1. Understanding the Economic Meltdown from a Socialist Perspective
While mainstream economists and policymakers are reeling, Marxists have been vindicated in their prediction that a host of problems in the system--overproduction, declining rates of profit, class inequality and speculative bubbles--would inevitably produce a serious global recession. But there is a debate among Marxists about how to understand both long-term declining rates of profit, and the reality of the booms in the period of monopoly capitalism, especially the large post-war expansion of the 1950s and 1960s.
To further this discussion we will be reading and discussing the following articles
Can Marxism explain the financial crash? Ashley Smith reviews The Great Financial Crisis, an important book that seeks to explain the economic meltdown from a socialist perspective
The U.S. economic crisis: Causes and Solutions by Fred Mosley ISR Issue 64, March–April 2009
as well as The crisis of Capitalism: Beyond Deregulation and Greed by Claudio Katz ISR Issue 65, May-June 2009 (This article is not currently available online, But the Current ISR can be bought at any ISO event, from individual members, and if you cant connect with us before next week, the ISO is also available at Barnes and Noble).
2. Socialism Conference Update and organizing
Updates on our building for the Socialism 2009 Conference: Building a New Left for a New Era, July 2-5 in San Fransisco
Full Conference Website * Highlight Videos * Schedule and Speakers
