more likely B: related to thier superiors end up running this country/company, and quite typically into the ground.

basically unless you can turn the whole world communist overnight its a joke essentially. the idea and ideal is very nice and would work quite nicely if there was no such thing in the natural human tribe as alpha males and alpha females, you cant do it with humans, hence the need for a wee computer program.

also, the most communist country ever to exist was ireland 2000-2010, when there was only one class (people with too much money), and there was no money in the sense that you could pretty much print the stuff at will.

if you can get one person at bandcamp to successfully debunk what i wrote there, let me know.
 
How is it controversial to advertise a summer school which discusses political issues/controversies?

There'll even be a Cork person speaking at it, was last year. See, we're even kind to culchies.

anyway, this is now a controversial political issue so lets discuss it.

Ok, communism, as an ideology, is largely discredited and died with the fall of the Berlin Wall, arguably many years before that. It is now kept on life support by a raggle taggle group of leather jacket wearing middle-aged men who mainly discuss whether or not they can be described as neoclassical-Trotskyists or post neo-rave evangelical libertarian socialists.

A Cork person speaking at it??? Oh my, how diverse. I live in Cork and I could probably name all 10 communists in the area. I've no particular beef with communism, I just don't think this forum is meant to be about pushing particular agenda. I'd feel the same if Fine Gael/Sinn Fein etc came on here advertising a jamboree of their own.
 
Ok, communism, as an ideology, is largely discredited and died with the fall of the Berlin Wall, arguably many years before that. It is now kept on life support by a raggle taggle group of leather jacket wearing middle-aged men who mainly discuss whether or not they can be described as neoclassical-Trotskyists or post neo-rave evangelical libertarian socialists.

A Cork person speaking at it??? Oh my, how diverse. I live in Cork and I could probably name all 10 communists in the area. I've no particular beef with communism, I just don't think this forum is meant to be about pushing particular agenda. I'd feel the same if Fine Gael/Sinn Fein etc came on here advertising a jamboree of their own.

Well, Communism is a misused word. The CPGB and Irish Left groups whose membership isn't restricted to oldies would have a differing view of communism.

Actually theres more than 10 communists in Cork. The SP, SWP and other ULA members would use that title. Cllr Mick Barry of the SP would describe himself as a communist. He got 4,803 first preferences in the 2011 election. You really should get out more, yiou miss alot.

This is advertising a Summer School, a school of ideas. Its not about pushing one groups viewpoint. Most of the speakers are not members of the CPGB.

I'm not a member of the CPGB or any party. I'm involved in campaigns and I've found this summer school useful.
 
Ok, let the slagging commence:

Moscow in the 1970s. Deepest winter. A rumour spreads through the city that meat will be available for sale the next day at Butcher's Shop no. 1.

Tens of thousands turn up on the eve of the event: wrapped up against the cold, carrying stools, vodka, and chessboards, they form an orderly queue.

At 3 am the butcher comes out and says, "Comrades, I've just had a call from the Party Central Committee: it turns out there won't be enough meat for everyone, so the Jews in the queue should go home."

The Jews obediently leave the queue. The rest continue to wait.

At 7 am, the butcher comes out again: "Comrades, I've just had another call from Central Committee. It turns out there will be no meat at all, so you should all go home."

The crowd disperses, grumbling all the while: "Those bloody Jews get all the luck!"
 
Ok, let the slagging commence:

Moscow in the 1970s. Deepest winter. A rumour spreads through the city that meat will be available for sale the next day at Butcher's Shop no. 1.

Tens of thousands turn up on the eve of the event: wrapped up against the cold, carrying stools, vodka, and chessboards, they form an orderly queue.

At 3 am the butcher comes out and says, "Comrades, I've just had a call from the Party Central Committee: it turns out there won't be enough meat for everyone, so the Jews in the queue should go home."

The Jews obediently leave the queue. The rest continue to wait.

At 7 am, the butcher comes out again: "Comrades, I've just had another call from Central Committee. It turns out there will be no meat at all, so you should all go home."

The crowd disperses, grumbling all the while: "Those bloody Jews get all the luck!"

And that has what got to do with an organisation that condemns the stalinist gang that ran the old USSR?

Did you know that Pearse Doherty shot Michael Collins?
 
Well, Communism is a misused word. The CPGB and Irish Left groups whose membership isn't restricted to oldies would have a differing view of communism.

Actually theres more than 10 communists in Cork. The SP, SWP and other ULA members would use that title. Cllr Mick Barry of the SP would describe himself as a communist. He got 4,803 first preferences in the 2011 election. You really should get out more, yiou miss alot.

This is advertising a Summer School, a school of ideas. Its not about pushing one groups viewpoint. Most of the speakers are not members of the CPGB.

I'm not a member of the CPGB or any party. I'm involved in campaigns and I've found this summer school useful.

Haha, Mick Barry is a communist? Fair play to him. And there are 4,803 commies on the Northside of Cork? Yep, that figure seems about right. Mick Barry is a good vote getter for one simple reason - he criticises everything. Being an opposition councillor in a constituency like Cork North is child's play.

And the SP, SWP and ULA are all communists??? Wow, so why the fuck are they all members of splinter groups? Is there even a communist party of ireland?

And you're not pushing one group's viewpoint? You're kindly making us aware of a 'communist university' in London in case anyone on here is interested in popping along.
 
those Chinese lads are going to be fierced pissed off when they hear communism is a failure
 
actually its amazing when you think about it. the ipod, the basicallly the modern day cock/vag extension of capitalism, is made by communists. ha. its a comical turn of fates too, back in the day in red russia, rebadged capitalist pig for tractors were sorta the same thing:

In 1924, the Leningrad plant "Red Putilovite" (Красный Путиловец) started the production of Fordson-Putilovets tractors (Фордзон-путиловец). These inexpensive and robust tractors (both American and Soviet models) became the major enticement for Soviet peasants towards collectivisation and were often seen on

Soviet_Fordson_stamp.jpg
 
Haha, Mick Barry is a communist? Fair play to him. And there are 4,803 commies on the Northside of Cork? Yep, that figure seems about right. Mick Barry is a good vote getter for one simple reason - he criticises everything. Being an opposition councillor in a constituency like Cork North is child's play.

And the SP, SWP and ULA are all communists??? Wow, so why the fuck are they all members of splinter groups? Is there even a communist party of ireland?

And you're not pushing one group's viewpoint? You're kindly making us aware of a 'communist university' in London in case anyone on here is interested in popping along.

Do you have a hangover or is it just too much coffee?

Yeah right, being an opposition councilor is easy. Why don't you stand for election.

Strangely enough, people on the left have differing opiniios, just like on the right. The ULA is actually an aliance which brings together the SP, SWP, Seamus Healys WUAG and other socialist independents.

Actually yes, peopl from Ireland travel to London. You could do worse than attend a few sessions of this summer school.

You seem angry. Do my views threaten yiu in some way? Its ok, you won't be shot come the revolution.
 

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