Bradwell, Derbyshire
Alliance for Workers' Liberty
Residential week schools for activists and friends of Workers' Liberty
12-17 July and 14-20 December 2016
Bradwell, Derbyshire
The week schools will be organised as a series of "seminars" about whole books, rather than snippety readings.
We'd recommend, and have available in the house, background reading for each book under discussion.
The idea would be that all students will already have read most of the two or three basic texts being discussed at each school. They may want to re-read parts in the course of the week as they discuss the texts in more details.
Students will also read some of the background texts (varying amounts, depending on levels of confidence and previous reading) and bring material from them into the discussion.
July school
To book for these schools, please send a payment of £5 (to cover incidental costs and a hardship fund) to AWL office.
For the July school:
Our book, The Fate of the Russian Revolution volume 1 - background Trotsky, "Revolution Betrayed"; Serge, "Year One of the Russian Revolution"; Trotsky, "History of the Russian Revolution"
Our book, "Socialism in the 21st century" - background Ludwig von Mises, "The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality"; Hayek, "The Road to Serfdom"
Click here to download pdf with more details
Draft agenda: sessions are 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm unless indicated otherwise
Tuesday 12th - 2pm - BOLSHEVISM IN 1917 AND THE CIVIL WAR. Point 1 of FRR1 study guide. Background reading: Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution; Victor Serge, Year One of the Russian Revolution; David Footman, Civil War in Russia; Radek on Kronstadt, http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2012/02/01/karl-radek-kronstadt
Wednesday 13th - 10am - SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY. Point 2 of FRR1 study guide. Background reading: Trotsky, Revolution Betrayed, chapter 12.
Wednesday 13th - 2pm - THE STALINIST COUNTER-REVOLUTION AND BOLSHEVISM. Part 3 of FRR1 study guide. Background reading: Trotsky, Stalinism and Bolshevism and Their Morals and Ours (which are in Can Socialism Make Sense?)
Thursday 14th - 10am - TROTSKY'S ANALYSES OF THE USSR. Parts 4 and 5 of FRR1 study guide. Background reading: Trotsky, Revolution Betrayed; Hansen and Novack (eds), In Defence of Marxism; Thomas, Three Traditions on the USSR, https://www.academia.edu/1555108/Three_traditions_on_the_USSR
Thursday 14th - 2pm - THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY: BOLSHEVISM AND ZINOVIEVISM. Part 7 of FRR1 study guide. Background reading: Cannon, The Struggle for a Proletarian Party; relevant sections of The Two Trotskyisms; Thomas, Gramsci in Context
Friday 15th - 10am - MILLENARIANISM. Part 9 of FRR1 study guide. Background reading: Norman Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millennium; Eric Hobsbawm, Primitive Rebels
Friday 15th - 2pm - HOW SOCIALISM WILL WORK. Parts 1 and 2 of draft CSMS study guide. Background reading: Isaiah Berlin, The crooked timber of humanity; Matt Ridley, The rational optimist
Saturday 16th - 10am - DEMOCRACY, THE WORKING CLASS, AND SOCIALISM. Parts 4 and 5 of draft CSMS study guide. Background reading: Michael Foot and Sean Matgamna, Democracy, direct action, and socialism; Isaiah Berlin, The crooked timber of humanity; Matt Ridley, The rational optimist
Saturday 16th - 2pm - HUMAN NATURE AND SOCIALISM. Part 6 of draft CSMS study guide. Background reading: Isaiah Berlin, The crooked timber of humanity; Matt Ridley, The rational optimist
Sunday 17th - 10am - DEBATING THE RIGHT. Parts 8 and 9 of draft CSMS study guide. Background reading: Ludwig von Mises, The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality; Hayek, The Road to Serfdom
Sunday 17th - 2pm - WHY YOU SHOULD BE A REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST. Part 10 of draft CSMS study guide.
Finish 4pm
December school
Marx, "Capital" - background Green and Nore, "Economics: an anti-text" (the 1970s one, not the more recent "Economics: an anti-textbook"). The 1970s one is available secondhand cheap
Lise Vogel, "Marxism and the oppression of women"
Lenin's "What Is To Be Done?" - background Lars Lih, "Lenin Rediscovered"; Zinoviev, "History of the Bolshevik Party"; Lenin, "Left-Wing Communism"
To book for the December school