As a courtesy to all my Socialist pals I'm spreading the word for them ( I'm the token Capitalist in the group) The Southern California Socialist Conference will get underway this weekend at that Capitalist bastion, University of Southern CA.
NOVEMBER 21st
11am-12:30: Opening Plenary: Rebuilding socialism and the left today (Todd Chretien and Sarah Knopp)
THH 202
During the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, we need an alternative vision for a just and humane way of running society. What is the socialist vision? In part, it will be built out of struggles against inequality and crisis. Today socialist strategies and tactics for change are more necessary than ever. In our current fights for social justice unionism, for LGBT rights, for women’s equality and abortion rights, and against racism, second class citizenship and budget cuts, it’s time to define socialism for the 21st century.
1:30-3:00: Workshops
The Fight for Social Justice Education (Gillian Russom and David Rapkin)
THH 212
"School reform" is one of the most overused words in the media these days. To the Obama administration and the corporate interests that want to dismantle public education, "school reform" means attacking teachers' unions, increasing standardized testing, and handing over schools to unaccountable Charter Management Organizations.
But to us, truly reforming our schools would mean giving them all the funding they need for beautiful school buildings, small class sizes, educational materials, and engaging field trips. It would mean putting teachers and parents in control of running their schools in the best interests of students, and getting rid of the bureaucrats and mandates that try to control education from the top down. "School reform" has a dual meaning because education itself has two sides under capitalism. It's used to reproduce class inequalities by training a few to be managers and the rest of us to work for them. But as people come together to be educated, we also begin to think about reaching our full potential and liberating ourselves. That's why education has always been a location of conflict and struggle in our society. Discuss how the fight for truly liberatory education is linked to the fight for a socialist society run democratically in the interests of the many rather than the few.
Eyewitness from Gaza and supporting the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement (Laura Durkay)
THH 114
Israel's January 2009 war on Gaza killed 1,400 people and laid waste to much of Gaza's infrastructure, damaging or destroying schools, hospitals, government buildings, UN facilities and thousands of homes. A recent UN fact-finding mission led by Judge Richard Goldstone called the Israeli assault "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population." Both before and after the war, Gaza has been subjected to a crippling siege that has made daily life, let alone post-war reconstruction, virtually impossible. But the war also sparked an international wave of protest calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel until it stops its brutal policies of occupation, collective punishment and apartheid. Come hear and eyewitness account of the destruction in Gaza and learn how you can become a part of the growing movement for justice in Palestine!
Read: "A New Movement against Israel's Apartheid"
http://socialistworker.org/2009/02/27/movement-against-israeli-apartheid"Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution"
http://isreview.org/issues/65/feat-machover.shtmlGeneral Strike in the U.S.? Workers power Seattle 1919 (Cindy Kaffen)
THH 214
The revolutionary atmosphere and activities that gripped the U.S. in the early 20th century have been systematically written out of popular history textbooks, leaving generations of workers, students and activists without the stories and lessons of a rich history of working-class radicalism.
One of these stories is the Seattle general strike in 1919. The Seattle General Strike of 1919 was America's first citywide labor stoppage, a defiant example of workers' power in the aftermath of World War I. Seattle’s working class took control of a major American city - organizing strike committees not just to run the strike itself but to take control of their city from below, forming, in practice, a counter-government to the official one.
Read: Revolution in Seattle: A Memoir by Harvey O'Connor haymarketbooks.org
Subterrenean Fire by Sharon Smith haymarketbooks.org
Is Sweden an Example of Socialism? (Randy Childs)
THH 118
Sweden is widely perceived as the most "socialistic" country in the world. The Swedish government guarantees free cradle-to-grave health care for all, along with free university education, generous public assistance for the poor and unemployed, six weeks of paid vacation for all workers, and paid maternity and paternity leave for all new parents. These programs sound like a socialist Shangri-La compared to the US, where insurance companies deny health care to the sick, and the poor are told to have "personal responsibility" while the government gives $12 trillion to the Wall Street crooks who wrecked the economy. On the other hand Sweden is home to Ingvar Kamprad, the fifth richest person in the world, and economic inequality has been growing in Sweden over the last 30 years. How did Swedish workers win the generous social reforms they enjoy today? What's the difference between a welfare state like Sweden and true socialism?
