Mike Foster
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Thanks for the updates and the photos, Dave. I was really happy with how the weekend went, and from what people were saying, it sounds like everyone had an enjoyable time too. There’s always a relaxed and positive vibe to Summer School, and this year was no exception. My thanks go to Edmund, Janet, Howard, Carla and Bill for their thought-provoking presentations, and to everyone who came along. There were around 40 of us there, including quite a few non-members and those for whom this was their first Summer School. Hopefully it won’t be their last! I’ll put together a more detailed report for ADM, and start to look into Summer School 2020…
Bookings for Summer School will close at the end of this coming Saturday (the 20th). So if anyone else wants to come along, make a booking here: https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/summer-school-2019/
There aren’t many places left at Summer School now, so if you’re thinking of making a booking, best do it soon! To book a place, visit here: https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/summer-school-2019/Here are the timings for the Summer School sessions:
Friday 2nd August
From 17.00: Arrival
18.30 – 19.00: Dinner
19.45—21.30: Be Realistic: Demand The Inevitable – a talk by Edmund Griffiths
21.30: Social
Saturday 3rd August
7.30 – 8.45: Breakfast
10.00 – 12.00: Living In Capitalism As A Socialist – a talk by Janet Surman
12.30 – 13.15: Lunch
13.45 – 15.45: ‘Team Human’: Can You Live A ‘Socialist’ Life In Capitalism? – a talk by Howard Moss
18.30 – 19.00: Dinner
19.15—20.45: Socialists Synonymous – An Evening Of Personal Stories – facilitated by Carla Dee
20.45: Social
Sunday 4th August
7.30 – 8.45: Breakfast
10.00 – 12.00: Ye Olde Worlde Revolution – a talk by Bill Martin
12.30 – 13.15: Lunch
13.30: Close
People are welcome to just attend the talks, but need to book a visitor place in advance by emailing spgbschool@yahoo.co.uk; there is a charge for any meals.
Bookings will close on 21<sup>st</sup> July, or earlier if all places are filled.
The event will also include an exhibition, exclusive publications and a bookstall.
I’m happy to announce that at Summer School, Carla Dee will facilitate ‘Socialists Synonymous – An Evening Of Personal Stories’
As socialists, we see and understand the world in a very particular way and what is once seen cannot be unseen. How did we get here, and how has this affected our lives, our families and friends? Has being a socialist been a source of frustration, confrontation and disappointment or has the party case been an enlightenment and given us a sense of clarity and sanity? Or all of these things? Sometimes, thinking the way we do can be a lonely business.
Members and sympathisers get together to share our stories.This completes the line-up, and the running order and other details will be confirmed soon. There are still places available, although there are already more people booked than came along last year! So if you want to come along but haven’t yet booked a place, don’t leave it long! To book, visit here: https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/summer-school-2019/
I’m pleased to confirm another of the sessions at Summer School! Bill Martin will present ‘Ye Olde Worlde Revolution’
In 1264 the Baron’s war (which historian Adrian Jobson characterises as the First English Revolution) saw a widescale attempt to inhibit the power of the monarchy. It was a revolt in which the burghers (bourgeoisie) of London played a significant role. This struggle saw the birth of the English Parliament, but it would be a further 400 years until the final constitutional curbing of the power of royalty lead to the social dominance of the capitalist class in England.
This talk will look at the life and activity of the bourgeois revolutionary Thomas Fitzthomas, who led that primitive revolt against the English monarchy. It will look at how the bourgeoisie developed as a revolutionary class, and how they struggled within a still vigorous feudal system. It will address how the knowledge of the capitalist revolution arms the imagination of the socialists of today, but also haunts the ideas many have of revolution. It will look at the role of ideas and self-image in the making of a revolutionary class, and the role of ongoing class struggle in the cause of revolution.
More announcements soon!
Mike
I posted the last of my leaflets in Banbury this evening, in a different area to where JClark96 went. I didn’t notice any leaflets for any of the other parties lying about. Back home, I’ve received addressed flyers from UKIP and the Brexit Party, so they must have a big enough budget for that…
By the way, typing in ‘Brexit’ autocorrects to ‘Need It’ on my phone. Someone at Microsoft or wherever is trying to push an agenda!
Last night’s Oxford hustings went well enough. There were perhaps a hundred people there, along with most of the candidates (still no sign of the Brexit Party). As always, there was equal time given to each of us to say our piece, albeit with a crackling microphone. I used the same opening statement as at the Banbury hustings, and the questions followed similar themes to there, such as about the environment and how young people can get more politically engaged. I seemed to get a good enough reaction, and no noticeable heckling!
