From "The Histomat" Blog- (Yet More) Upcoming Marxist conferences in London

Markin comment:

From the description of these conferences, especially the second one on historical materialism, I now understand why we class struggle militants are rolling the rock up the hill these past many days and years. Karl Marx's aphorism, or a paraphrase of it , seems very appropriate (and irresistible) just now-philosophers had spent eons of time analyzing the world, the point is to change it. That means, maybe, fewer conferences and more getting out here and helping us roll that rock up the hill.
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Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Upcoming Marxist conferences in London

1. Marxism 2011

Ideas to change the world - A five day political festival from
30 June to 4 July in central London hosted by the SWP with eyewitnesses and revolutionaries from Egypt and Tunisia as well as Tariq Ali, Tony Benn, Terry Eagleton, Paul Gilroy, Laurie Penny, Nina Power, Alex Callinicos and many others - full timetable now available to download here

What is Marxism 2011?

Crisis and austerity have exposed the insanity of our global system.
Our rulers have handed trillions of pounds to banks while billions of people across the planet face hunger, poverty, climate catastrophes and war. Despite unprecedented wealth and technology we are told capitalism can provide even less for us than before.

But a world in crisis breeds an ideological crisis. Austerity has generated resistance. Revolution has shaken the Arab world. Students have shaken the Con-Dems. Millions are fighting back, questioning this crazy system and looking for alternatives.

Marxism 2011 will bring thousands of people together from every continent and every arena of struggle to discuss, debate and organise resistance. With over 200 workshops, panels, film showings and rallies it is the biggest event of its kind in Britain and one of the biggest in the world.
Don’t miss Marxism in the year of revolutions.


2. Eighth Annual Historical Materialism Conference

Central London

10–13 November 2011


Spaces of Capital, Moments of Struggle

The ongoing popular uprisings in the Arab world, alongside intimations of a resurgence in workers' struggles against 'austerity' in the North and myriad forms of resistance against exploitation and dispossession across the globe make it imperative for Marxists and leftists to reflect critically on the meaning of collective anticapitalist action in the present.

Over the past decade, many Marxist concepts and debates have come in from the cold. The anticapitalist movement generated a widely circulating critique of capitalist modes of international 'development'. More recently, the economic crisis that began in 2008 has led to mainstream-recognition of Marx as an analyst of capital. In philosophy and political theory, communism is no longer merely a term of condemnation. Likewise, artistic and cultural practices have also registered a notable upturn in the fortunes of activism, critical utopianism and the effort to capture aesthetically the workings of the capitalist system.

The eighth annual Historical Materialism conference will strive to take stock of these shifts in the intellectual landscape of the Left in the context of the social and political struggles of the present. Rather than resting content with the compartmentalisation and specialisation of various 'left turns' in theory and practice, we envisage the conference as a space for the collective, if necessary, agonistic but comradely, reconstitution of a strategic conception of the mediations between socio-economic transformations and emancipatory politics.

For such a critical theoretical, strategic and organisational reflection to have traction in the present, it must take stock of both the commonalities and the specificities of different struggles for emancipation, as they confront particular strategies of accumulation, political authorities and relations of force. Just as the crisis that began in 2008 is by no means a homogeneous affair, so we cannot simply posit a unity of purpose in contemporary revolutions, struggles around the commons and battles against austerity.

In consideration of the participation of David Harvey, winner of the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize, at this year's conference, we would particularly wish to emphasise the historical and geographical dimensions of capital, class and struggle. We specifically encourage paper submissions and suggested panel-themes that tackle the global nature of capitalist accumulation, the significance of anticapitalist resistance in the South, and questions of race, migration and ecology as key components of both the contemporary crisis and the struggle to move beyond capitalism.

There will also be a strong presence of workshops on the historiography of the early communist movement, particularly focusing on the first four congresses of the Communist International.

The conference will aim to combine rigorous and grounded investigations of socio-economic realities with focused theoretical reflections on what emancipation means today, and to explore – in light of cultural, historical and ideological analyses – the forms taken by current and coming struggles.

Deadline for registration of abstracts: 1 June 2011

*On The Question Of The Use Of Civil Disobedience In Political Struggle- A Short Note

Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of the veteran-led civil disobedience action in front of Obama’s imperial White House, December 16, 2010, protesting his Afghan and Iraq war policies.

Markin comment:

Recently, as I have noted in other entries over the past few days, I attended (along with comrades from our local anti-imperialist committee) the veteran-led civil disobedience action in front of Obama’s imperial White House, December 16, 2010, protesting his Afghan and Iraq war policies. At that action, once we got to the fence area, a restricted area, in front of the White House (called the postcard photo area for the direct frontal view of the place) the question was put point blank- seek arrest or not? The pros and cons of that question is the subject of this short note.

Civil disobedience has a long and proud history in leftist politics (although others, including right-wingers, have used the tactic) in America, and elsewhere. And its use as a tactic is where I want position the argument. Professional civil disobedience activists and others who use this not as a tactic but as their exclusive action process are now excused. Respected, but excused. Almost every tactic can be over-used and that is where I would place such reliance.

Normally I, frankly, don’t like the idea of “courting” arrest in order to make a political point. I have faced arrest, and been arrested, for taking part in actions like strikes, sit-ins, and even mass demonstrations where the police made an issue of where I, and my kindred, were standing, sitting, walking, etc. Under those conditions one takes the arrest as part of doing left-wing political business. But to start an action in order to “court” arrest is generally not my style, and I would not advocate it.

That brings us to the December 16th action mentioned above. The Veterans For Peace and their supporters called this action in order to “court” arrest and make a point about Obama’s imperial wars. And to start a civil resistance movement by example. They also called the action for that restricted area in front of the White House. Now call me Jesuitical, a hair-splitter, a gray area aficionado, or whatever but courting arrest or not, an action in front of the White House is just part of doing left-wing political business in this country, at least for now. Whether someone wants to hold onto the fence, their damn holy of holies White House fence even, while protesting Obama’s imperial wars should be seen in that light. So I will leave it to you to guess whether we (my group and I) "courted" arrest, or not, in this action. But, mainly think about when, and when not to, take the kind of action that places you in that situation. The resistance, in any case, has begun.