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In 1888 a great upsurge of unskilled workers in Britain began when workers at Bryant and May match factory in Bow went on strike after one of them — a known “troublemaker” — was sacked by the sweatshop bosses.
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The Lucas Arms, 245a Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR
Facebook event here.
Much of the organised left, in Britain and worldwide, regards Cuba's government and society, created by the revolution of 1959, as socialist - not without flaws, but qualitatively different from the bureaucratic regimes which existed in the Soviet Union and still exist in states like China and North Korea.
Workers' Liberty disagrees. Cuba is not a flawed workers' regime in a difficult situation, but a consolidated system of class exploitation.
James Bloodworth (author of the Obliged to Offend blog) and Paul Hampton will lead a discussion on the character of the Cuban revolution and the state it created, and explain why from a Marxist point of view the regime led by Raul Castro can only be considered the exploiter and oppressor of the Cuban working class and people.
All welcome. Plenty of time for debate and discussion.
(Nearest tube and rail Kings Cross)
Some reading from Cuban Trotskyist Sam Farber is attached below.
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Friends Meeting House, Mount St, Manchester
Discussion on ideas and plans for the new weekly Solidarity. Speaker: Elaine Jones.
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Central London (TBA)
Barricade is a socialist youth zine launched by young members and supporters of Workers' Liberty.
We're hosting a meeting for anyone who's seen, read or sold copies of Barricade and is interested in getting involved. No prior political experience is necessary - just a healthy contempt for the rich.
If you want a forum where you can discuss ideas and activism with other young people, Barricade is for you. Come along to the meeting to discuss:
* The ideas behind the zine
* Your experiences in the recent student movement and where it's headed
* Ideas for future content in the zine
* Which YouTube viral sensation of 2010 was funniest (maybe not actually that'll probably be a waste of time)
* Anything else
For more info see www.workersliberty.org/barricade, email barricade@workersliberty.org or ring Ed on 07775 763750 or Daniel on 07961 040618 (they work in the Workers' Liberty office and are responsible for designing and printing Barricade, so if you don't like the look of the thing, it's probably their fault.)
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124 Canonbury Road, nr. Highbury & Islington tube
Facebook event here
Workers’ Liberty is a socialist organisation. Our members include working-class militants from the big trade union struggles of the 60s and 70s; socialist feminists whose solidarity brought liberation politics to the Miners Strike 1984-5; students from the 2008-9 university occupation movement; the agitators that sparked the Vestas wind turbine factory occupation in 2009 and many more worker and student activists.
Workers Liberty roots its politics in class struggle. The organised working-class has been the only force in history that has seriously challenged capitalism. More than that, class politics are the only way to make sense of the world.
The past 150 years have seen enormous working-class movements, which have won huge concessions from capitalism and occasionally made social revolutions. There have been many times when the working-class has been tantalisingly close to making socialism - working-class self-rule based on common ownership and mass participatory democracy.
The most far-reaching movement was in Russia in 1917. The ideas and experiences of that movement are an incredibly rich legacy for the emerging movement today. We stand in the tradition of those, like Leon Trotksy, who fought for democratic socialism and internationalism until they were eventually murdered by Stalin’s agents.
After a long period of retreat we can expect a rebirth of the working class movement. Our active involvement in that movement may be vital in preventing us repeating the mistakes of the past. If you want to be a part of that project then get in touch, come to our meeting and get involved.
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124 Canonbury Road, Highbury & Islington
Facebook event here.
To mark the 70th anniversary of his murder by a Stalinist agent, AWL North East London is hosting a series of discussions about different aspects of Leon Trotsky's revolutionary politics. Debate is welcome. The meetings will take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday (until Tuesday 2 November) and will include a short business/planning session for members of the AWL NE London branch. For more info, email Stuart (stuartjordan32@hotmail.com) or Daniel (skillz_999@hotmail.com).
Tuesday 12 October – Trotsky on syndicalism
During Trotsky's life, syndicalists were very strong in many workers' movements, particularly in America, France and Spain. They believed that trade unions themselves – rather than political parties – could be revolutionary agents. Trotsky referred to syndicalism as “a rough draft of revolutionary communism”; what did he mean?
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124 Canonbury Road, Highbury & Islington
Facebook event here.
To mark the 70th anniversary of his murder by a Stalinist agent, AWL North East London is hosting a series of discussions about different aspects of Leon Trotsky's revolutionary politics. Debate is welcome. The meetings will take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday (until Tuesday 2 November) and will include a short business/planning session for members of the AWL NE London branch. For more info, email Stuart (stuartjordan32@hotmail.com) or Daniel (skillz_999@hotmail.com).
Tuesday 19 October – the “French Turn”
In 1934, Trotskyists in France began working inside the SFIO (the broad equivalent of the British Labour Party). What can their experience tell us about how Trotskyists can relate to mass labour-movement parties of that kind?
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124 Canonbury Road, Highbury & Islington
Facebook event here.
To mark the 70th anniversary of his murder by a Stalinist agent, AWL North East London is hosting a series of discussions about different aspects of Leon Trotsky's revolutionary politics. Debate is welcome. The meetings will take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday (until Tuesday 2 November) and will include a short business/planning session for members of the AWL NE London branch. For more info, email Stuart (stuartjordan32@hotmail.com) or Daniel (skillz_999@hotmail.com).
Tuesday 26 October – Trotsky on fascism and how to fight it
Against the treachery of the German SDP and the Stalinist Communist Party, Trotsky argued for a working-class united front to allow German workers to defend themselves against the rise of Hitler and, ultimately, struggle for power. His writing at the time was grimly prophetic; what can it tell us about the anti-fascist movement today?
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124 Canonbury Road, Highbury & Islington
Facebook event here.
To mark the 70th anniversary of his murder by a Stalinist agent, AWL North East London is hosting a series of discussions about different aspects of Leon Trotsky's revolutionary politics. Debate is welcome. The meetings will take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday (until Tuesday 2 November) and will include a short business/planning session for members of the AWL NE London branch. For more info, email Stuart (stuartjordan32@hotmail.com) or Daniel (skillz_999@hotmail.com).
Tuesday 2 November – Art and revolution
In 1927 Trotsky wrote what remains the definitive contribution to developing a Marxist theory of art. As Stalinist Moscow was churning out grim “socialist realism” and nauseating paintings of heroic peasants and labourers, Trotsky was collaborating with visionary artists such as André Breton to develop a conception of a “free revolutionary art.” We look at his ideas and how the debate between the Stalinist and anti-Stalinist theories of art played out down the decades.
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124 Canonbury Road, Highbury & Islington
Facebook event here.
To mark the 70th anniversary of his murder by a Stalinist agent, AWL North East London is hosting a series of discussions about different aspects of Leon Trotsky's revolutionary politics. Debate is welcome. The meetings will take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday (until Tuesday 2 November) and will include a short business/planning session for members of the AWL NE London branch. For more info, email Stuart (stuartjordan32@hotmail.com) or Daniel (skillz_999@hotmail.com).
Tuesday 5 October – Permanent Revolution
One of Trotsky's key ideas was his theory of how to immediate struggles for political democracy or national liberation to a revolutionary, working-class struggle to overthrow capitalism. In today's “post-colonial” world, are those ideas still relevant?