Read: Two Souls of Socialism by Hal Draper
http://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1966/twosouls/index.htm3:30-5:00 Workshops
The New Movement for LGBT Equality (Zakiya Khabir)
THH 114
The struggle for LGBT equality was reignited in the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 8 that overturned marriage equality in California a year ago. Protests spread from California all across the country. New activists emerged and new organizations formed overnight as the limitations of the strategies of the moderate, established LGBT organizations were exposed. The potential for the reengergized movement was shown in the grassroots-organized National Equality March, which brought out 200,000 to Washington DC on October 11, with the demand for full equality for LGBT people in federal civil law in all 50 states.
Read: Sexuality and Socialism by Sherry Wolf haymarketbooks.org
Fighting racism and Second Class Citizenship in the Era of Obama (Danielle Heck and Nativo Lopez)
THH 202
The election of Barack Obama lifted the hopes of all who oppose racism. But nineteen days before Barack Obama was inaugurated as the nation's first African American president, the public execution of a 22-year old Black man, Oscar Grant III, on a transit station platform in Oakland, Calif., demonstrated that despite the historic significance of Obama's election and what it represented in terms of the changing attitudes about race in this country, racism continues to persist and limit the opportunities of African American men and women. And yet Obama has done little to address the issue of race since he took office. At the same time, immigrants' rights activists hoped that his presidency would bring a humane path to citizenship. Those hopes have largely been frustrated as a shift toward rhetoric about a "crackdown on employers" has masked the real hardship that US immigration policy places on workers and their families. We know that Obama's presidency won't end racism, but what will?
Read: "Race and Racism Under Obama"
http://socialistworker.org/2009/04/27/race-and-racism-under-obama, "Is this change we can believe in?"
http://isreview.org/issues/66/editorial.shtml"Rights Not Raids" by David Bacon
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090518/hing_bacon"Blacks, Latinos, and immigrant Civil rights" Keenaga Yamatta-Taylor
http://www.isreview.org/issues/48/blackslatinos.shtmlSocial Justice Unionism and Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (Cesar Montufar)
THH 214
"Social Justice Unionism" is what's needed to save today's labor movement. Based on the idea that racism, sexism, and homophobia have to be combated as part and parcel of the struggle for economic justice, social justice unionism is a radical departure from the business model negotiating of today's labor movement. But haven't unions often reinforced or at least been complicit in reinforcing racial divisions? The story of the Dodge Revolutionary Union movement tells the inspiring other side of the story. Workers, inspired by the ideas of the civil rights movement, brought civil disobedience to the factory floors in the auto industry in Detroit. Rather than ceding ground to racist union bureaucrats, Black workers fought for their vision of unionism. In doing so, they not only pushed back against racism in the workplace, but also showed the incredible potential of working class struggle through a series of wildcat strikes. How did they do it? What can we learn from them?
Read: Detroit: I do mind Dying: A Study in Urban Revolution Dan Georgakas and Marvin Surkin (haymarketbooks.org) and Subterrenean Fire by Sharon Smith haymarketbooks.org
Why Profits are bad for your health (Katie Miller)
THH 118
Millions of people in the United States are one health care crisis away from financial ruin. Millions of people have no health insurance or are dangerously uninsured. Those that need care are denied. And yet, all of the reforms currently being proposed in Congress and by the White House keep this same system intact. Why? How can we fight for true health care reform that puts people above profits? Learn about and discuss the struggles today that will bring real health care reform tomorrow (The Fight for Abortion Rights; Single Payer Health Care and more!).
