A heads-up for ZNet readers: I’m going to be participating in an event in Chicago this Saturday with David Schweickart. Yes, that David Schweickart. Details are below. We hope to have the audio (and video?) posted and available sometime after the event. I may also post my thoughts about how the event went on this blog. Feb 10 Sat 2pm: OUL Presents: Beyond the Capitalist Horizon OPEN UNIVERSITY OF THE LEFT PRESENTS: ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITALISM: PARTICIPATORY ECONOMICS AND MARKET SOCIALISM As corporate capitalism reveals an ever-uglier face around the globe, OUL hosts two speakers advocating two distinct paths to a more just, hopeful and humane future. Mitchell Szczepanczyk, of the Chicago Area Participatory Economics Society (CAPES), presents the "Parecon" model, in which democratic decision-making replaces the market mechanism. Mitchell will explain the values behind Participatory Economics and discuss the processes and institutions that would allow Parecon to function. David Schweickart, professor of philosophy at Loyola University, will critique the Parecon model and make a case for what he calls Economic Democracy, essentially a form of market socialism. The speakers will have a chance to rebut each other’s arguments, at which point the floor will be opened to comments and questions. Socialism is a house with many rooms, and this event is a rare opportunity for us to consider the strengths and weaknesses of different programs and clarify our own vision of a post-capitalist world. WHEN & WHERE: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2:00 PM at IN THESE TIMES, 2040 N. MILWAUKEE AVE. (2nd floor), Chicago, near the CTA Blue Line’s Western-Armitage stop. WHO: MITCHELL SZCZEPANCZYK is an activist, political theorist and media gadfly. In addition to his work with CAPES, Mitchell is an organizer with Chicago Media Action (CMA) and a contributor to Chicago Indymedia and other projects. He has previously appeared at OUL, where he and his CMA colleagues discussed media consolidation and related issues. He hosts a weekly public affairs radio show on WHPK. DAVID SCHWEICKART is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University, where his primary areas of research are Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Economics, and Marxism. He has published several books on these topics, including "fter Capitalism" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) and "gainst Capitalism" (Cambridge University Press, 1993). He is co-author (with B. Ollman, J. Lawler and H. Ticktin) of "Market Socialism: The Debate Among Socialists" (Routledge, 1998). FOR MORE INFO: […]For more information about OUL, or to join the OUL Yahoo group, go to http://www.yahoo.com and click on "groups," type "oulchicago" and click the search button. Click on "oulchicago" to see recent news and announcements or to join the group. ABOUT THE OUL: The Open University of the Left (OUL) is an independent, non-sectarian, free-speech forum formed in 1987 to organize presentations, discussion groups and film showings about politics, current events, literature, philosophy, history and social theory.
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