Program
10am-11:30am
Workers' Struggle and Revolution
It is increasingly obvious that capitalism has to go. All the system offers us is a declining standard of living, war and climate destruction. Socialists argue that we need a revolution to topple capitalism and the one percent that rules the system - nothing else will do. Alongside exploring why capitalism cannot be reformed, this session will explore what revolutions really look like and why the working class, all of us who really make society run, are the agents of revolution. To change society, anti-capitalists must to look to the working class.
Reading
Revolution is the heart of socialism by Sarah Garnham
Revolution, reform and socialist strategy by Mick Armstrong
Why is capitalism driving the world to war?
Politics across the world today is increasingly defined by war: Western terror in the Middle East, the Trump administration’s aggression in Latin America, rearmament and austerity in Europe, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, US-China tensions, and the rise of a militaristic far right. This session will explore these dynamics and argue that imperialism, the system of global competition under capitalism, is creating a dangerous new world order.
Reading
Are we living in a new world order? by Eleanor Morely
Chapter 6 of Introducing Marxism by Tom Bramble
12pm-1:30pm
What actually is socialism?
More and more people are identifying as socialists and looking towards an alternative to the rotten system of capitalism. But this raises the question: what is socialism? There are many different visions of socialism, from Scandinavian welfare states to the “Communist regimes” where the government owned everything. Marxists have a different vision of socialism. Our vision centres the collective, democratic self-emancipation of the working class and requires a revolutionary rupture with capitalism and its institutions.
This session will explore how this socialist society could work, and how it could solve the problems of capitalism.
Reading
Chapter 4 of Introducing Marxism by Tom Bramble.
What would a socialist world look like? by Sarah Garnham
AI and capitalism's sci-fi dystopia
Rapidly advancing technology is reshaping the fabric of society and corporate power. AI is being integrated into everything we do: our jobs, our classes and even our personal communication. At the same time, it is being used to perfect the means of destruction and domination, improving military and surveillance technology. Businesses are using it to intensify the exploitation of their workers and erode their rights. Meanwhile, a small clique of Silicon Valley techbro billionaires are making insane amounts of money from it.
This session will navigate how socialists can understand what is going on, and what it will take to wrestle democratic control of the tech industry from those who currently control it.
Reading
The problems of AI are the problems of capitalism by Eleanor Morely
The MAGA tech oligarchy by D.Taylor
2:30pm-4pm
The socialist strategy for ending oppression
Capitalism is more than a series of factories. It is a social system that systemically oppresses women, racial minorities and LGBTI+ people among many others. Oppression is one of the sharpest edges of the capitalist system. Socialists think it possible to end oppression by overthrowing the capitalist system. Only socialism is capable of creating a society of genuine equality and liberation. This session will explore the socialist stratgy for fighting and ending oppression and debates on the left about how best to do this.
Reading
How oppression can be ended by Louise O'Shea
How the Palestine solidarity movement discredits identity politics by Louise O'Shea
Revolutionaries and elections: Socialist Alternative's approach to the NSW Socialists
Australian politics is rapidly changing. One Nation’s meteoric rise is reshaping politics for the worse. The opposition, whether in the form of the Liberals or ON, has become far-right. The Labor party is facing historic low levels of support after years of ruling for the rich. Socialist Alternative is playing a leading role in the Socialist Party, attempting to build the socialist movement and intervene into the electoral sphere. This session will go through the perspectives of Socialist Alternative for the Socialist Party, and explain what we hope to achieve with this exciting project.
Reading
The Australian Socialist Party: A project to transform the left by Omar Hassan
4:10pm - 5pm
Confronting One Nation
Pauline Hanson's One Nation is a clear and urgent threat. The party's far-right bigotry and anti-working class agenda has gone from the margins to the mainstream of Australian politics. The political mainstream has facilitated her rise, we cannot rely them to combat the far-right. This session will look at how One Nation has risen and make the case for socialist politics to combat the One Nation threat.
Reading
Australia catches up - Understanding One Nation's far right surge by Tom Bramble