“Without general elections, without unrestricted freedom of press and assembly, without a free struggle of opinion, life dies out in every public institution, becomes a mere semblance of life, in which only the bureaucracy remains as the active element.” – Rosa Luxemburg. During the late 19th and early 20th century, working-class communities worldwide began organising…
For our second educational event of 2023, the Canterbury Socialist Society presents “Socialism for Dummies”. We hope this will be an opportunity for any curious, confused, unclear, or bamboozled members and supporters to get some clarification – or at least one version of it – to help progress conversations & understanding on the topic of…
The Canterbury Socialist Society is very excited to announce the schedule for our programme for the next four months (May through August), the “Winter of Discontent“. To celebrate reaching 100 members in the Federation of Socialist Societies we have organised a minimum of 16 free public events over the next four months. These include: public lectures and discussions,…
Kia ora, comrades. On May 3rd, Unions Wellington and the Wellington Socialist Society will co-host a panel discussion on socialist strategy and organising in a post-pandemic era at Bedlam & Squalor. This will be our May Day event for 2022. Two years of the pandemic has seen limited opportunities for those on the left in…
INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY | LIVE MUSIC BY RACHEL ANDIE | DRINKS & LIGHT SNACKS INCLUDED | 50% TICKET SALES DONATED TO SHAKTI NZ Kicking off at 11am with a Panel Discussion, moderated by the epic Maggie Tweedie (of RadioActive), the panel will discuss all things #breakingthebias within the workplace. We are super excited to have the following…
It’s International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8th March – that’s no surprise … but this event is! A special treat for those who have grown weary of the annual feminine foray (usually panel-based) into socialist politics, this event is chaired by Sionainn Byrnes and features at least five real-life women with some things to say….
“In a political struggle of class against class, organisation is the most important weapon.” -Engels ——————————————— For our third annual “State of the Unions” event Canterbury Socialist Society are grateful to host a panel of speakers on the topic of the Employment Contracts Act (1991) and its legacy. The act marked an enormous transformation of…
“This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils,…
Some fifty years after its inauguration, second-wave feminists celebrated the ‘first’ annual International (Working) Women’s Day, having casually dropped the word ‘working’ as if to efface the ceremony’s origins in the Second International. Whether intentional or not, the omission betrays longstanding tensions between, or the so-called ‘unhappy marriage’ of, feminism and Marxism. Says the feminist…
“…against this collective power of the propertied classes the working class cannot act, as a class, except by constituting itself into a political party, distinct from, and opposed to, all old parties formed by the propertied classes; That this constitution of the working class into a political party is indispensable in order to ensure the…