The hustings in Banbury yesterday evening went well. There were maybe around a hundred people in the town hall, along with candidates from nearly all the parties. We each had five minutes for an opening statement, and then there was over an hour of questions from the audience, with a minute for each of us to give a reply. As with other hustings, equal time was afforded to each of the candidates. I put some emphasis on how we stand for a future society without borders or nations, and therefore without all the divisions between people which they encourage. I brought along a variety of our leaflets, and by the end of the evening quite a few had been picked up.
A transcript of my opening statement is here: http://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2019/05/from-euro-election-candidate.html
There’s a newspaper report here, but I don’t get much of a mention! https://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/news/politics/poems-and-rodents-feature-in-banbury-eu-hustings-1-8926044
And if you fancy watching the whole event (although the sound quality is poor), it can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/Banbury4Europe/videos/291864245087303
Here are details of another Summer School talk. Howard Moss will be presenting ‘Team Human’: Can You Live A ‘Normal’ Life In Capitalism?
Someone recently wrote a book called ‘Team Human’ which emphasised that humans are social creatures who are most happy and fulfilled when working together for common goals. But how do we stay human in the vast antihuman infrastructure that is capitalism which constantly undermines our capacity to work together and connect with one another?
Despite the powerful forces that set us against one another (employment, nationalism, monetary gain), people are at their happiest when associating together in, for example, clubs, societies, family groups and social and political activities, which involve working with and helping other human beings. Socialists do this too. They belong to local clubs, community groups and trade unions. But how do they – or should they – react to being asked to go further and be associated with campaigns which involve, say, lobbying governments to improve conditions in particular areas, signing petitions calling on political parties to support certain changes in the law, or being members of or giving money to charities which seek to remedy deficiencies in social provision (e.g. housing, health care) or to save people from the consequences of sudden disasters, natural or man-made?
The Socialist view is that time spent in attempts to reform capitalism is time wasted. But on a human, day-to-day level, Socialists often find it difficult just to stand by and do nothing. So how do we cope with the constant dilemmas thrown up by wanting to spend our time helping to create a truly associative social system, yet constantly being called upon to help patch up the contrary arrangements fundamental to capitalism?
More announcements coming shortly!
Mike
I’m happy to announce another Summer School talk! Janet Surman will discuss ‘Living In Capitalism As A Socialist’
Profit is the backbone of capitalism and profit is made from a plethora of resources, the greatest and most easily attainable of which is the global human resource, to be found in any village, town or city anywhere on the planet. The capitalist system is well known for waste as a necessary part of maximising profit and there is no greater waste than that of the human potential trapped in non-productive, non-useful work.
This session will take a look at the human misery attached to jobs, to work that many don’t really want to do but have to do to survive and will also look at the opposite position when human potential can be fulfilled to the satisfaction, and pleasure even, of billions of individual human beings.
“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at.” Oscar Wilde
More sessions to be confirmed soon!
I’m pleased to confirm the first Summer School talk! Guest speaker Edmund Griffiths will present:
Be Realistic: Demand The Inevitable
This talk will look at the notions of the impossible and the inevitable in a range of belief systems, including (but not limited to) socialism and other political belief systems. Why are people attracted to ideas that seem to be either impossible or inevitable? Or put off by them? What does it mean to campaign for something that might be impossible, or inevitable? What happens when assessments of impossibility or inevitability change? How do people believe that an impossible thing is true anyway? Or that an inevitable thing may never happen?
Besides socialism, the talk will hopefully address impossibility and inevitability in contexts such as liberalism, capitalism, flat earth, the end of the world, extraterrestrial life, Scottish independence etc.
More sessions to be announced soon!
I think there are enough reasons to be positive. Robbo203 mentions putting “our own house in order”, and there’s already been some good progress towards this, not only with revamping the website and IT system, but also exploring alternative ways of organising. Once we’re a bit further down the line sorting things out, we’ll be better placed to focus on how to get our views out there.
Already, our message has a wider reach now than before, with easy access for anyone online to the Socialist Standard, videos, publications and social media. Terms like ‘capitalism’ and ‘socialism’ are spoken about more in the mainstream media and by people in general now than they were just a few years ago. Our role, of course, is to push our understanding of capitalism and a future socialist society, which is a challenge, but also an opportunity in a climate where people are more receptive to questioning the system.
Here are details of another session at this year's Summer School: Sex And Power The sex industry makes up a significant, if partly-hidden, sector of the economy. Prostitution and pornography represent extremes of exploitation, lucrative to those with the power and damaging to those pushed into selling themselves. In this talk, Mike Foster will examine the differing impacts which the sex industry has on both women and men, and what this tells us about capitalism as a whole. The remaining session will be announced very soon…For more details, and to make a booking, visit http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/summerschool2018
