Beyond Capitalism: Marx’s Concept of an Alternative
A series of five open discussions
Is it possible to today develop an alternative to all forms of capitalism, whether in its free market or statist variety? Can a concept of a new society that transcends value production animate today's forces of revolt to go beyond reformism and one-sided critiques of U.S. imperialism that fail to articulate what we are for? What concepts can help break through the prevailing notion that there is no alternative to existing society?
These meetings will address these questions by exploring a work by Karl Marx that contains his most extensive discussion of a new society—his Critique of the Gotha Program. We will explore Marx's Critique in light of ongoing theoretic and practical debates in the radical movement. As Raya Dunayevskaya, the founder of Marxist-Humanism in the U.S., wrote in 1987: “The burning question of the day remains: What happens the day after [the revolution]? How can we continue Marx’s unchaining of the dialectic with the principles he outlined in his Critique of the Gotha Program?”
We invite you to join in these discussions.
All meetings held at
News & Letters Library
36 South Wabash, Room 1440
(312) 236-0799
arise (at) newsandletters.org
Meeting 1: Monday, February 7
From Marx to Lenin, Lukács and Korsch: The Problem of Envisioning a New Society
Leading off the discussion: Marilyn Nissim-Sabat, professor of philosophy, and
Kevin Anderson, author of Lenin, Hegel and Western Marxism
The following readings will serve as the background of the discussion:
• Karl Marx: Letter to William Bracke of May 5, 1875
• Marx: Capital, Vol. I: “The Fetishism of Commodities and its Secret”
• Raya Dunayevskaya: chapter 11 of Rosa Luxemburg, Women’s Liberation, and Marx’s Philosophy of Revolution
• Raya Dunayevskaya: “Letter on Karl Korsch,” in The Power of Negativity
• Karl Korsch: “Introduction to Critique of the Gotha Program”
Copies of all readings are available from
News and Letters