Join us for our Fall Kick-off meeting, "Socialism: What it is and How We Get There"

Thursday, September 16th at 7:30pm

RIT Library, in the "Idea Factory"

A presentation by local activist RJ Bean followed by a question, answer and discussion session.

The word "socialism" has returned to the mainstream of American political debate. But there are widespread misconceptions about what socialism is—and what it isn't.

Republicans fret that the U.S. is fast becoming a socialist country— with government spending on bank bailouts and Obama's health care reform. But the genuine tradition of “socialism from below” means more than just state intervention in the economy.

Socialism is really about the struggle to oppose discrimination in all its forms and to put the needs of working people before corporate profits.

Come to a meeting sponsored by the International Socialist Organization to discuss the idea of socialism—and socialist strategies for changing the world.

Classics of Marxism Series

For Marxists, there is an indissoluble interrelation between ideas and what we do: theory and practice. The theory of Marxism draws upon the historical experience of the working-class movement; and that theory in turn informs our practice. Practice without theory is rudderless; theory without practice is academics.

Come and join the ISO at the following meetings for a summer-long intensive study on the classics of Marxism.

All meetings this summer take place at the Flying Squirrel Community Space on 285 Clarissa St, Rochester, NY and begin at 7:30pm on Thursdays.

Meetings marked with a * have required readings associated which are listed below.

Summer Calendar:
07/01 - Open ISO Working Meeting
07/08 - "Marx's Historical Materialism" *
07/15 - Open ISO Working Meeting
07/22 - "Marx's Political Economy" *
07/29 - Open ISO Working Meeting
08/05 - "The Politics of Social Classes" Part I *
08/12 - Open ISO Working Meeting
08/19 - "The Politics of Social Classes" Part II *
08/26 - "The Civil War in France" *
09/02 - Open ISO Working Meeting

Required Reading List:
07/08 - "Marx's Historical Materialism"
Prerequisite: Phil Gasper, The German Ideology
Read it online

Main reading:
Marx and Engels, Preface and First chapter of The German Ideology (83 pages)
Read it online
Marx and Engels, Theses on Feuerbach (3 pages)
Read it online
Engel’s: Letter to J. Bloch: (2 pages)
Read it online

07/22 - "Marx's Political Economy"
Prerequisite: Phil Gasper, Marx’s Capital
Read it online

Main Reading
Marx, Value, Price and Profit (43 pages)
Read it online
Capital, Part VI: Primitive Accumulation
(chapters 26, 27, 28, 30, 31,and 32) (55 pages)
Read it online

08/05 - "The Politics of Social Classes" Part I
(to follow the historical allusions,
make use of wikipedia on the subject.)

Prerequisites: Trotsky on 1848 (From Results and Prospects)
Read it online

Main Reading:
Engel’s introduction to Class Struggles in France (18 pages)
Read it online
Marx’s Class Struggles in France (87 pages)
Read it online

08/19 - "The Politics of Social Classes" Part II
Main Reading:
Engels’ preface to Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (2 pages)
Read it online
Marx, Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (82 page)
Read it online

08/26 - "The Civil War in France"
Prerequisite: Elizabeth Lalasz, The Civil War in France
Read it online

Main Reading: Marx, Civil War in France (45 pages)
Read it online

Motts Workers on Strike

Motts Workers On-Strike!!!
Hear it directly from the workers.
Please consider joining the workers on the picket line! Delegates to the Rochester Labor Council, and the Finger Lakes Labor Assembly, please note the change of venue for your June Delegates meetings in support of our brothers and sisters at RWDSU Local 220.

