As concerned humanity mobilises across the globe for workable solutions on climate change, Socialist Alliance New England (SANE) has organised a weekend of workshops on 28th and 29th November.
SANE, over three workshops, will reappraise socialism as our species faces its greatest collective threat in history.
The first workshop, beginning at 1pm at Kent House Faulkner Street, will examine the theory of Marx. For much of the 20th century this philosopher, economist and sociologist was both lauded and condemned as one of the most influential thinkers of the modern era. The rise of neo-liberalism in the 1980s saw Marx ridiculed, dismissed and supposedly buried. However, in recent years, Marx has had a resurgence, and his ideas are again now being openly discussed and analysed by contemporary theorists as diverse as the Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman and the post-modernist cultural critic Slavoj Zizek.
The second workshop will examine left wing politics and science. Historically the left, as a political and sociological force, consciously allied itself with science as both theories grew out of the theory and ideals of the Enlightenment era. However, in the last few decades, much of the left, influenced by post-modern philosophy, has tended towards rejecting or relativising both science and the Enlightenment, as well as the traditional dominant socialist narrative.
On the Sunday, at 9:00 am, we will focus on the ecological crisis and socialism. This workshop will examine the causes of environmental catastrophes like that of climate change before discussing popular ideas of renewable energy and concluding with a discussion on a socialist alternative which is driven towards satisfying the vital needs of the whole of humanity, including those of future generations.