On August 2, 2024, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a panel discussion on the question “What were the Antideutsch?” at Humboldt University in Berlin. The speakers were Jan Kalk (Gesellschaft für kritische Bildung), Jan Sander (Platypus), Justus Wertmüller (editor of Bahamas), and Detlef zum Winkel (author). The panel was moderated by Platypus member Marius. An edited transcript follows, which was translated by Platypus members Salim Askar, Tobias Rochlitz, Johannes Schön, Jack Verschoyle, Tamas Vilaghy, and Therri Wünsch.
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On October 30, 2024, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a panel discussion at the University of Chicago on the then-upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election. The event’s speakers were Jorge Mújica, Chicago labor organizer and member of Morena; Chris Cutrone, founding member and teacher in Platypus and lead organizer of the Campaign for a Socialist Party; and Eddie Liger Smith, founding member and executive of the American Communist Party. Panelists were asked to respond to the following prompt: How should the Left approach the 2024 election? Would a Harris administration offer new opportunities for the Left? Would a Trump administration? What is to be made of third-party candidates?
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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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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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On April 27, 2024, Platypus Affiliated Society member Jason Adams hosted an introductory workshop on Lenin’s famous 1920 pamphlet “Left-wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder and its legacy today. An edited transcript follows.
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