For additional Information, please visit:
www.mottsworkers.org

Major Rally!
11am, Saturday, June 26, 2010
Rally Site: 4363 Route 104, Corner of Pound Road, Williamson, NY 14589

Bus Drop-Off: Next to Mott's Plant on Pound Road & Rt. 104
Bus Parking: Williamson Town Park, 3773 Eddy Road, Williamson, NY 14589-9357
Car Parking: Williamson Town Hall/Public Library, 6380 Route 21 (Lake Avenue) - Behind McDonald's on Route 104, less than 1/2 mile walk to rally site or shuttle buses will be provided

Socialism 2010 in Chicago

A WEEKEND OF REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS, DEBATE, AND ENTERTAINMENT
Register today and join over two dozen of us going from Rochester!
Email: ISO.Rochester@gmail.com

With the economy in shambles and with wars and occupations continuing, the challenge to change these conditions confronts us all. More than a year ago, millions placed their hopes in Barack Obama and the Democrats to solve these problems. But after months of broken promises and concessions to conservatives, jobs are scarce, health care reform is on life support, and full equality for LGBT people remains elusive.

Socialism 2010—to be held in both Chicago and Oakland—will provide an unparalleled opportunity for new and veteran activists and scholars to explore questions about how we got into this mess and how we can get out of it.

Last year, more than 1,800 people turned out to explore the history of struggles of ordinary people, to learn about radical figures who led social movements and to debate theoretical questions that can help us change the world.

Don’t miss the chance to meet, talk and socialize with hundreds of others like you who want to build an alternative to a system of greed, racism, war and oppression.

Check out the promo video!

A carpool is being organized, so if you need transportation you should contact us as soon as possible.

Useful links:

Conference Schedule

Conference Speakers

Defend Public Education!

Come to a meeting on why and how we must fight to
DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION

Calling all students, faculty, parents, and staff to attend and participate in discussion!

Thursday, April 22, 2010
7:30pm - 9:00pm
RIT Library - Idea Factory

We'll only get Mayoral Control, more budget cuts, more layoffs, and the busting of public sector unions if we don't fight back!

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization

rochesteriso.org
socialistworker.org

ISO.rochester@gmail.com

Screening: "The People Speak"

The People Speak
a documentary by Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, and Chris Moore

April 16, 2010 at 5PM
RIT Building 1, Room 2000

Inspired by Howard Zinn's bestseller A People's History of the United States and it's companion book Voices of a People's History of the United States this star studded documentary takes an unguarded look at our nation's decades-long struggle with the pressing issues of war, race, class, and women's rights. Viggo Mortenson, Danny Glover, Marisa Tomei, Matt Damon, and Kerry Washington, and other Hollywood stars stage impassioned readings of historical testimonies by the people who helped to shape our country's socio-political landscape, including Langston Hughes, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and Bob Dylan. Additional actors assume the roles of labor leaders, civil rights demonstrators, abolitionists, and various other trailblazers who weren't afraid to speak out during some of the more turbulent periods in our nation's history.

More info? email: ISO.rochester@gmail.com

May Day Planning Meeting

Call for a community-wide effort to plan, organize, and mobilize for a May Day demonstration.

FULL EQUALITY FOR ALL
BAILOUT WORKERS, NOT THE CORPORATIONS

Planning meeting to decide all details -- a rally? march? evening activities or a combination of all three?
Date: Saturday, April 10th
Time: 12:00pm
Location: 285 Clarissa Street -- The Flying Squirrel Community Space
Email: ralph.bean@gmail.com
Phone: (585)-857-4732
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116467955030275

May Day, or International Workers' Day, occurs on May 1st. It is a holiday originally founded in the United States and that is celebrated all over the world but not here. The day commemorates the Haymarket Massacre of 1886 where working people, demonstrating with a demand for the eight-hour day, were fired on by police. Many were killed and the leaders of the march were framed and hung. Since then, celebrations and demonstrations have been held world wide on May Day to uphold the fight against oppression and exploitation wherever they occur in our highly segregated and highly unequal society.

In 2006, millions of undocumented workers struck and marched on May 1st against the villainous Sensenbrenner Bill (H.R. 4437) that would have made undocumented immigration to the United States a felony. That bill was defeated amidst the rise of the modern movement for immigrants' rights. In 2008, May 1st saw dockworkers organized in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refuse to move any cargo on West coast ports in protest against the Iraq War.

