In 1930, Italian socialist Antonio Gramsci wrote, “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born. Now is the time of monsters.” In this era of Trump, Brexit, ISIS, and the alt-right, many will feel 2017 is very similar to the time Gramsci wrote about.
A series of public lectures, political meetings, discussions and debates on how to deal with the new world order, and creating alternative politics and ideas, will take place in Galway, at the Think Left, Galway 2017 conference, which takes place this Saturday in the Mellows Room, The Western Hotel, Prospect Hill.
The conference begins at 12 noon with ‘Marx & the Alternative to Capitalism’, a talk by James O’Toole of the People Before Profit Alliance, and author of Revolution: A beginner’s guide. From 2pm to 3pm, Memet Uludag will give a talk entitled, ‘Racism, Refugees & Fortress Europe’. Mr Uludag is a migrant worker and shop steward with UNITE. He is also the founding member of the national United Against Racism campaign.
John Molyneux, a retired lecturer from the School of Art, Design & Media at Portsmouth University and author of, Rembrandt and Revolution, and The Point is to Change It: An Introduction to Marxist Philosophy, will present his talk, ‘Ways of Seeing: Art, Images & Capitalism’, from 3pm to 4pm.
The conference concludes with ‘Race for the Future:The Rise of the Radical Left versus the Far Right’ from 4pm to 5pm, with Brian O’Boyle, a former NUI Galway lecturer in economics, and author of Capitalism in Crisis: the Socialist Solution to Market Madness.
“The centre ground of conventional parliamentary politics is polarising,” said Dette McLoughlin, an organiser of Think Left Galway. “How can we challenge what is going on in our world? Can a radical Left alternative challenge the very system we live under? If so, what strategies and policies are needed? We encourage people to come along. We need strong socialist politics now more than ever.”
There will also be a question and answers session after each talk. Admission is free and all are welcome.
