<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[the commune]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://thecommune.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[internationalcommunist]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://thecommune.wordpress.com/author/internationalcommunist/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[texts for 13th april reading&nbsp;group]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>The next of The Commune&#8217;s London reading group series on &#8216;communism from below&#8217; is to take place on Monday 13th April. The subject of the discussion, taking place from 6:30pm at the Old Red Lion, near Angel tube, is &#8220;workers&#8217; self-government vs. state socialism&#8221;.</p>
<p>We will be looking at the questions<br />
&#8211; To what extent is it possible to use the existing state&#8217;s structures to force &#8216;socialist&#8217; reforms?<br />
&#8211; Should we refuse to make any demands on bourgeois governments?<br />
&#8211; What arguments could be made for and against the slogan &#8220;nationalisation under workers&#8217; control&#8221;?<br />
&#8211; Does William Paul&#8217;s &#8220;industrial executive committee&#8221; reflect our idea of working-class power?<br />
&#8211; How can self-managed workplaces relate to the needs of society as a whole?<br />
&#8211; Does the idea of a &#8220;workers&#8217; party&#8221; imply an elite counterposed to grassroots activism and workplace democracy, and does it really allow a broader programme of social revolution?</p>
<p>The suggested reading material is:</p>
<p>&#8211; William Paul &#8211; <a href="https://thecommune.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/thestatewilliampaul.pdf">The State: Its Origins and Function, Chapter 11</a><br />
&#8211; Marx &#8211; <a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/index.htm">Critique of the Gotha Programme</a><br />
&#8211; Hal Draper &#8211; <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/pamsetc/twosouls/twosouls.htm">The Two Souls of Socialism</a></p>
<p>All are welcome to come and take part in the discussion. Email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com for more info.</p>
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