Today, working class people in the US face ever worsening conditions. Median annual income for has plummeted from $43,416 a year in 1975 (in 2004 inflation-adjusted dollars) to $35,100 in 2004 and the housing crisis turned financial meltdown has only sharpened the edge, especially for young workers.

* Whereas Mayor Bob Duffy and Secretary Arne Duncan see fit to curb democracy with Mayoral Control, paving the way to bust our unions with charter schools, and...
* Whereas the federal government sees fit to fatten insurance corporations and leave workers with an excise tax, and...
* Whereas our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and especially transgender brothers and sisters have next to no protection in employment, housing, free speech in the military, or marriage equality, and...
* Whereas our undocumented hermanos y hermanas face unequal pay, face unequal housing, and live in fear of racist persecution, and...
* Whereas women were promised equality but still make 76 cents to their male coworkers' dollar and now face renewed attacks on their right to choose what to do with their own bodies, and...
* Whereas our rights continue to be dismantled and our arab and Muslim brothers and sisters face daily humiliation and persecution, and...
* Whereas the banks got bailed out and we got sold out, and...
* Whereas restoration of the tradition of May Day is long overdue...

We must plan a May Day demonstration.
We must stand in solidarity across lines of age, gender, race, sex, nationality, and sexual orientation.
We must begin to rebuild the Rochester Left.

Banks get bailed out, we get sold out.
An injury to one is an injury to all.
FULL EQUALITY FOR ALL WORKERS
BAILOUT WORKERS, NOT THE CORPORATIONS

Planning meeting to decide all details -- a rally? march? evening activities or a combination of all three?

Date: Saturday, April 10th
Time: 12:00pm
Location: 285 Clarissa Street -- The Flying Squirrel Community Space
Email: ralph.bean@gmail.com
Phone: (585)-857-4732

Every labor and community organization is welcome and needed.
Expect details for May 1st activities and a list of sponsoring organizations to be released the following week.
If you cannot attend but wish for your organization to co-sponsor May Day activities. Please reach us by email.

A People's History of US Empire

In the spirit and tradition of Howard Zinn's "A People's History" series, the ISO presents...

A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF UNITED STATES EMPIRE

Thursday March 25, 2010 at 7:30PM

RIT Library in the Idea Factory

LET'S LEARN AND DISCUSS OUR HISTORY...
THEN STEER IT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

The US military is most often portrayed as the "reluctant solider", only intervening when absolutely necessary, and ALWAYS on the side of freedom and democracy. From "Saving the World for Democracy" during WWII, to the "War on Terrorism" of the today, the US has always proclaimed its intentions as benevolent.

..But truth is a stubborn thing. The US, in reality, has a long legacy of US intervention AGAINST the forces of democracy and liberation and FOR the interests of the rich and powerful. From almost the inception of the new government in 1776, the US government has intervened in the affairs of other countries, from supporting dictators to overthrowing democratically elected governments.

However, that isn't the end of the story. the grasping talons of US empire has provoked heroic resistance both among the people it sought to dominate and among the people here in the United States. From the the fearless struggle of Native Americans against the encroaching cavalry to the young infantryman refusing orders in the jungles of Vietnam, the participants in these escapades made US domination anything but a certainty.

It is this history, the people's history, that deserves to be learned and taught throughout the land.

"Finally Got the News" the story of the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM).

THE AMERICAN RADICALISM FILM SERIES PRESENTS:
"Finally Got the News" the story of the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM).

FINALLY GOT THE NEWS is a forceful, unique documentary that reveals the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit. Through interviews with the members of the movement, footage shot in the auto plants, and footage of leafleting and picketing actions, the film documents their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, will respond to worker's problems, such as the assembly line speed-up and inadequate wages faced by both black and white workers in the industry.

