The ideas of Mahatma Gandhi have had a lasting impact on the left, from the civil rights movement of the 1960s right through to the movements against corporate greed and racism that are developing today. Many see Gandhi as the embodiment of politically-effective pacifism.The success of his nonviolent strategy, however, is largely a myth. This talk discuss' the relationship that Gandhi had to the Left and the debates between them in the context of a struggle for independence.

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Marxism 2023

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marxism 2023

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marxism 2023

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The dominant explanation for why the British colonised Australia is that their prisons were overflowing and they needed the space for transportation, but is that the whole picture? This talk will offer a Marxist explanation for the colonisation of Australia by Britain.

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Marxism 2023

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Tsarist rule in nineteenth century Russia consisted of brutal oppression and political repression. Attempts at liberalisation were farcical and the society was extremely backwards in comparison to most European countries. In this context emerged a layer of student revolutionaries drawn mainly from the nobility. They wanted a fundamental overturning of Russia's political and economic structures. Throughout the period from 1860-1880 they dedicated themselves to this task with tremendous bravery, creativity, integrity and daring. They began with propaganda work among the peasants, trying to stir them into action but, the failure of this strategy and the experience of extreme repression, led them to terrorism. The populism and terrorism of this time were ultimately hopeless, and were superseded by Marxism and working class organising in the following decades. However, this movement helped to build a revolutionary tradition in Russia. This talk will look at the strengths and weaknesses of this early revolutionary movement, and discuss the impact it had on the Bolsheviks and the two workers’ revolutions that swept Russia in the first decades of the twentieth century.

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The overturning of Roe vs Wade (and therefore the banning of legal abortion in much of the USA) sent shockwaves throughout the world and in Australia prompted a reinvestigation of our own abortion rights. This session will look at successful campaigns for abortion rights in a number of countries and ask how they might inform our own struggles.

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History's forgotten heroes don't get much more radical than the legendary John Brown. Born during the time of the great revolution of the Haitian slaves, he believed he was "an instrument of God", raised up to strike the death blow to American slavery, a "sacred obligation". He attempted to lead a slave revolt when he raided an armoury at Harpers Ferry - an act which help push the country inexorably toward the Civil War. But this was only the final act of a man who had committed his life to the destruction of slavery and an uncompromising hostility to oppression of all kinds.

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