harvard socialists

Wednesday, Socialism: What it is & What it’s not

harvardsocialists — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:42:22 +0000

**please forward widely**

Socialism: What it is & What it’s not

Robinson Hall 105

February 15th

7pm

In the past year, the revolutions throughout the Middle East as well as the Occupy Movement have raised questions about alternatives to capitalism. As the global economic crisis continues to deepen, more and more people are beginning to question whether the ills of capitalism can be successfully reformed or whether a wholesale
transformation of society is necessary to end a system which, for many people, has meant little more than economic hardship, indignity, and strife.Socialism is a much-abused word that has been used to both slander politicians, movements, and political projects and legitimize them as well. Throughout the past century, Socialists have insisted that reforming society is not enough, and that a revolution is needed to abolish the havoc that capitalism has wrought.Whether you’re beginning to question the necessity of capitalism, consider yourself a socialist, or just want to learn more about radical politics and organizing, come join us for a discussion about the real socialist tradition and why we think a better world is both possible and necessary.

Harvard Socialists
http://www.facebook.com/events/136645526455475/

Occupy Harvard!

harvardsocialists — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:51:38 +0000

New England Marxism Conference

harvardsocialists — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:45:18 +0000

November 12-13 at Harvard University

Capitalism is not working. Socialism is the alternative—a world organized for human need, not profit greed, where resources are controlled by and for the vast majority, instead of by a tiny rich minority. Millions of people are fighting back against the ills that this broken capitalist system has created. From Egypt to Wisconsin to Athens to Boston—people are standing up and fighting back. People are taking to the streets, occupying public squares and capital buildings and saying enough to the attack on ordinary working class people. Marxism provides a revolutionary understanding of society and provides the strategy for ridding society of exploitation and oppression once and for all. This conferencewill give activists a chance to discuss the burning questions that are arising during this current rise in struggle. People from around New England will have the opportunity to have core political discussions on Marxism, the importance of the working class and that not only is revolution needed, but that is very much possible.If you fought against the criminal injustice system to save the life of Troy Davis, if you are energized and excited about the Occupy movement and the struggles from around the world or just sick and tired of this unjust society, a society with rampant unemployment, poverty, war, opression, exploitation, and environomental destruction–then this conference is for you!

New England Marxism Conference

November 12-13, 2011

Harvard University

The Science Center

1 Oxford Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

Saturday

10 Registration

11 Opening Plenary

Why Marx was right [Ashley Smith]

12 Lunch

1-2:45 Session 1:

No power greater: Marxism and the centrality of class [Shaun Harkin]

Slavery and the origins of racism [Jonah Birch]

Theories of women’s oppression [Leia Petty]

3-4:45 Session 2:

The Minneapolis Teamster Strike of 1934: a case study in working class power [Tristin Aidie]

The Black freedom struggle from Martin to the Black Panthers [Brian Jones]

The roots of racial oppression [Jonah Birch]

5-6:45 Session 3:

The changing working class and the future of the labor movement [Ashley Smith]

Black liberation and socialism [Khury Petersen-Smith]

Can the working class liberate the oppressed? [Sherry Wolf]

7 Dinner

8 Evening Plenary

Is revolution possible in the US? [Sherry Wolf]

Sunday

11-12:45 Workshop Session 1:

How to build an ISO branch [Shaun Harkin]

The United Front: Socialists and movements [Hadas Their]

1 Lunch

2 – 3:45 Workshop Session 2:

Why we need a revolutionary party [Dave Florey]

What is the real Marxist tradition? [Kyle Brown]

Registration: $5-$20 sliding scale, $5 low income

See Boston Socialism and nemarxismconference.org (New England MarxismConference on Facebook) for more details, or call 617-651-0762.

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization and Socialist Worker.

WEDNESDAY: Student Walk-Out

harvardsocialists — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:09:33 +0000

THURSDAY, 8PM: From Occupation to Transformation

harvardsocialists — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:25:17 +0000

FROM OCCUPATION TO TRANSFORMATION:

How do we get from here to there?

8pm, Thursday, November 3rd

Room 110, Sever Hall

Harvard Yard

The Occupy Wall Street movement has not only sparked offshoots in virtually ever major U.S. city, it has also shone a spotlight on the grotesque economic inequality in this country, where the richest 1% of Americans control over 40% of the wealth — more than the entire bottom half of the population.The Occupy movement has raised the hopes of millions of people who want to see fundamental change in our society. The question is: “How?” How can this historic inequality be fixed? Can we reform the present system or do we need revolutionary change? Is capitalism itself at the heart of the problem, and if so, what kind of system could replace it?

Please join us for this discussion.

Thursday 8pm: The Politics of the ISO

harvardsocialists — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:57:26 +0000

This week we are going to have a meeting and discussion around a pamphlet called “Where We Stand: The Politics of the International Socialist Organization.” Where we stand is a statement that outlines the basic politics of the ISO and the pamphlet takes on each point in more depth. The meeting is intended to start a discussion on the politics and to open up ideas, questions, disagreements. So if you’re interested in the politics of the ISO, check out the attached pamphlet (about 30 pages) and come to the meeting for a great discussion. It can be found here.

