The Canterbury Socialist Society was first mooted in 2017 by a small group of likeminded people who found themselves discussing politics over pints fairly regularly. From those humble beginnings the Society has steadily grown to one of the largest single branches of a socialist group in the country.
Founded on simple socialist principles, the Society has aimed to be a political home for people with a variety of views. Rather than attempting to build unity around litigation on the nature of a specific revolutionary period or state experiment, or on equally niche interpretations of socialist doctrine, we instead come together around a common vision of socialism.
By socialism we mean, in the broadest sense, the political goal of bringing the working class to power at all levels of society in order to establish a system where production is organised to meet human need, rather than to pursue the accumulation of private wealth.
To this end, we host seminars, lectures, workshops, film screenings, and social events that are open to the public. Additionally we have members only events that may be social, political, or organisational in scope. Governance of the Society is guided by our constitution, and we aim to be a highly transparent organisation with information readily available to our members on our finances, membership numbers, and so on.
While our primary focus is educational we also take the initiative to intervene politically where possible and appropriate on issues of concern for working people.
We currently hold a public event on the second Wednesday of every month at Space Academy (371 St Asaph Street) in Christchurch. Our events are free, and all are welcome to attend. Please consider joining the Canterbury Socialist Society and help us build an organisation based on conversation, correspondence, and camaraderie.
canterburysocialistsociety@gmail.com