The Fate of the Commons: A Trotskyite View
October 22 at 6:00 pm
This event is free and open to the public. RSVPs will open on Oct 1, 2018.
From the Marxist standpoint, “Communism” refers to the multiple versions of our commons (the commons of nature, the commons of our biogenetic inheritance, the commons of our intellectual substance) which are all threatened by today’s global capitalism. Perhaps the most important version of our commons is the world-wide digital grid which more and more controls and regulates our lives. How can a new emancipatory movement fight for the public control of the digital commons? In preparing and executing the October Revolution, Trotsky showed us the way when he focused on the seizure of power over the technical and material base of a state (electricity, railways, phone, etc.). How can we apply this Trotsky’s insight to our contemporary predicament?
Held weekly every Monday at 6:30pm during the academic terms, Skirball Talks hosts visionaries from the worlds of politics, the arts, sciences, academia, and more.
Presented as part of NYU Skirball’s “On Your Marx” festival, in celebration of Karl Marx’s 200th birthday.
Co-sponsored by the NYU Department of German and Deutsches Haus at NYU.