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: RIT Library, the IDEA FACTORY
** Fundraiser for the Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC)
** Requested Admission: $5.00
** No one turned away for lack of funds

"Although most histories of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements give greater attention to [other groups]... the League [of Revolutionary Black Workers] was in many respects the most significant expression of black radical thought and activism in the 1960s. The League took the impetus for Black Power and translated it into a fighting program focusing on industrial workers."—Manning Marable, Director, Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Professor of History, Columbia University

"A classic! Rather than the lock-stepped, black-bereted, leather-jacketed Panther units of other films, FINALLY shows rather ordinary people becoming very angry with the system. Ideological in the best sense: it is a film about ideas [and] presents a serious strategy for mass working class action... It speaks of a specific time and specific experiences in terms that will remain relevant as long as working people are not able to control their own lives."—Dan Georgakas, for Cineaste

"[The League of Revolutionary Black Workers]... was one of the most important radical movements of our century - a movement led by black revolutionaries whose vision of emancipation for all is sorely needed today."—Professor Robin D.G. Kelley, New York University

RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=271123958271

UPDATE: LOCAL RESIDENT CROSSES INTO GAZA STRIP WITH HUMANITARIAN AID AFTER DELAYS

Local Contact:
Tom Middleton
Viva Palestina Convoy Member
585.739.5578
thomas.g.middleton@gmail.com

Brian Lenzo, organizer and press liason
International Socialist Organization and Rochester Against War
585.208.2772
truthtob@yahoo.com


LET'S CELEBRATE A CRACK IN THE EMPIRE
LOCAL RESIDENT CROSSES INTO GAZA STRIP WITH HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES AFTER DELAYS AND CONFLICT WITH EGYPTIAN AUTHORITIES.
PROTEST AT ROCHESTER FEDERAL BUILDING TO DEMAND BORDER CROSSING REMAIN OPEN!

Rochester Activists will congregate in front of the downtown Federal Building on Wednesday, January 6th at 4:30pm to demand the US government pressure the Egyptian government to open the Rafah Border crossing into the Gaza Strip permanently. Currently the border is open only temporarily and causes much suffering to the people of Gaza. Other demands include a formal apology from the Egyptian government for its attacks on the convoy yesterday evening.

Local Rochester Student Adriano Contreras is among a 500 strong humanitarian aid convoy (Viva Palestina) that is passing through the Rafah border crossing at 5pm Egyptian time after much delay.

Reports claim that last night, 2,000 riot police have moved towards the Viva Palestina convoy's camp in the Egyptian Port city of Al-Arish. There are conflicting reports of how the conflict started, but the police fired tear gas and there were confrontations between police and convoy members.

The "Viva Palestina" convoy originated in London, England, with a convoy of ambulances, buses, trucks and cars full of supplies and people. The convoy traveled through Europe, into Greece, into Turkey and is not traveling through Syria on its way to Jordan, Egypt and eventually the Rafah Border Crossing into Gaza. Adriano Contreras joined the convoy from the launch in London and has been reporting on their journey through Europe and the Middle East.

Convoy member Adriano has been posting about his travels on a popular blog called "The Sitch", http://www.theSitch.com
Local Contact:
Tom Middleton
Viva Palestina Convoy Member
585.739.5578
thomas.g.middleton@gmail.com

Brian Lenzo, organizer and press liason
International Socialist Organization and Rochester Against War
585.208.2772
truthtob@yahoo.com

The Sitch: http://www.thesitch.com/gaza-dispatches/
Viva Palestina Website: http://www.vivapalestina.org/home.htm
UN Goldstone Report on Gaza War: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/specialsession/9/FactFindingMission.htm

Green Shoots on Withering Vines: The Current Economic Crisis

Our friend over at the sitch is kind enough to host an mp3 of ISO member Ashley Smith's presentation on the current economic crisis.

The Sitch is also hosting a series of live dispatches from a convoy en route to the occupied Gaza Strip. Definitely follow this for the next month!

Audio recordings of all of the talks from the Socialism 2009 conference are now available!

Download over 80 talks including, "What is socialism?," "Rosa Luxemburg's 'The Mass Strike'," "The two souls of socialism," "How the Russian revolution was won," "Marx's 'Capital'," and many more!

