January 2021
Marina Sitrin on Pandemic Solidarity with Colectiva Sembrar
Pandemic Solidarity collects first-hand experiences of people creating their own narratives of solidarity and mutual aid in the time of the global crisis of COVID-19. In times of crisis institutions of power are laid bare and people turn to one another. Underneath the media’s narrative of selfish individualism and runs on supermarkets, we find an opposing story of community and self-sacrifice.
Find out more »Blood and Money
The birth and development of capitalism since its origins in the fifteenth century is entirely bound up with the subordination of racialized peoples. Even before capitalism arose – in a process Marx termed the “so-called primitive accumulation” – money and markets were implicated in the rise and fall of states and empires that conquered and enslaved vast numbers of human bodies. This group will address these histories and their persisting consequences. We will read and discuss David McNally’s Blood and Money: War, Slavery, Finance, and Empire and Jairus Banaji’s The History of Commercial Capitalism among other works.
Find out more »February 2021
The Sinking Middle Class with David Roediger
Roediger demonstrates that an obsession with a “middle class” is relatively new in US politics, starting with Bill Clinton's attempt to win back the so-called Reagan Democrats. The efforts by the corporatist wing of the Democratic Party remain marked by covert appeals to white racism and the avoidance of wealth redistribution.
Find out more »Towards a Revolution in Labor History: White Supremacism and Bourgeois Social Control
Why is the US working class unorganized and suffering to a far greater extent than in other advanced capitalist societies?
Find out more »Reinventing the Welfare State: Book + talk special
With positivity and rigor, Ursula Huws will outline a ‘digital welfare state’ for the 21st century, which would involve a repurposing of online platform technologies under public control to modernise and expand public services, and improve accessibility.
Find out more »March 2021
Empire’s Endgame: Pluto FireWorks series book + talk special
Bringing to the fore broad political and economic contexts, the authors trace ways in which empire’s legacies have been reshaped by global capitalism, the digital environment and instability in the nation-state. Engaging with Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall movements, Empire's Endgame offers an original perspective on race, media, the state and criminalisation, and a political vision that includes — rather than expels — in the face of crisis.
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