"Theory in Crisis" (10/13/24 panel)
On October 13th, 2024, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted the panel, "Theory in Crisis," at Harvard, as part of the 2024 East Coast Conference.
Description:
Over the course of the twentieth century, the Left has experienced the repetition of crisis and reconstitution, each time appearing more fractured than before: the formation of the Third International was provoked by the German SPD voting for war credits; the Fourth International attempted to consolidate the remaining revolutionary elements under the shadow of Stalinism; the New Left created its organizations and sects in an unconditional rejection of the mass socialist party and institutional authority, Stalinist or otherwise; the Millennial Left rallied to the DSA during the crisis of neoliberalism. Each crisis demands a critical reflection through organizational means. Have we adequately done so? What was theory for Marxism and what is its relation to the party? How can theory, in the absence of the party, adequately account for these past and present crises within and around the Left?
Speakers:
-"Hegelian E-Girl" (writer)
-Benjamin Studebaker (formerly of "What's Left")
-Spencer Leonard (Platypus Affiliated Society)
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The Platypus Affiliated Society organizes reading groups, public fora, research, and journalism focused on problems and tasks inherited from the "Old" (1920s-30s), "New" (1960s-70s), and post-political (1980s-90s) Left, for the possibilities of emancipatory politics today.
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