Discussion
London Saturday afternoons 6pm 5 June "Slums and Slumps: Housing under Capitalism'? -- Paul Bennett "Despite decades of housing legislation, there are still homeless people and countless more living in sub-standard accommodation. Home ownership has increased, but at the expense of people taking on vast mortgage commitments. The precise nature of the housing problem may change over time, but the problem itself persists. We shall argue that this is because under capitalism housing is subject to the profit motive, and there is no profit in providing housing for those who cannot afford it. As one American housing activist says about the mismatch between availability and affordability, 'It's really water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.'" 19 June "Class struggle and climate change - the politics of personal consumption." -- Paddy Shannon "We keep being told, these days, to reduce, re-use and recycle, to cut down on the meat, the car, the pets and the foreign holidays, to turn down, switch off, unplug and stand-by. The moral pressure-front of climate change is firmly upon us, yet when we take a look at the figures we find that the domestic share of consumption and waste is a small part of the overall picture, and that the lion's share is neither in our control nor even in the control of governments. It is in the hands of the tiny percentage of the Earth's population whom luck or inheritance have made into the super-rich. These are the people defecating on the global doorstep and then blaming the rest of us for the smell. It's enough to make any class-conscious worker spit and say to hell with recycling. But that would be a big mistake." 3 July "Business growth in conflict with the environment" -- Glenn Morris 17 July "Feeding the world: profit versus plenty" -- Pat Deutz "How is it that with the tremendous productive capability associated with capitalism - the amount of food grown is enough to feed the greatly increased population growth - that millions still suffer malnutrition? Why is it that with the accumulated wealth of knowledge and expertise in every field of food production that so much soil is degraded, the health of oceans and prospects for fishing are under threat, and large areas have lost the biodiversity which is so essential to the health of the planet? Find out how the change to common ownership and production solely for use could provide the framework to enable the application of scientific and technological knowledge, together with human ingenuity, to the many problems; so that production is sustainable, damaged environment allowed to recover and the food supply ensured for all". 31 July "Reforming Capitalism or the Socialist alternative" -- Vincent Otter Socialist Party premises, 52 Clapham High Street, SW4 7UN (nearest tube: Clapham North) East Anglia Saturday 12th June 2-5pm Do You Feel Exploited? Film and discussion (1 of a series of 3) Showing a video-short by Kapitalism 101 The Workshop 53 Earlham Road Norwich NR2 3AD (see poster for this film and discussion here) Manchester Monday 28 June, 8.30 pm Discussion on the failures of the Labour government Monday 26 July, 8.30 pm Slums and slumps: housing under capitalism Unicorn, Church Street, City Centre West London Tuesday 15 June Discussion on Lib-Con coalition Committee Room, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, W4. Chester Tuesday 22 June 7.15 pm Debate at Chester Debating Society 'Should Capitalism Have a Future?'. Socialist speaker - Gywnn Thomas Quaker Meeting House, Union Walk, Frodsham Street, Chester, CH1 3LF . |
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