“Precisely the defeated man must try the outside world again” – Ernst Bloch, The Principle of Hope (1954). It is easier to imagine the end of the world, than the end of capitalism. This phrase has become something of a shibboleth for the contemporary left, a diagnosis of our present condition and a bleak indictment of our…
The Canterbury Socialist Society is thrilled to be able to host this guest lecture for our August event, 2024. Berkay Koçak is a political science doctoral researcher from Türkiye, currently based in New Zealand, specializing in political theory and Marxist political economy. Berkay completed a PhD in the Political Science and Public Policy programme at…
“The mutual-aid tendency in man has so remote an origin, and is so deeply interwoven with all the past evolution of the human race, that it has been maintained by mankind up to the present time, notwithstanding all vicissitudes of history.”― Peter Kropotkin————————————————————— Through mutual aid, we acknowledge the ways that governments have failed our…
“Marx was not simply the best or most consistent or radical socialist, but rather the most historically, and hence critically, self-aware. By “scientific” socialism, Marx understood himself to be elaborating a form of knowledge aware of its own conditions of possibility.” – C Cutrone, “Capital in History: The need for a Marxian philosophy of history…
In many ways, the 2020’s seems further away from the ‘end of history’ than the 1920’s. This has led some commentators to characterise our current moment as ‘the end of the end of history’. Indeed, after declining in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, both the number of conflicts and conflict deaths has increased in recent…
Kia ora Neighbours – both members and supporters of the New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies. The Wellington Socialist Society is pleased to announce the second New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies National Conference to be held in central Wellington (venues TBC) over Labour Weekend (26th-27th October), 2024. Registrations are open now. Please visit the…
“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” – Isaiah 2.4 “I wasn’t disturbing the peace, I was disturbing the war.” – Ammon Hennacy Sixteen years ago three Catholic Workers, Adi Leason,…
“There is today in the world a dominant discourse […] This dominating discourse often has the manic, jubilatory, and incantatory form that Freud assigned to the so-called triumphant phase of mourning work. The incantation repeats and ritualizes itself, it holds forth and holds to formulas, like any animistic magic. To the rhythm of a cadenced…
Join Federation member Tom Smith in a public discussion about the significance of 2022’s parliament occupation. In the present moment, the Parliament protests serve as an indicator of the interregnum. This protest, characterized by its diverse ideological factions, serves as an expression of popular discontent, particularly concerning government mandates and perceived overreach. The COVID-19 pandemic…
Come along to our next WSS film screening. Utu is Geoff Murphy’s depiction of the Māori struggle against Pākehā domination in the 19th century, loosely based on the events of Te Kooti’s War. Starring Anzac Wallace and Merata Mita. Doors open at 6:00pm and the screening will start at 6:30pm, snacks will be provided and make sure…