Participatory Economics vs. Economic Democracy

For the next session we'll take a look at two sketches for a post-capitalist society. Michael Albert promotes his view of 'Participatory Economics', while David Schweickart would rather see 'Economic Democracy'. Both have written a book on their ideas; the first is Parecon: Life After Capitalism and the other is After Capitalism by Albert and Schweickart respectively.

====The Material====

Participatory Economics/Parecon, by Michael Albert:

Video: http://www.zcommunications.org/alternative-economy-cultures-documentations-by-michael-albert
Texts: http://www.zcommunications.org/topics/parecon

Economic Democracy, by David Schweickart:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT4cNwC-aGQ&feature=related
(90 minutes of video, with bad audio quality)
Texts: http://www.luc.edu/faculty/dschwei/articles.htm
(see http://www.luc.edu/faculty/dschwei/democracy.pdf)

also:...

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et91gXGMLwA&feature=related
(first of a series of 5 videos, which don't explain much on their own, but can be interesting to check out after having an idea what these guys are about)

Reading for Thursday 17th November - "Debt: The First Five Thousand Years", by David Graeber

We're reading Debt: The First Five Thousand Years, by David Graeber

Thursday November 3:rd reading - Machinic Capitalism and Network Surplus Value

Continuing on the machine-line, we're reading the text Machinic Capitalism and Network Surplus Value: 
Towards a Political Economy of the Turing Machine by Pasquinelli.

Reading for Thursday 20:th - Machines

We're reading the Grundrisse excerpt The Fragment on Machines

And also a text by Virno discussing this fragment:
http://www.generation-online.org/p/fpvirno10.htm

Reading 6th of October - The Mass Psychology of Fascism

The first two chapters of The Mass Psychology of Fascism, Wilhelm Reich.

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/archivos_pdf/masspsychology_fascism.pdf

Thursday 15:th - Bitcoin

Bitcoin - the decentralized digital currency.

A discussion of technical and political aspects of decentralized currency.

Reading suggestions: (feel free to add your own in comments)

• http://interviews.slashdot.org/story/11/06/22/1737237/Amir-Taaki-Answers-Your-Questions-About-Bitcoin
• https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ
• http://themonetaryfuture.blogspot.com/2011/06/bitcoin-is-economic-singularity.html
  
  

1st of September meeting: The UK riots

Let´s discuss the recent UK riots and the possibilities for left politics. Not focusing on one text in particular but here is some recommended reading:

The Commune - Don´t moralise, don´t judge, don´t take pictures - it´s time for the riot to get radical: http://thecommune.co.uk/2011/08/09/don%E2%80%99t-moralise-don%E2%80%99t-judge-don%E2%80%99t-take-pictures-%E2%80%93-it%E2%80%99s-time-for-the-riot-to-get-radical/

Socialism and/or Barbarism - On open letter to those who condemn the looting
Part 1: http://socialismandorbarbarism.blogspot.com/2011/08/open-letter-to-those-who-condemn.html
Part 2: http://socialismandorbarbarism.blogspot.com/2011/08/open-letter-to-those-who-condemn_10.html

University for Strategic Optimism - #riotcleanup or #riotwhitewash?
http://universityforstrategicoptimism.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/riotcleanup-or-riotwhitewash/

Slavoj Zizek- Shoplifters of the World Unite http://www.lrb.co.uk/2011/08/19/slavoj-zizek/shoplifters-of-the-world-unite

And some interesting videos and more texts can be found here: http://www.metamute.org/en/news_and_analysis/riot_round_up

Some questions that we might like to discuss around:

What are the possibilities for the radicalization of the riots when class is no longer functioning as a point of collective resonance for mass action? Are consumerist subjectivities and desires too entrenched, even (or especially) amongst the working and underclasses, to shift into something else; revolutionary collective desire? Is the Left in the UK too weak to build on the possibilities of the hegemonic rupture created by the riots; too hesitant to seek productive connections and alliances with the anger of the rioters, and lacking the coherence necessary to present an offensive front against the dominating right-wing discourse? What can be done about the huge repressive power of the state (in the form of police, army, weapons, courts and prisons) when it comes to mass uprisings?