First, download the following file, which is in a .torrent format:
Socialism2009.torrent

Then, if you don't already have one, download and install a BitTorrent client. You can get one for free at the following link:
http://www.bittorrent.com/

Finally, open the Socialism2009.torrent file above with your new BitTorrent client, and get access to mp3 audio for all of the talks!

As the people, watch "the People Speak" with the Rochester ISO

Join the Rochester Branch of the International Socialist Organization as we gather around Brian's awesome television and watch the long overdue viewing of Howard Zinn's The People Speak on the History Channel.

Zinn, whose books chronicle the struggles of Native Americans, women, workers and other Americans, said he'd like to continue to inspire activists.

"Our hope is that these words from the past will speak passionately and clearly to the needs of the present," he said.

Come join us for this viewing and let the discussion and organizing begin!

RSVP on Facebook!

Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, the documentary feature film THE PEOPLE SPEAK gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice.

Narrated by acclaimed historian Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, A People's History of the United States and, with Anthony Arnove, Voices of a People's History, THE PEOPLE SPEAK illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today and reminds us never to take liberty for granted.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK is produced by Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Chris Moore, Anthony Arnove, and Howard Zinn, co-directed by Moore, Arnove and Zinn, and features dramatic and musical performances by Allison Moorer, Benjamin Bratt, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Robinson, Christina Kirk, Danny Glover, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, David Strathairn, Don Cheadle, Eddie Vedder, Harris Yulin, Jasmine Guy, John Legend, Josh Brolin, Kathleen Chalfant, Kerry Washington, Lupe Fiasco, Marisa Tomei, Martín Espada, Matt Damon, Michael Ealy, Mike O'Malley, Morgan Freeman, Q'orianka Kilcher, Reg E. Cathey, Rich Robinson, Rosario Dawson, Sandra Oh, Staceyann Chin, and Viggo Mortensen.

Afghanistan: Obama's Vietnam?

RSVP: On Facebook
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2009
Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Location: RIT Library -- the Idea Factory

In 2009, Newsweek International (Jan.), the Washington Times (Jan.), the NY Times (Aug.), The Wall St. Journal (October), and CNN (Oct.) have all run articles asking the same question. "Is Afghanistan Obama's Vietnam?" Newsweek International explained, "The analogy isn't exact. But the war in Afghanistan is starting to look disturbingly familiar."

Eight years after the initial invasion of Afghanistan, the US government is bogged down in a costly land war, against an indigenous, nationalist resistance movement among a population that doesn't want the US troops in their country. The war is threatening to spread into neighboring countries and is justified by a need to contain the spread of a dangerous ideology. We also have a democratic president, who was elected on promises of ending the war(s), but has now chosen to escalate against the wishes of a majority of Americans. To say the analogy is "disturbingly familiar" is a dramatic understatement.

To date, over 1,425 coalition forces have died in Afghanistan. Conservative estimates accumulated from more official yearly figures, put the death toll close to 11,000 civilians killed since our invasion in 2001. The actual number is most certainly higher, maybe by a magnitude of 10, with hundreds of thousands more injured, displaced, and driven into extreme poverty. By every measure, this war has become a quagmire.

Rather than looking out for the interests of the Afghan people, from the very beginning, the aims of the US occupation of Afghanistan have been to further its imperial interests around the globe. Its aims are to protect and expand US influence over energy resources and military power in Central Asia, at the expense of its global competitors, specifically Russia, China and Iran.

Join us for a discussion about the current state of the war in Afghanistan and what we can do to bring it to an end.


Brian Lenzo is a long-time antiwar activist from Rochester, NY. He has contributed numerous articles to Socialist Worker Newspaper and TheSitch.com on the history of the Vietnam antiwar movement and, GI resistance and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently he published 6 Reasons to Oppose the War in Afghanistan.

In July, Brian traveled to the Gaza Strip with British MP George Galloway, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and 200 other Americans with the Viva Palestina convoy to deliver humanitarian aid and bear witness to the aftermath of Israel's attack in January 2009. He is currently traveling the country sharing his pictures and experiences.

With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade (1979)

Thursday, November 5, 2009, 7:30pm - 9:30pm, Wallace Library - Idea Factory, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.

