Summer School
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Gender And Power
The Socialist Party's Summer School
3rd – 5th August 2018
Fircroft College, Birmingham
Capitalism is a society of inequalities, in how both wealth and power are distributed. These inequalities have often affected women more adversely than men, and campaigns for women’s rights have been ongoing for over a century. But the debate around gender equality is no longer just about differences in wages or opportunities. Allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in Parliament and the entertainment industry especially have highlighted how some men have exercised their power. Also, the debate has broadened due to increased awareness of issues affecting transgender people, many of whom have felt marginalised.
How should socialists respond to the new prominence given to gender politics? What does gender inequality tell us about capitalist society, especially how it shapes gender roles? And how does the issue impact upon revolutionary politics? The Socialist Party argues that sexism and misogyny are expressions of how capitalism is inherently divisive and unequal. So, the solution is to address these problems at their source, by uniting to replace capitalism with a society based on equality and freedom.
Our weekend of talks and discussion will examine how gender issues relate to wider society and to revolutionary politics. Full residential cost (including accommodation and meals Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) is £100. The concessionary rate is £50. Day visitors are welcome, but please book in advance.
E-mail enquiries should be sent to spgbschool[at]yahoo.co.uk. To book a place online, go to spgb.net/summerschool2018, or send a cheque (payable to the Socialist Party of Great Britain) with your contact details to Summer School, The Socialist Party, 52 Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7UN.
Here is the events page for this year's Summer School which contains links to booking places online and information about the venue, etc.http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/event/summer-school-birmingham-35-august
I'm happy to announce the first of this year's Summer School talks!Lorna Stevens and Paddy Shannon present…'Inside the Matrix'This talk will argue against the premise that oppression is simply the product of class struggle and that feminism can be dismissed as identity politics which distract from the real issue. Feminism and socialism are not either / or, positions. An understanding of class, patriarchy and intersectionality is crucial to the challenge of establishing a world based on socialist principles.Another talk will be announced very soon! If you'd like to make a booking, see the details in the posts above.
Aagh "intersectionality" ! As the doctrine that "I am more oppressed than thou" it is identity politics gone mad, a dangerous recipe for different sections of the working class to engage in a free-for-all for a bigger share for their section of the crumbs capitalism has to offer. It has nothing to do with the class struggle between the owning, capitalst class and the non-owning, wage and salary working class nor to the struggle for socialism. Quite the opposite. It is a diversion from it, a dangerous, divisive doctrine and practice that Socialists should oppose. An understanding of this is indeed crucial.
ALB wrote:Aagh "intersectionality" ! As the doctrine that "I am more oppressed than thou" it is identity politics gone mad, a dangerous recipe for different sections of the working class to engage in a free-for-all for a bigger share for their section of the crumbs capitalism has to offer. It has nothing to do with the class struggle between the owning, capitalst class and the non-owning, wage and salary working class nor to the struggle for socialism. Quite the opposite. It is a diversion from it, a dangerous, divisive doctrine and practice that Socialists should oppose. An understanding of this is indeed crucial.Absofuckinglutely! I'm sharing this post wherever I can, providing you have no objection. If this is being advocated it's a further example of a certain branch's 'shakiness'. First they wanted to ditch the Socialist Standard and then to 'water down' the Declaration of Principles!
gnome wrote:ALB wrote:Aagh "intersectionality" ! As the doctrine that "I am more oppressed than thou" it is identity politics gone mad, a dangerous recipe for different sections of the working class to engage in a free-for-all for a bigger share for their section of the crumbs capitalism has to offer. It has nothing to do with the class struggle between the owning, capitalst class and the non-owning, wage and salary working class nor to the struggle for socialism. Quite the opposite. It is a diversion from it, a dangerous, divisive doctrine and practice that Socialists should oppose. An understanding of this is indeed crucial.Absofuckinglutely! I'm sharing this post wherever I can, providing you have no objection. If this is being advocated it's a further example of a certain branch's 'shakiness'. First they wanted to ditch the Socialist Standard and then to 'water down' the Declaration of Principles!
the whole notion of intersectionality is based on the notion of inequality which is itself rooted in an acceptance of bourgeois notions of equality, i.e. the equalisation of workers, if we have equal opportunities in capitalism then for example, as well as equalising employment opportunities we are also equalising unemployment opportunities. As Socialist we can see beyond the chimera of identify politics, which sets worker against worker and reject the equalisation of misery and the self limiting reactionary view point of those who promote intersectionality. I hope the speakers at summer school, correctly, reject this bourgeois bollocks, in line with the party case.
gnome wrote:If this is being advocated it's a further example of a certain branch's 'shakiness'. First they wanted to ditch the Socialist Standard and then to 'water down' the Declaration of Principles!And now they want equality under capitalism. That's a hoot. These are not the same members trying to stop Magpies eating cheese burgers and drinking beer, are they?
