Mike Foster
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Thanks for your suggestions, robbo203. The remaining talks are still being planned, and I'll see if your thoughts can be incorporated into them.The last two Summer Schools have been accompanied by pamphlets which include versions of some of the talks (and most recent Summer Schools have had special publications), so there's a chance that something similar will be produced again this year…
Saturday evening will feature a quiz, run by Carla Dee:One World, Our World. A Quiz.What do you know about climate change, the natural world and urban environments? Test your knowledge here.
The next talk which can be confirmed will be given by Paddy Shannon:The Vegans Are Coming!The currently accepted socialist view of vegetarianism is that it’s a ‘lifestyle choice’. What this means is that, while a future socialist society may choose to be vegetarian or vegan as it pleases, the question has no immediate relevance to the class struggle we need to win right now, and therefore it’s not for us to tell workers what to do.Yet this view is arguably being overtaken by events in wider society, which is having to face the realities of climate change including the huge and unsustainable impact of meat production. The anti-meat propaganda movement is gaining muscle in the wake of the 2009 Stern report, the 2010 UN call for a global move towards veganism, and just recently Simon Amstell’s controversial BBC mockumentary Carnage (see May Socialist Standard TV review). Perhaps it’s no longer a question of socialists telling workers what to do, but of workers telling socialists what to do. How should we react to this? After all, if meat production is unsustainable in capitalism it is likely to be just as unsustainable in socialism. Does it make sense, in that case, for us to remain aloof from the debate?This session explores the various arguments with a view to clarifying what our position as socialists ought to be.
I'm happy to announce that Janet Surman will be giving a talk at Summer School on the following topic:WORLD MILITARY versus THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAs citizens of the world contend with almost perpetual war there are various schools of thought about the real motives of those who promote, start or continue war somewhere on the planet. The military is just one arm of the global capitalist industrial complex, and vital to the hegemonic aims of powerful individuals and groups determined to funnel the profits into their own coffers.It is also one of the most profitable arms of capitalism, one which reaps increasing profits on each successive annual assessment. Not taken into consideration, however, is the havoc wreaked on both people and environments worldwide.The aim of this session is to investigate the increasing negative impacts of militarism on the global environment and identify the basic cause.Further updates are on the way!
We’re looking to have a stall outside the venue, as we’ve done in previous years. If anyone’s interested in helping to run it, please email spgb.campaigns@worldsocialism.org. Any assistance, even if just for an hour or two, would be gratefully received.
Thanks to everyone who came along to Summer School, especially the speakers Janet, Colin, Bill and Adam, and also Dave for helping with the recording and promotion. Hopefully everyone had an enjoyable and interesting weekend – I did.
Speaking of links, here's one to a recent BBC interview with Tony Garnett, who produced some of the dramas mentioned: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jhsd1
Thanks very much for taking the time to find links to the programmes and people mentioned in the article. It's a shame that you don't get that kind of thought-provoking drama today. My personal favourites are Survivors, Noah's Castle and Cathy Come Home, but they're not the most cheerful of shows!
There are still places left at Summer School, but if you're interested in coming along, please make a booking or let me know as soon as possible. More details can be found here: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/event/summer-school-birmingham
As always, Summer School will also include a bookstall, with hundreds of titles about politics, society, economics, history etc. For one weekend, it's the only radical bookshop in the whole West Midlands!
More Summer School news! Attendees will receive a free, exclusive illustrated publication packed with specially-commissioned articles on the theme of money and a moneyless society.There are still spaces available, so if you're interested in coming along, booking details can be found here: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/event/summer-school-birmingham
The other confirmed session for Summer School is:Socialists In Spaaace: A Game Of Co-operative Economics run by Bill MartinThis team game will give us a chance to co-operatively run a money-free society!
The next session which can be confirmed is Colin Skelly giving a talk about Labour-Time Vouchers And Socialism. More updates soon!
