Sunday, May 16, 2021

 

Socialism for Future

2020, LuXemburg
114 Views88 Pages
Do you want socialism and the future? How can we still talk about socialism in these dystopian times? And how to fall silent upon this? Capitalism is devouring our future—while the crises of our time are literally heating up, it appears that their resolution is all the more absent. Furious ecological destruction, escalating military conflicts, the rise of the radical right as well as the private appropriation of social wealth are putting the future into question. Planetary boundaries and tipping points are already reached, narrowing the temporal horizon for left-wing alternatives. More and more people are realizing that we are running headlong into catastrophe if we do not radically transform the economy and society quickly—Fridays for Future and the global climate strikes symbolize this. Right now, it's easier to imagine the end of the world than an end to capitalism (Frederic Jameson). Thoroughgoing and radical alternatives (system change) are increasingly being called for—and more often. Young people are beginning to connect the future to a socialist vision, especially in the US and in Great Britain. Socialism is even being fought over again in Germany, where there is a strong anti-communist tradition. What does a SOCIALISM FOR FUTURE, a socio-ecological revolution, a green socialism look like? How does it connect the various desires of the many? What does a policy that creates hope and brings real change look like? What is to be done and where do we begin? Socialism should first of all be obvious, self-evident, a matter of course... but it is also about producing exemplary, concrete social conflicts while lampooning the propertied classes' whine when little is taken from them. And moreover, there are a good many ideas and proposals: The Green New Deal put forward by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders being the most prominent. The neoliberal mantra "There is no Alternative" was turned into its opposite: There is no longer an alternative to radical transformation. Or according to Véronica Gago: socialism means taking care of the future. With contributions from: With contribution by Étienne Balibar, Mario Candeias, Alex Demirović, Verónica Gago, Sarah Leonard and Ingar Solty

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