Wednesday 2nd August 2006, 20:00
The propaganda of vast multinational corporations and transnational organisations like the WTO or the World Bank are full of references to free markets and unrestricted trade. In fact, their aims have as much to do with free trade as the war in Iraq has to do with weapons of mass destruction or Osama bin Laden. In a reactionary reflex, most of the left-wing (i.e. socialist) discourse has revolved around controlling the market. This ranges from social-democratic attempts of redistribution of wealth by the state, to downright state-control of the economy in communist countries.
From an anarchist point of view, state-control can not be considered a viable option, though, but neither can capitalist multinationals be the only alternative, as it is told to us by their representatives. On this evening we’ll try to establish a framework for an anarchist viewpoint on contemporary economics and discuss it.
Issues on the agenda include:
– What’s a (free) market anyway?
– Capitalist control of markets.
– The state as prerequisite for capitalism.
– Why money isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
– How could Marxism go wrong?
– Success stories of anarchist economic practice
The evening will be split into part lecture and part discussion. The lecturer holds a masters degree in economics and has done in-depth studies of both neoliberal capitalism and Marxist/socialist economic theory, guaranteeing a certain level of theoretical foundation. Still, this is not a university lecture, so we will keep it understandable for everyone and open for questions. In the discussion part you – the visitors – can turn the tables and bring in your own thoughts, political views and theories.
If you are interested in socio-political issues beyond living your life from one day to the other, squatting houses and having a fight with the police once in a while, then this could be interesting food for thought.
Language: English (Dutch spoken but will be translated).
Tea, coffee, juice, beer and wine are available on location for very reasonable prices. Any revenue will go to good causes.
