for workers' power from below
The first of a series of communist discussion meetings in Sheffield. From 7pm on Tuesday 19th January at The Rutland Arms, 86 Brown Street, Sheffield S1 2BS.
Recommended reading for the meeting includes: William Morris – News From Nowhere chapters xii, xv and xvii; Cornelius Castoriadis – On the content of socialism; Karl Marx – Critique of the Gotha Programme parts iii and iv, as well as The Paris Commune from Civil War in France.
The next of The Commune’s London reading groups on ‘communism from below’ will take place on Monday 25th May from 7pm at the Old Red Lion, near Angel.
The title of the meeting is ‘conceptualising communist society’. The recommended reading material includes sections of two late 19th century utopian novels outlining a future communist society – Looking Backward 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy (chapters 6-7), and News from Nowhere by William Morris (chapter 14). See these chapters as a Word file here.
Bellamy’s vision of communism (read whole book here) spurned a number of so-called “Nationalist” clubs around the United States and the book was also very popular among the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. He envisages a technocratic society where the state is the sole capitalist and every worker’s abilities are used to the full.
Morris’s book (read in full here) was written as a rebuttal of Bellamy’s work, outlining a libertarian view of communism based on collective decision making, extreme democracy and personal freedom from state control.
We will be discussing the following questions: Continue reading “reading for ‘conceptualising communist society’ discussion group”
We are pleased to announce the publication of the first issue of our newspaper The Commune. You can order a printed copy (£1 per copy + postage and packing) by emailing uncaptiveminds@gmail.com or writing to The Commune, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London EC1V 4PY.
click here for pdf, or see individual articles below
nationalisation is no answer for our class! – Editorial part one
the dual crisis of labour and capital – Editorial part two
civil service dispute on ice? – by Steve Ryan, Wrexham PCS
report of pro-choice demo 20th october
are we really fighting in unison? – by James Caspell, Lambeth UNISON
the crisis of capitalism – interview with Andrew Kliman, author of Reclaiming Marx’s Capital
henry paulson’s bureaucratic collectivist fantasy – by Ernie Haberkern
william morris: against ‘state socialism’ – by Terry Liddle
for institutions of workplace democracy – by Gregor Gall, Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Hertfordshire
the class struggle in iran – by David Broder
the commune 