Wed 7/13 7pm
SCCC room 4115 Meeting Agenda
1) Europe's Hot Summer Pt 1: Greece (45)
As Greece once again nears the prospect of defaulting on its debt, the government is calling for even more austerity on workers who have already seen their livelihoods drastically reduced. The response has been over a month of mass strikes, occupations of the public squares and crackdown by the police. Discuss the ongoing revolt in Greece and what it means for the rest of the region and the world.
Latest coverage from SW:
What happens if Greece defaults?
From Austerity to Action
What's at Stake in Greece?
Showdown in Greece
The Struggle of the Squares
2) Meeting location change (15)
So it looks like we don't have club status at SCCC after all and will be looking to move meetings to UW for the summer. Details will be provided at the meeting and alternate proposals may be raised.
3) Marxist Summer Study Series Proposal (20)
After last week's discussion we have a tentative proposal for our summer study series. Details are below. It's ambitious but we think doable if we put the time into it. This will also be a great series for newer folks to read with us and really explore and discuss the foundations of our politics. Questions, changes, counterproposals are welcome and then we'll put it to a vote.
Note on the Lenin readings: the suggestion is that anyone who hasn't yet read Building the Party focus on that, otherwise read the LeBlanc. If you've read both then you can focus on the supplemental readings-- there is plenty there!
4) Jesse's going to Palestine! (30)
As most of you probably heard by now our own comrade Jesse will be leaving for Palestine at the end of the week! Hear about his plans and discuss what kind of report back events are being planned on his return.
Marxist Summer Study Series Proposal:
Part one: Marxism & the State
July 27: State & Revolution
Main reading:
State & Revolution by Lenin
Supplementary readings:
Socialism & Democracy by Paul LeBlanc (ISR)
The Origin of the Family, Private Property & the State by Engels
Marx & Engels on the Death of the State by Hal Draper
August 10: The Paris Commune
Main reading:
The Paris Commune: A Revolutionary Democracy by Donny Gluckstein
Supplementary readings:
The Civil War in France by Marx (plus ISR Review)
The Women Incendiaries by Edith Thomas
Part two: Lenin & the Party
August 24: Party & Class
Main Reading:
Party & Class (essays)
Supplementary Readings:
Lenin's Theory of the Party by Todd Chretien (ISR)
Lenin's Return by Helen Scott, Paul LeBlanc & Lars Lih (ISR)
Marxism & the Party by John Molynieux
September 7: The Birth of Bolshevism through 1905
Main Reading:
Building the Party by Tony Cliff, Ch. 1-12
-or-
Lenin and the Revolutionary Party by Paul LeBlanc, Ch. 1-6
September 21: Lenin & the Bolsheviks 1906-1914
Building the Party by Tony Cliff, Ch. 13-20
-or-
Lenin and the Revolutionary Party by Paul LeBlanc, Ch. 7-10
Supplementary Readings (for both sections):
The Myth of Lenin's Elitism by Paul D'Amato (ISR)
The Birth of Bolshevism by Paul D'Amato (ISR)
What is Economism? by Duncan Hallas (ISR)
Leninism Under Lenin by Marcel Liebman
Lenin's Political Thought by Neil Harding
Lenin Rediscovered: What is to be Done in Context by Lars Lih