For the second section of the meeting we will discuss our upcoming meeting next week, “From Occupation to Transformation: How do we get from here to there?” and our upcoming conference, the North East Marxism Conference.

27 October, Thursday

8pm

Dudley House, Fireside Room (You can find a map of Harvard Yard here)

THURSDAY, 8PM: What Will Socialism Look Like?

harvardsocialists — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:08:49 +0000

In the midst of a rise in struggle in the US, most recently around the Occupy movement, the question of what we are fighting for is more important than ever. In this light, we discussed at last week’s meeting reading and discussing some articles on what Socialism would look like. Come join us Thursday at 8PM at Dudley House Fireside Room for a discussion of this short series of articles, which take up the question.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/20/crying-need-for-change
http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/21/workers-power-in-action
http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/22/dreaming-of-our-future

We will also be talking about organizing in the following weeks around the New England Marxism Conference on November 12-13 and our meeting in two weeks on Reform or Revolution (a full agenda will be proposed at the beginning of the meeting).

THURSDAY, 8PM: Organizing Meeting at Dudley House!

harvardsocialists — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:06:12 +0000

The past few weeks have been full of activity. There’s been the ongoing occupation in Dewey Square, the student march on Monday, the police attacks on the occupation on Monday night (and 160 subsequent arrests), and the occupation of Wall St. We’ll spend the first hour taking stock of what’s been going on and how it fits into the larger project of rebuilding the left. It would be really great if people could share their thoughts, assessments and experiences. In the second hour we’ll be talking about organizing as a socialist organization on campus this semester. The key task now is to translate the urgency, anger, and excitement of the Occupy Boston movement into all of the organizing that we do. It would be great if people could bring ideas for outreach (tablings, flyerings, media campaigns, etc, etc.) and for what we can do this semester (meeting ideas, things people want to read and discuss together, campaigns we want to relate to, etc.).

A few of the articles worthy checking are on this article on the attack on the occupation in the crimson, and this article about occupy boston by Keith, as well as this editorial, which situates the occupy movement.

We’ll be meeting in the Fireside Room in Dudley House at 8pm.

Tonight, 7pm: Organizing Meeting!!!

harvardsocialists — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:39:32 +0000

6 October 2011, 7pm

**Please note that our meeting location and time this week is different than last week’s**

Jefferson Labs (see “Jefferson” here), room 256–17 Oxford St.

Occupy Wall Street has captured the world’s imagination for nearly three weeks now, and it’s obvious why. “The 99%” — check out this site, “We Are the 99%” — are unwilling to accept a system that treats banks as too big to fail, but the rest of us as too small to matter. Activists have started their own occupations modeled off of Occupy Wall St. in their own cities, including here in Boston.

Organized labor has stepped up its game in recent weeks. As Socialist Worker reported:

The struggles are varied. They include teachers who defied a judge’s order to win a strike in Tacoma, Wash.; hospital workers who struck the Kaiser health care system in California for two days, with nurses honoring the walkout; professors on the picket line at Long Island University in New York; Hyatt hotel workers carrying out a weeklong strike at six hotels in four cities; members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) blocking trains filled with scab cargo at the port of Longview, Wash.; a strike at the Central Park Boathouse restaurant in New York City against a notorious union-buster; and the beginnings of a campaign by postal workers’ unions against the assault on their members at the U.S. Postal Service.

With approval ratings for official politics incredibly low (Congress, Obama, or the Republicans who want to replace him) and willingness to take on the status quo on full display, this is a time when more people are looking for an alternative to capitalism and a strategy for confronting it. Socialists believe that those who recognize the capitalist system is the problem need to organize collectively to challenge it.

Join us tomorrow to strategize about how best to put this into practice in Boston and how to make our upcoming conference — the New England Socialist Conference all weekend long, from 11/12–11/13, which will attract hundreds of socialists and sympathizers from around New England — as big and bold as possible.

Proposed agenda:

1. Perspectives for Boston – 1 hour
2. Occupy Boston – 45 minutes

3. Branch breakouts (agendas to be proposed in individual branches) – 30 minutes

Call 617-454-4802 if you have trouble finding us.

TONIGHT: Study Group and Organizing Meeting!

harvardsocialists — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:39:30 +0000

Join the Harvard International Socialist Organization for a

Study Group and Organizing Meeting!

8PM, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH

Fireside Room, Dudley House, Lehman Hall

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

(map)

During the first hour, we’ll be discussing”Unfinished Revolution: Egypt since the fall of Mubarak,” by Sameh Naguib, which can be found here [Part I] and here [Part II]. In the second hour, we’ll be discussing and strategizing about Occupy Boston and how to mobilize for it at Harvard.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend (even if you didn’t have time to read the article)!

For more information, visit http://harvardsocialists.wordpress.com or contact us at harvardsocialists@gmail.com