Free Admission
Free Pizza

====

Merriam Webster Definition of "Radical"
1 : of, relating to, or proceeding from a root
2 : of or relating to the origin
3 : marked by a considerable departure from the usual or traditional

The United States is the nexus of global capitalism. It is the richest country in the history of the world. It is the home of the "free market" delivering the "American Dream" to anyone who dares to reach for success. However, in its 233 year history, many have woken up to a nightmare.

The US is also the ancestral home to slavery, Jim Crow segregation, the nuclear bomb, and the genocide of the Native Americans. Rather than go back to sleep, millions have risen from their slumber and shaken the roots of not just US, but global capitalism.

The fight for the 8 hour work day, International Women's Day, and the "Sit-In" trace their origins to these forgotten heroes. Many times, it was those cut by the sharpest edge of American discrimination that lead the fight: immigrants, African-Americans, women.

This series aims to uncover the forgotten stories of the American Radicals.

===

The classic WITH BABIES AND BANNERS presents, the untold story of the women who became the backbone of The Great General Motors Sit Down Strike of 1937 –the labor movement's key to the successful drive for industrial unionism and a better life for working Americans.

Go here for a full film description:
http://www.motionpix.info/WITH-BABIES-AND-BANNERS.html

===

This movie series is part of a nation-wide effort by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC) to raise funds for another year of publishing and outreach. The RIT branch of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) is proud to host this series here in Rochester.

However, CERSC does not recieve corporate sponsorship. Its projects like Haymarket Books and the International Socialist Review (ISR) magazine rely entirely on sales and donations from its supporters.

We ask that you consider donating to CERSC at the event to help them continue publicizing and spreading the ideas a new generation will use change the world for the better. CERSC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and 100% of your donation will go directly to them.
Links

24 Hours in Gaza feat. Brian and Ream

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009
Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Location: RIT Library - Idea Factory
Email: rochISO@yahoo.com

Ream and Brian were with the first Gaza-bound Viva Palestina delegation of solidarity activists from the US. The delegation was allowed to enter Gaza on July 15 with truckloads of desperately needed humanitarian supplies--but under the condition that the convoy leave again within 24 hours.

The delegation, led by British Member of Parliament and antiwar activist George Galloway, met one bureaucratic obstacle after another from Egyptian authorities. After negotiating an agreement with the government, the convoy finally left for the Rafah border crossing after several days, with some of its supplies barred from getting through.

These two Rochester activists will talk about their experience.

Slide show presentation followed by Q+A

Free Admission

RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136886258741&ref=ts

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization

Co-Sponsored by
Viva Palestina-US, TheSitch.com

For more information on the Viva Palestina-US convoy visit www.vivapalestina-us.org
Sherry Wolf on Palestine: http://thesitch.blip.tv/file/1892470/
Raja Abdulhaq | Eyewitness to Occupation: http://thesitch.blip.tv/file/1952559/

Socialism: What it is and why we need it | Fall 2009

Public forums around the country this fall

The word "socialism" has returned to the mainstream of American political debate. But there are widespread misconceptions about what socialism is--and what it isn't.

Republicans fret that the U.S. is fast becoming a socialist country--with government spending on bank bailouts and Barack Obama's proposed health care reform. But the genuine tradition of "socialism from below" means more than state intervention in the economy.

Socialism is really about the struggle to oppose discrimination in all its forms and to put the needs of working people before corporate profits.

Come to a meeting sponsored by the International Socialist Organization to discuss the idea of socialism--and socialist strategies for changing the world.

Here is a link to a list of meetings in cities and towns around the US (including Rochester).

Meeting: Capitalist Economics in Crisis

The optimists claim that an economic recovery is near at hand, based on a recent stock market bounce and some less-bad-than-usual economic statistics.

Most sober-minded economists say otherwise. They point to the suffocating effect of the financial crisis on the underlying real economy, which has slowed consumer spending, squeezed world trade and threatened corporate bankruptcies well beyond finance and real estate.

