On April 7, 2018, as part of its 10th annual International Convention, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted the discussion “History of the Platypus critique” at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The panel was made up of Platypus members who addressed different phases of the history of Platypus and its engagement with the Left: Ian Morrison (first phase: anti-war movement / anti-imperialism), Spencer A. Leonard (second phase: the “Marxist turn” / IBT, CPGB engagement), Tom Carey (third phase: #Occupy / Marxism and anarchism), Ed Remus (protracted fourth phase: SYRIZA, Podemos / “What is political party for the Left?”), and Omair Hussain (fourth and 1/2 phase: the “socialist turn” / Millennial Left).
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I HAD THE PLEASURE of actually seeing Benjamin Studebaker during an online Platypus panel on the Middle East on July 20. Through our comradely deliberations I discovered we had a lot in common; we both see the kernel of truth in Bismarckianism; Marxists should have no empathy nor patience for city-states’ right to self-determination. From that angle, I can understand his opposition to both Israeli and Palestinian nationalisms, and maybe even towards most postcolonial nationalisms in the region.
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On May 4, 2024, the Platypus Affiliated Society chapters at UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz hosted an introductory workshop on the Philippines and the Left, which included this teach-in by member Daniel Rudin. An edited, revised version follows.
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Presented on October 30, 2024, for the panel discussion “The Left and the 2024 election” with Eddie Liger Smith (American Communist Party) and Jorge Mujica, hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society at the University of Chicago.
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On March 11, 2024, at New York University, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a panel regarding Left perspectives on the Israel–Palestine conflict. The speakers were Norman Finkelstein (author of The Holocaust Industry (2000) and Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom (2018)), Daniel Lazare (writer at the Weekly Worker, author of The Frozen Republic (1997)), Eva Porter (New School, Students for Justice in Palestine), and Joe Whitcomb (Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), former member of its youth section’s Organizational Committee). The panel was moderated by Oliver Chasan. An edited transcript follows
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