2014: War
2013: Relationships
2012: Protest
2000: William Morris
1999: Democracy
1998: Marxism Revisited
SUMMER SCHOOL 2014
Capitalism causes war. In the last hundred years there has been a proliferation of war: two world wars, countless other conflicts and civil wars, the Cold War with its threat of nuclear Armageddon, and today the ‘War on Terror’. Socialists do not support capitalist wars, which veil the class struggle by developing a false sense of identity between the working class and the capitalist class. The interests of the two classes are always antagonistic, and that is why as socialists we speak of the class war. Socialism means, among other things, internationalism, rather than nationalism which always contributes to war.
Our weekend of talks, workshops and discussion will examine the role of war in capitalism and how only socialism can abolish war from the Earth.
MARX’S ATTITUDE TO WAR: WAS HE RIGHT OR WRONG? (29 mins)
Date: 20th June 2014
Speaker: Adam Buick
Pt 2 (36 mins)
IN WHOSE INTERESTS? THE OUTBREAK OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR (26 mins)
Date: 21st June 2014
Speaker: Gwynn Thomas
Pt 2 (70 mins)
THE WORKING CLASS WAS IN THE SADDLE: SOCIAL REVOLUTION IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (50 mins)
Date: 21st June 2014
Speaker: Steve Clayton
Pt 2 (35 mins)
CLASS WAR, GENDER WARS AND WAR OF ALL AGAINST ALL (44 mins)
Date: 21st June 2014
Speaker: Richard Field
Pt 2 (56 mins)
HERE COME THE WAR ROBOTS: TECHNOLOGY AND WARFARE IN CAPITALISM (50 mins)
Date: 21st June 2014
Speaker: Bill Martin
Pt 2 (19 mins)
LIFE IN THE COLD WAR (38 mins)
Date: 22nd June 2014
Speaker: Mike Foster
Pt 2 (29 mins)
SUMMER SCHOOL 2013
Relationships
Our lives are shaped by our relationships with other people – from our closest loved ones to acquaintances we barely know. Often, our relationships depend on our personalities and interests. But there are wider social factors which influence who we know and how we get on with them. The structure of family life has changed over time, with relationships affected by economic pressures. At work, our relationships are defined by job roles and office politics. Also, technology now plays a greater part than before, especially with the spread of social networking sites. And across society, how we relate to others is still dictated by status and damaged by prejudice. Our weekend of talks, discussion and workshops will examine capitalist society’s influence on how we all fit together. We will also consider how socialism can make relationships more equal and fair.
FAMILY IN CLASS SOCIETY: FROM ENGELS TO ANTI-OEDIPUS (45 mins)
Date: Friday 12th July
Speaker: Steve Clayton
Pt 2 (44 mins)
ALIENATION AT WORK (32 mins)
Date: 13th July 2013
Speaker: Mike Foster
Pt 2 (36 mins)
Pt 3 (34 mins)
THE SPGB OBJECT AND PRINCIPLES (23 mins)
Date: 13th July 2013
Speaker: Jacqueline Shodeke
Pt 2 (32 mins)
PHYSIOGNOMY: THE PSEUDOSCIENCE THAT WON’T GO AWAY (43 mins)
Date: 14th July 2013
Speaker: Mike Foster
Pt 2 (36 mins)
SUMMER SCHOOL 2012
Protest
Worldwide, people have reacted to the political and economic crisis with new forms of protest. From the Arab Spring uprisings to the Occupy Movement, activists are rejecting traditional forms of political assembly, and are looking for new ways of organisation.
But what will be the consequences of these new battles in the class war? Will these protests result in any lasting, positive change for the working class? Could they point towards a revolution? Or will they go the way of all reformism and just prolong the capitalist system which traps us all?
The Socialist Party’s weekend of talks and discussion will examine protests in all its forms – its aims, methods and effects.
THE ARAB SPRING (50 mins)
Venue: Harborne Hall, Birmingham
Date: 6th July 2012
Speaker: Janet Surman
Pt 2 (51 mins)
THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT: A DISCUSSION (33 mins)
A discussion between Ian Barker (Occupy Norwich) and Stair (SPGB)
Venue: Harborne Hall, Birmingham
Date: 7th July 2012
Pt 2 (29 mins)
Pt 3 (35 mins)
Pt 4 (38 mins)
POLICING THE CRISIS (36 mins)
Venue: Harborne Hall, Birmingham
Date: 7th July 2012
Speaker: Mike Foster
Pt 2 (34 mins)
Pt 3 (33 mins)
WHAT DID THE ROMANS DO FOR US? – Shakespeare, protest and mouldy cheese (37 mins)
Venue: Harborne Hall, Birmingham
Date: 7th July 2012
Speaker: Bill Martin
Pt 2 (23 mins)
LAND, SEA AND AIR: WORTH PROTESTING ABOUT (49 mins)
Venue: Harborne Hall, Birmingham
Date: 8th July 2012
Speaker: Glenn Morris
Pt 2 (33 mins)
Pt 3 (31 mins)
SUMMER SCHOOL 2000
William Morris
Venue: Fircroft College, Birmingham
Dates: 14th-16th July 2000
Transferred from tape cassettes. Some of the discussion sections are of very poor quality. The worst parts have been deleted and replaced with 2 seconds of silence.
An Evening With William Morris –
Edwin Walters
14th July 2000
Pt 2
The Utopian Tradition
Steve Coleman
15th July 2000
Pt 2
Pt 3
Morris and the Romantic Movement
Ron Cook
15th July 2000
Pt 2
The Stateless Society
Richard Headicar
15th July 2000
A Dream of John Ball
Adam Buick
16th July 2000
Pt 2
From Nowhere to Somewhere
Paddy Shannon and Stan Parker
16th July 2000
Pt 2
SUMMER SCHOOL 1999
Democracy
IS DEMOCRACY WORTH SAVING? (48 mins)
Date: 9th July 1999
Speaker: Richard Headicar
Pt 2 (43 mins)
Poor sound quality in pt.2
THE GREAT DEMOCRACY PICTURE SHOW (37 mins)
Date: 10th July 1999
Speaker: Steve Coleman
Pt 2 (50 mins)
THE PRESENT CONDITION OF DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD (41 mins)
Date: 10th July 1999
Speaker: Vic Vanni
Pt 2 (49 mins)
Poor sound quality in pt.2
LITERATURE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY (51 mins)
Date: 10th July 1999
Speaker: Christopher Hampton
Pt 2 (39 mins)
Some inaudible comments in pt.2 have been removed
DEMOCRACY AND THE INTERNET (41 mins)
Date: 11th July 1999
Speaker: Paddy Shannon
Pt 2 (45 mins)
DEMOCRACY IN SOCIALISM (43 mins)
Date: 11th July 1999
Speaker: Pieter Lawrence
Pt 2 (44 mins)
SUMMER SCHOOL 1998
Marxism Revisited
WHO THE HELL WAS KARL MARX? (45 mins)
Date: 3rd July 1998
Speaker: Steve Coleman
HAS THE MARKET SUPERSEDED MARXIAN ECONOMICS? (47 mins)
Date: 4th July 1998
Speaker: Ron Cook
THE FETISHISM OF COMMODITIES (36 mins)
Date: 4th July 1998
Speaker: Dick Donnelly
DID LENIN REALLY DISTORT MARX? (34 mins)
Date: 4th July 1998
Speaker: Adam Buick
IS THE SOCIALIST PARTY MARXIST? (41 mins)
Date: 5th July 1998
Speaker: Steve Coleman