|
You are here
Marxism 2023: Resistance in an age of crisis
Location
Toronto, Vancouver & online
Toronto, Vancouver & online
, BC
Canada
See map: Google Maps
British Columbia CA
Every day we are confronted by multiple and deepening crises. Unprecedented forest fires, floods and famine devastate swathes of the planet, yet our rulers double-down on fossil fuel production. The COVID pandemic has left 24 million dead around the world, but the conditions which produced it are daily being replicated. The war in Ukraine and growing tensions between the US and China threaten global war.
But these crises are producing resistance. We have seen the cost of living crisis propel people into struggle, with a rise in strikes by workers fed up with bosses making record profits while their pay and conditions are eroded. Join us for a day of discussion on how we can organize to challenge the system that is producing these crises.
The conference will take place online and in-person at local hubs. Register here for zoom link and locations of the in-person hub nearest you.
In Toronto, the in-person meeting will be at the Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil St.
In Vancouver, the in-person meeting will be at snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College, 100 W. 49th Ave, room T228.
Suggested donation: $5-$10 low wage/student, $25-$50 waged
Program:
Opening Session: Resistance in an age of crisis
12:00 pm EDT | 9:00 am PDT
Speakers:
Alex Callinicos
Author of Imperialism and the global political economy, The New Age of Catastrophe and leading member of the Socialist Workers Party, UK
Chantal Sundaram
Ottawa/Gatineau based anti-fascist organizer, member of the Hull association of Quebec solidaire and leading member of the International Socialists
Plenary: Fires, floods, famine: Planetary survival, Indigenous sovereignty and the working class
1:00 pm EDT | 10:00 am PDT
Speakers:
Merv King is from the Timiskaming First Nation and is the creator of the USW Indigenous Scholarship Program, coordinator of the Steelworkers' Toronto Area Council - STAC Injured Worker's Program and a member of the USW Human Rights and National Aboriginal Committees.
Michelle Robidoux is the co-author of Fighting back on Turtle Island: Indigenous sovereignty, the working class and anti-capitalism and an east end Toronto anti far-right organizer.
Break
Breakout session 1 – 2:30 pm EDT | 11:30 am PDT
• War, imperialism and the State
Speaker: Sid Lacombe
Former coordinator of the Canadian Peace Alliance and member of the International Socialists
The horror of mass killings in Palestine, the war in Ukraine and threats of war between the US and China have brought the question of Imperialism to the forefront. How should socialists respond? What does Marxism teach us about the nature of the state and the rivalry between countries? This session will look at those questions and at Canadas role in the global order.
• Marxism, oppression and the fight for liberation
Speaker: Alex Adams
Toronto based Trans organizer and Author of Stop activist the hate: The far right and Trans rights
Racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia are used by the right to divide us. Have these oppressions always existed? How can we fight oppression and win a world free of hate?
Break
Breakout session 2 – 4:00 pm EDT | 1:00 am PDT
• Revolutionary socialism vs reformist socialism: Strikes, elections and resistance
Speaker: Canan Sahin PHD student at Queen's University in Kingston, member of PSAC 901 and a leading member of the International Socialists.
In all social movements – from workers' strikes over pay, to the fight for climate justice, and the struggle for Indigenous sovereignty – there is a tension between the immediate goal of a given reform, and the need for revolutionary change to tackle oppression and exploitation at their roots. How do revolutionaries relate to struggles for reforms?
• Is human nature a barrier to socialism?
Speaker: Christine Beckerman is a member of Steelworkers local 1998 and member of the Toronto east branch of the International Socialists
It suits the capitalist system's defenders to promote the idea of an unchanging "human nature" marked by greed and selfishness. But human societies has changed over millenia. What is the relationship between how society is organized and what is seen as characteristic of humans?
Break
Closing session: Working class resistance in an era of catastrophe
5:15 pm EDT | 2:15 pm PDT
Speakers:
Nigel Barriffe is the vice-president of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto and President of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations.
Ritch Whyman is an executive member of the Hamilton District Labour Council and member of the International Socialists.
Carolyn Egan is the President of the Steelworkers Toronto Area Council and member of the International Socialists.
Dates:
Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 15:00
Organized by:
The International Socialists
Featured Event
Recent Videos
Visit our YouTube Channel for more videos:
Visit our UStream Channel for live videos:
