Organizing an anti-capitalist discussion/action group

[Crabbensmasher]

Hey all, I don't post here much anymore, but I still read a lot. I'm looking for help with an upcoming event I'm planning.

Its pretty simple - I'm a student at a medium sized Canadian University, and I've realized we don't have any formal anti-capitalist or socialist student organizations.

I want to start one event that introduces students to the basics of Marxist theory. The very basics - exploitation, private property, surplus value, imperialism etc. This is meant for students who may be interested in anti-corporatism/capitalism of the Russell Brand variety, but have no experience in Marxism

This event will either be about anti-capitalism and the environment, or anti-capitalism and wealth inequality. The objective is simple: To show that capitalism as a system is the root cause of these, and that liberal/social democratic reforms to address them will always fall short.

Obvs you can't turn anyone into a Marxist through one event, and I only want this one to peak people's interest. If all goes well, I want this to lead into a small reading/discussion/action group. We would compile a short reading list, debate current events using Marxist analysis, and link it back to current struggles in our communities. The end goal is not to discuss theory alone, but to balance it with practice. Once people have the basic theory down, I want us to get involved in struggles on campus (Like strikes, university administration, tuition fees etc.) and off-campus (anti-austerity, workplace strikes, against social services cuts etc.)

Questions:

1. Is this a good idea?

2. How should this event be laid out? I'm thinking of keeping it simple: having one or two people speaking for about an hour (maybe a short video/audio clip between them) and then Q&A. Thoughts?

3. Do you have practical experience doing things like this? How has it turned out.



Thanks a lot. Any advice or thoughts are really appreciated

[Ele'ill]

If you have the energy and are interested to see where that goes then sure give it a try.

One thing on how to do it is instead of shouldering all the weight maybe look around first to see if there are anticapitalists who can help and contact them to have a group discussion about it first just to brain storm. I don't know if your campus has workers who are union but browsing through the local's twitter feeds or more personal non-official union sites, even facebook, can give you a better idea of what to expect. This also applies for other on campus groups.

Maybe do a lookup to see if other marxist stuff has happened nearby or on campus and contact those people

[Crabbensmasher]

If you have the energy and are interested to see where that goes then sure give it a try.

One thing on how to do it is instead of shouldering all the weight maybe look around first to see if there are anticapitalists who can help and contact them to have a group discussion about it first just to brain storm. I don't know if your campus has workers who are union but browsing through the local's twitter feeds or more personal non-official union sites, even facebook, can give you a better idea of what to expect. This also applies for other on campus groups.

Maybe do a lookup to see if other marxist stuff has happened nearby or on campus and contact those people

That's a good idea. I've talked to a few people individually, but I think now's the time to put them all in the same room together.


I have some pretty good contacts so far, but the problem is choosing who's right to speak at this event. Or, more importantly, an actual topic for the first event that draws people in.

One or two people just giving a speech is too dry, but I still like the idea of keeping it simple. Similarly, just having a film screening is too 'one-way'. It happens way too often on the campus, its boring and not interactive.

We have to remember that a lot of these students will be new to radical politics. I like the idea of including something fiery and passionate that really gets them worked up. Showing some sort of speech or audio clip might do the trick. I've heard some great ones in the past, but its hard finding them on youtube or elsewhere. Any ideas?

[BIXX]

Any ideas?

Take the students on an "unbuild your own window" adventure.