Join the ISO for a discussion on the economic crisis -- how did it start, how can Marxism inform our analysis, how do things look from here on out, and how can we best organize to defend ourselves and our fellow workers against forced austerity measures.


Thursday, August 27, 7:30PM
Underground Railroad Cafe

RSVP on the Facebook Event

Supplemental reading:

• ISR Issue 57, Jan-Feb, 2008, The coming economic meltdown


• ISR Issue 58, Mar-Apr, 2008, More than a recession: An economic model unravels


• ISR Issue 2, Fall 1997 -- Contradictions of the "Miracle" Economy

State Capitalism in Russia

TheSitch is hosting an mp3 of Brian Lenzo's recent talk on "State Capitalism in Russia".

Introduction to the ISO

In an effort to educate our friends and allies on the ideas of the International Socialist Organization, on how and why we operate the way we do and what it means to be a member of the ISO, we are holding a weekly series of informal discussions titled Introduction to the ISO on Sundays at 5:00pm at Equals Grounds. Come with your questions and a passion for social justice!

Paul D from ISO's national leadership came up with this great pamphlet to use as a starting point for discussions. If you plan on coming, contact us to find out what sections we're reading for that day!

You can find the Facebook event here.

Where We Stand: Socialism, not Capitalism

War, poverty, exploitation and oppression are products of the capitalist system, a system in which a minority ruling class profits from the labor of the majority. The alternative is socialism, a society based on workers collectively owning and controlling the wealth their labor creates.

We stand in the Marxist tradition, founded by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, and continued by V.I. Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg and Leon Trotsky.

Workers' Power

Workers create society's wealth, but have no control over its production and distribution. A socialist society can only be built when workers collectively take control of that wealth and democratically plan its production and distribution according to human needs instead of profit.

The working class is the vast majority of society and is the key to the fight for socialism. Workers' central role in production gives them a social power--by use of the strike weapon--to paralyze the system like no other social force.

Socialism is working-class self-emancipation. Only mass struggles of the workers themselves can put an end to the capitalist system of oppression and exploitation.

We support trade unions as essential to the fight for workers' economic and political rights. To make the unions fight for workers' interests, rank-and-file workers must organize themselves independent of the union officials.

Revolution

We actively support the struggle of workers and all oppressed people for economic, political and social reforms, both as a means to improve their conditions and to advance their confidence and fighting strength. But reforms within the capitalist system cannot put an end to oppression and exploitation. Capitalism must be replaced.

The structures of the present government grew up under capitalism and are designed to protect capitalist rule. The working class needs an entirely different kind of state--a democratic workers' state based on councils of workers' delegates.

We do not support candidates of capitalist parties like the Democrats or the Republicans. We support genuine left-wing candidates and political action that promotes independence from the corporate-dominated two-party system in the U.S.

Internationalism

Capitalism is an international system, so the struggle for socialism must be international, uniting workers of all countries. Socialists oppose imperialism--the division of the globe based on the subjugation of weaker nations by stronger ones--and support the self-determination of oppressed nations. We oppose all immigration controls.

We oppose U.S. intervention in Cuba, the Middle East, and elsewhere. We are for self-determination for Puerto Rico.

China and Cuba, like the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, have nothing to do with socialism. They are state capitalist regimes. We support the struggles of workers in these countries against the bureaucratic ruling class.

Full Equality and Liberation

Capitalism divides the working class, based on sexual, gender, racial, national and other distinctions. The specially oppressed groups within the working class suffer the most under capitalism.

We oppose racism in all its forms. We support the struggle for immigrant rights. We fight for real social, economic and political equality for women, and for an end to discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

We support the fight for Black liberation and all the struggles of the oppressed. The liberation of the oppressed is essential to socialist revolution and impossible without it.

The Revolutionary Party

To achieve socialism, the most militant workers must be organized into a revolutionary socialist party. The ISO is committed to playing a role in laying the foundations for such a party. We aim to build an independent socialist organization, rooted in workplaces, schools and neighborhoods that, in fighting today's struggles, also wins larger numbers to socialism.