In the 1840s Karl Marx wrote that social revolution would involve "carrying out the thoughts of the past," in which "humanity begins no new work but consciously completes the old work". The role of revolutionary thought for Marx, in other words, involved drawing attention to how past revolutionary tasks were failing to be worked through in present political practice; of understanding the reasons why theory and practice had changed and, in turn, how this understanding could be advanced towards the (present) completion of the (old) revolution.

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A panel event held at the Inaugural European Conference of the Platypus Affiliated Society contemplating the question of left unity. The panel was held at Goldsmiths College on July 19, 2014.

Featured Speakers:

Communist Party of Great Britain
International Bolshevik Tendency
Costas Douzinas

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A book talk by James Heartfield on his book, 'An Unpatriotic History of the Second World War', held at the Inaugural European Conference of the Platypus Affiliated Society on Saturday, July 19th, 2014 at Goldsmiths College, London.

Powerpoint slides used in presentation: UnpatrioticHistoryoftheSecondWorldWar

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A book talk by David Black (International Marxist-Humanists), author of "The Philosophical Roots of Anti-Capitalism" on "Alfred Sohn-Rethel's Neo-Kantian Marxism: A Critique", held at the Inaugural European Conference of the Platypus Affiliated Society on Saturday, July 19th, 2014 at Goldsmiths College, London.

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A panel event held at the Inaugural European Conference of the Platypus Affiliated Society on July 18th, 2014 at Goldsmiths College, London.

At this panel event, Platypus members Lucy Parker (London); Jan Schroeder (Frankfurt); and Nikos Manousakis (Thessaloniki) reflected upon the below questions. This was followed by an open audience Q&A.

What have been some of the more significant engagements in your chapter with the Left? Why was this important for the development of your chapter and, what has this engagement taught us about the nature international Left?

What are some challenges in building your local chapter, what is the landscape of the Left that makes it hard to navigate, etc?

Why Platypus? Why does platypus need to exist in your location aside from you being there?What are the recurring points of discussions within your chapter? Do you feel like your chapter differs from the international discussions if so how?

This is an international conference, in what way do you see yourself as part of an international organization and how do you see Platypus as an international project? What do you see as the growing trends in the Left in the next year or two? How might Platypus be positioned to address these? Should it?

Where do you want Platypus to go? What other kind of engagements do you hope to foster in the future with the help of other international chapters?

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