As Paddy is reticent and reluctant to engage on this forum (something i frown upon), i take the liberty of posting his response to the criticism of the topic. In doing so, i recall back in 2005 Paddy was given a simple remit to do a Make Poverty History talk in Edinburgh and took us by all surprise by raising the topic to a new higher level that we expected. I suggest we await what he and Lorna say before passing judgement.
Quote:It seems that one or two members on the Forum and Facebook, of which I am not a member, have gone into gobshite overdrive mode over the subject of the advertised Fircroft talk on intersectionality. First, let's be clear folks, intersectionality doesn't mean what you think it means, as you would know if you bothered to look it up. Second, the Party should encourage the free exploration of ideas – and most members actually do this, and Fircroft certainly does – so those involved do not represent the majority by their frankly rather insulting posts. Let's have an interesting debate and not prejudge it with knee-jerk reflexes and ad hominems, people. That way some of us might learn something.PaddyI don’t know if the “gobshite” and “don’t know what it means” comments were aimed at my posts, however just to put Paddy’s mind at rest I currently present lectures on the subject on MA course at a well known Northern University, so I feel I have a reasonable grasp of the topic. (Not that Universities are the font of all knowledge, by the way, but I do follow the Party example of preparing well and researching before speaking about a topic in my day job as well)interesting that Paddy should comment that the party should be free to discuss ideas and then dismiss those who are discussing his ideas as gobshites, who don’t understand the topic, physician heal thy self?
Summer School is always a good opportunity to discuss ideas, not only our own but also those of other perspectives. We should look into approaches such as intersectionality so we can offer our reasoned views on them.
Here are details of another Summer School talk! Bill Martin will present…Equal work for equal value?This talk will look at the relevance of value, and the labour theory of value to discussions around the gender pay gap in the workplace. It will look at value as a story told to lay claim to the output of society, and will relate that to Utopian visions of women and womanhood. It will argue that that value is not a value-free idea, but in fact a deliberate move in the class struggle to enforce the power of the capitalist class. Along the way, this talk will take in how the working class is exploited, and how this exploitation contains within itself the end of capitalist values. Finally, it will suggest that the struggle over equal wages contains within itself the drive toward the abolition of the wages system itself.
alanjjohnstone wrote:As Paddy is reticent and reluctant to engage on this forum (something i frown upon),He says 'let's have an iteresting debate' but sends his message via a third party! Thus stifling any response and debate.Arn't those stones carved with wisdom a little heavy for a man of your age to carry down the mountain, Alan? You could tell him to carry them himself.
Mike Foster wrote:Summer School is always a good opportunity to discuss ideas,I disagree. Not many members and sympathisers go to these summer schools. We have 21st century technology which allows even those who suffer from benefit sanctions to take part, but some members refuse for some reason.
patreilly wrote:alanjjohnstone wrote:As Paddy is reticent and reluctant to engage on this forum (something i frown upon),He says 'let's have an iteresting debate' but sends his message via a third party! Thus stifling any response and debate.Arn't those stones carved with wisdom a little heavy for a man of your age to carry down the mountain, Alan? You could tell him to carry them himself.
This is not the first time that others have felt compelled to relay the thoughts of chairman PJS. I have no patience whatever with those who feel so special that they can't avail themselves of the facilities that the rest of us mere mortals are perfectly content with.This sanctimonious attitude is becoming exceedingly tedious.
"He says 'let's have an iteresting debate' but sends his message via a third party! "(my emph)Just to be clear, he sent no-one to relay his message. I took it upon myself to post his Spintcom message. I'm not even aware if Paddy knows if his Spintcom message was pasted to this forum I am fully in accord with Gnome's disapproval that there are a number of members and even party position office-holders who disdain from visiting this forum. It should be part of their remit as a committee memberI also will add, i am disappointed by those members who are on the net who fail to visit the blog on a regular basis and who decline to offer any comment to the posts….one of those days i'm going to post some outrageous scurrilous blog, maybe a naked selfie, just to check how long it takes members to react to it…so be warned…and hopefully that threat alone will be suffice in raising our blog traffic figure
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