Summer School 2017 – Birmingham 21/23 July
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Summer School will again be held at Fircroft College, Birmingham in 2017, between Friday, 21 and Sunday, 23 July.
More details in due course
EDIT: NOW CONTAINS A LINK TO MAKE AN ONLINE BOOKINGThe EnvironmentSummer School 201721st – 23rd JulyFircroft College, BirminghamThese days, concerns about the environment tend to get pushed into the background by issues like Brexit, Trump’s presidency and ongoing austerity measures. But climate change, pollution and extinctions don’t go away just because the headlines are filled with other events. 2016 was the warmest year on record, with implications for sea levels and habitats; more and more waste is produced for future generations to deal with, and many hundreds of species continue to become extinct every year. Legislation places some restrictions on the use of dangerous materials, hunting and waste disposal, for example. However, legislators can only work within a system which is structured to safeguard the interests of the wealthy elite, rather than everyone. And of course laws don’t always prevent environmentally-damaging methods from being used if they save or make money. Capitalism turns the natural world into a resource to be exploited for a profit.The Socialist Party argues that the environment can only be managed responsibly if society as a whole is managed co-operatively and in everyone’s interests. If our industries and services were owned and run in common, then we would be able to produce what we need and want in the most reasonable, sustainable way. Our weekend of talks and discussions looks at the current state of the environment, and its prospects for the future we make for it.Full residential cost (including accommodation and meals Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) is £100. The concessionary rate is £50. Day visitors are welcome, but please book in advance.***To book a place click here***Or send a cheque (payable to the Socialist Party of Great Britain) to Summer School, Sutton Farm, Aldborough, Boroughbridge, York, YO51 9ER. E-mail enquiries to spgbschool@yahoo.co.uk EDIT: NOW CONTAINS A LINK TO MAKE AN ONLINE BOOKING
JUL21
Summer School 2017I'm happy to announce that Janet Surman will be giving a talk at Summer School on the following topic:WORLD MILITARY versus THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAs citizens of the world contend with almost perpetual war there are various schools of thought about the real motives of those who promote, start or continue war somewhere on the planet. The military is just one arm of the global capitalist industrial complex, and vital to the hegemonic aims of powerful individuals and groups determined to funnel the profits into their own coffers.It is also one of the most profitable arms of capitalism, one which reaps increasing profits on each successive annual assessment. Not taken into consideration, however, is the havoc wreaked on both people and environments worldwide.The aim of this session is to investigate the increasing negative impacts of militarism on the global environment and identify the basic cause.Further updates are on the way!
The next talk which can be confirmed will be given by Paddy Shannon:The Vegans Are Coming!The currently accepted socialist view of vegetarianism is that it’s a ‘lifestyle choice’. What this means is that, while a future socialist society may choose to be vegetarian or vegan as it pleases, the question has no immediate relevance to the class struggle we need to win right now, and therefore it’s not for us to tell workers what to do.Yet this view is arguably being overtaken by events in wider society, which is having to face the realities of climate change including the huge and unsustainable impact of meat production. The anti-meat propaganda movement is gaining muscle in the wake of the 2009 Stern report, the 2010 UN call for a global move towards veganism, and just recently Simon Amstell’s controversial BBC mockumentary Carnage (see May Socialist Standard TV review). Perhaps it’s no longer a question of socialists telling workers what to do, but of workers telling socialists what to do. How should we react to this? After all, if meat production is unsustainable in capitalism it is likely to be just as unsustainable in socialism. Does it make sense, in that case, for us to remain aloof from the debate?This session explores the various arguments with a view to clarifying what our position as socialists ought to be.
Saturday evening will feature a quiz, run by Carla Dee:One World, Our World. A Quiz.What do you know about climate change, the natural world and urban environments? Test your knowledge here.
I would be disappointed if some of the other remaining talks did not touch on the subjects of 1) the theory of externalities and 2) the structural waste of capitalism. The latter, focussing on socially useless forms of work under capitalism – not just the role of the military – is a particularly salient feature of the case for socialism and indeed provides a uniquely socialist insight into the whole question of the sustainable use of resourcesIs there any indication that these subjects might be covered at the Summer School? Also, will transcripts of the talks be made available perhaps in a pamphlet form as happened in the case of the previous Summer School on Marxism?
Thanks for your suggestions, robbo203. The remaining talks are still being planned, and I'll see if your thoughts can be incorporated into them.The last two Summer Schools have been accompanied by pamphlets which include versions of some of the talks (and most recent Summer Schools have had special publications), so there's a chance that something similar will be produced again this year…
Mike Foster wrote:Thanks for your suggestions, robbo203. The remaining talks are still being planned, and I'll see if your thoughts can be incorporated into them.The last two Summer Schools have been accompanied by pamphlets which include versions of some of the talks (and most recent Summer Schools have had special publications), so there's a chance that something similar will be produced again this year…Hi Mike Yes, it would be useful to produce a transcript of the talks in a proper pamphlet form. I have often had occasion to refer people interested in socialist ideas who I have met through the internet forums and the like to the "Marxism Revisited" pamphlet based on the summer school of 1998 What are the two most recent pamphlets you refer to based on talks given at summer schools? Shouldnt they be listed as part of the pamphlet stock on this site? The SPGB suffers from a real dirth of recently published pamphlets in my view. This year you have an opportunity to produce a new pamphlet on the environment and I would urge you to seize that opportunity….
The publication from 2015's Summer School is already available from the online shop: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/catalog/non-party-publications/new-perspectives-socialism and I'll look into making last year's one more widely available.
Mike Foster wrote:The publication from 2015's Summer School is already available from the online shop: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/catalog/non-party-publications/new-perspectives-socialism and I'll look into making last year's one more widely available.I didnt realise there was a category called "non-party publications" with a paywall in place. What is the rationale for this? Would it not be better to make these 3 publications, party publications, with full access to contents as per the Marxism Revisited pamphlet also based on a summer school? I think visitors to this site would benefit from a wider selection of material being made available and, as mentioned, I do refer people quite often to this site and its stock of literature – as, I imagine, do other people here
The other two publications weren't produced by the SPGB, and the New Perspectives On Socialism one includes speculative articles which don't necessarily reflect party canon, hence them listed as non-party publications. I'm guessing another reason why they're listed for sale rather than having the text on the website is to recoup the cost of the printed copies in stock!
Quote:Would it not be better to make these 3 publications, party publications, with full access to contentsFor sure, the online video of the talks are very educational, but i agree with Robbo. As someone unable to attend but also a person who uses a lot of resources on the net, i'd like the ability to copy and paste sections of the associated pamphlets to widen their audience.
Mike Foster wrote:The publication from 2015's Summer School is already available from the online shop: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/catalog/non-party-publications/new-perspectives-socialism and I'll look into making last year's one more widely available.Last year's Summer School publication is now available for sale here: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/catalog/non-party-publications/money-talks
The next Summer School talk which can be confirmed will be given by Glenn Morris:DESTROYING THE HAND THAT FEEDS US – Why Capitalism cannot solve our environmental problemsAs scientists continue to warn us of species decline, climate change, pollution and environmental collapse, what is it that makes most people continue to believe that Capitalism has the answers? Glenn Morris will look into these issues and present the case for a new society in which the threats to our environment can be addressed and how society can work alongside nature without being instrumental in its downfall.
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