At its Third Annual Convention, held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago between April 29-May 1, Platypus hosted a conversation on âArt, Culture, and Politics: Marxist Approaches.â Platypus members Omair Hussain, Lucy Parker, Pac Pobric, and Bret Schneider sought to address âWhat might the problems of aesthetics and culture have to do with the political project of the self-education of the Left?â What follows are Bret Schneiderâs opening remarks.
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At the 2011 Left Forum, held at Pace University in NYC between March 18â21, Platypus hosted a conversation on âTrotskyâs Marxism.â Panelists Ian Morrison (Platypus), Susan Williams (Freedom Socialist Party), and Jason Wright (International Bolshevik Tendency) were asked to address, âWhat was Trotskyâs contribution to revolutionary Marxism? At one level, the answer is clear. Above even his significance as organizer of the October insurrection and leader of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, what makes Trotsky a major figure in the history of Marxism is his status as the leader of the Left Opposition and, later, his founding of the Fourth International. But this panel asks whether stating this fact is sufficient for understanding Trotskyâs Marxism, or whether this might not in fact merely beg the question. The issue remains: What was it in Trotskyâs evolution from the period of 1905 through the Russian Revolution of 1917 that allowed him to become the leader of the Left Opposition and the great Marxist critic of Stalinism in the 1920s and 1930s? What of Trotsky, rather than âTrotsky-ismâ?â An earlier issue (PR #35) included Jason Wrightâs opening remarks. What follows are Ian Morrisonâs opening remarks.
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At the 2011 Left Forum, held at Pace University in NYC between March 18â21, Platypus hosted a conversation on âLeninâs Marxism.â The panelists were Chris Cutrone of Platypus, Paul Le Blanc of the International Socialist Organization, and Lars T. Lih, the author of Lenin Reconsidered: âWhat is to be Done?â in Context.
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At the 2011 Left Forum, held at Pace University in NYC between March 18-21, Platypus hosted a conversation on âLukĂĄcsâs Marxismâ, with panelists Timothy Bewes (Brown University), Jeremy Cohan (Platypus), Timothy Hall (University of East London, U.K.), and Marco Torres (Platypus).
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Last November Platypus hosted a roundtable discussion between Alan Goodman from The Revolutionary Communist Party USA, and Richard Rubin from Platypus entitled âMarxism and Israel: Left Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflictâ at Hunter College in New York City. Panelists were asked to speak on the role the Left has played in the development of Israel, the Leftâs analysis of the role of American intervention in the Middle East, and what a critical Marxian approach to the conflict currently looks like, compared to what it might look like. What follows is an edited transcript of the event.
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