weak messianism

“Early on, I learnt from the Russian intelligentsia that the only meaning of life lies in conscious participation in the making of history. The more I think of that, the more deeply true it seems to be. It follows that one must range oneself actively against everything that diminishes man, and involve oneself in all struggles which tend to liberate and enlarge him. This categorical imperative is by no way lessened by the fact that such an involvement is inevitably soiled by error: it is a worse error merely to live for oneself, caught within traditions which are soiled by inhumanity.” — Victor Serge, Memoirs of a Revolutionary, trans. Peter Sedgwick (2002)

Tale à la Hoffmann, Paul Klee, 1921, Modern and Contemporary Art

The Berggruen Klee Collection, 1984 Size: 15 7/8 × 12 5/8 in. (40.3 × 32.1 cm) Medium: Watercolor, graphite, and transferred printing ink on paper bordered with metallic foil, mounted on cardboard

Capitalism is coming into crisis; now is the time to become an organised socialist. 

These discussion groups bring together people from all over Australia to discuss Marx’s understanding of capitalism, crisis, and revolutionary socialism. Fill out this form to join in: https://bit.ly/marxismdiscuss

Learn about why the system we live in comes into such vicious crises, but also how we can transform the world around us to create a society based on human need rather than profit. Investigate the ideas of Socialist Alternative to figure out if you want to join Australia’s biggest socialist organisation.

The discussions will run as a short course. First everyone doing them will come into a joint call, and then we will break off into smaller groups to facilitate better discussions. Each discussion will be facilitated by a member of Socialist Alternative, around the following topics. We will talk through them in order, so if you have never done one before, start at the beginning. Once you choose a session, we will email you a link to the zoom call to participate.

Capitalism

Class

Revolution & socialism

The state

Imperialism

Racism

Gender & sexuality

The Russian revolution

The defeat of the Russian revolution

Socialist organising

Interpersonal sexism

Sessions will run:

6pm Monday

6pm Tuesdays

3pm Wednesdays

2pm Saturdays

The Athlete of the Future, 1913, Kazimir Malevich

Images of winding dole queues are commonly associated with the 1930s Great Depression, or the plight of workers in other countries. They are not scenes that most people in Australia today are directly familiar with. Until now.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought much of the economy to a grinding halt. Official predictions are that over the next few weeks, between 1 and 2 million people will be laid off in Australia. Qantas has already fired 20,000 workers, just days after receiving a $715 million government bailout.