Read: Healthcare thread on Socialist Worker
http://socialistworker.org/topic/165Afghanistan and Imperialism under Obama (Kurt Krueger)
THH 212
Eight years into the war on Afghanistan, the situation is getting worse by the day and there's no end in sight. As U.S. and Afghan civilian deaths continue to rise, U.S. Gen Stanley McChrystal wants to escalate the war with another 40,000 troops. Typically seen as “the good war,” the discussion around Afghanistan is not whether we should be there, but rather how best to fight and occupy the country. Even after wide acceptance of the failed Iraq war, Obama and many in the anti-war movement still consider Afghanistan as a necessary war. Why is Afghanistan so important to the U.S. ruling class? Will Afghanistan become Obama’s Vietnam? What should the anti-war movement be saying about Afghanistan?
Read: “A Call for Clarity on the Afghanistan War” by Sonali Kolhatkar
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/03-05:15-6:15: Organizing on Campus: Working Dinner
Fighting the Budget Cuts and Organizing for Socialism on Campus (Jose C and Victor F)
THH 202
Read:
http://www.savecapubliceducation.org/6:30-8:00 pm Final Panel: Budget Cuts, attacks on workers and fightback in California
THH 202
Mike Davis
Overhill Farms workers
Julie Washington, Elementary Vice-President of UTLA,
Raul Perez, of the Defend-UCI Worker Student Alliance
With the budget deficit and economic crisis, policy-makers in California are using these as excuses to slash budgets for social services in our state. Teachers and students in our public schools, as well as immigrant workers are taking the brunt of the offensive. However, this attack is creating a fightback. From students in the UC system, to immigrant workers fighting an illegal dismissal from the food giant Overhill Farms, people are beginning to stand up against these injustices. Join activists from Overhill Farms, student activists, and historian/activist Mike Davis on a discussion of the debates and strategies in the front lines of an emerging movement to take on these cuts and win.
In April of 2009, 260 workers at the food processor, Overhill Farms, were fired for a discrepancy in their social security numbers. The company immediately replaced the fired union workers with temporary workers who receive no benefits. As a result, the Overhill Farms Workers Council was formed to organize pickets and boycotts against the company in order to win their jobs back. At a time when the Obama administration is pushing more employer based sanctions as a tool of immigration enforcement, their fightback not only represents a;struggle against a union-busting employer, but also a fightback against the criminalization of immigrants and the broader fight for legalization.
SUNDAY NOV 22nd:
11am-12:15:
Reform and Revolution (Sarah Knopp)
TBD
When Rosa Luxemburg wrote Reform or Revolution 109 years ago, she explained the chaos of the capitalist economic system. The explanation goes a long way toward helping us to understand what’s going on with today’s collapse of major financial institutions. But what’s the relationship between economic crisis and reforms? When our side wins concessions, like public education, does it blunt our collective will to fight for more? Can we reform the system enough to make life bearable for the majority?
Read: Reform and Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg
http://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1900/reform-revolution/index.htmUprising in Iran- History and Context (Robert Skeels)
When the Iranian people stood up against corrupt elections last summer, it was a continuation of a long history of mass struggle for democracy in Iran. It was also an inspiration for people across the region who face similarly brutal regimes that they could do the same. How did this uprising connect to the revolution of 1979? What is the potential for the Iranian working class to make another revolution? Why do some progressives defend the Iranian ruling class?
Read: Iran 1979 in the book Revolutionary Rehersals (out of print)
"Iran: Rebellion and Reaction"
http://isreview.org/issues/67/feat-iran.shtml"Which Side are you on? Left Responses to the Iranian Revolt"
http://isreview.org/issues/67/critthink-iran.shtml"Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Iran" by Phil Marshall
"Targeting Iran" ed. David Barsamian
Have Women Always Been Oppressed? (Gillian Russom)
TBD
Read: Myths of Male Dominance by Elenor Burke Leacock
The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State by Frederick Engels
Women and Socialism by Sharon Smith
1pm-2:15 :
History of the ISO (Todd Chretien)
THH 212
The ISO today is the largest revolutionary socialist organization in the United States, but we have a long way to go to create a truly powerful movement for a better world. This talk will focus on the important, if still modest, contribution the ISO has made to the fight for social justice by examining over thirty years of experience in putting Marxist theory into practice.
Read
http://www.marxists.de/intsoctend/birchall/index.htm
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