Sunday, May 11at 6:30pm
The Commons Brooklyn
388 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11217
A new situation was created with the rise of Reaganism in the U.S., along with counter-revolution in Iran, retrogression in Israel, and the rise of fundamentalist religion worldwide. Dunayevskaya thought that it required a new attitude toward revolutionary philosophy and organization. How can this insight help us today?

Suggested readings: Crossroads of History, pp. 102-134; The Philosophic Moment of Marxist-Humanism, pp. 3-20 (both will be available at classes)

Part of a series on:
The Arab Spring at the Crossroads of History: Which Way Forward for Humanity?

Since the Arab Spring began in 2010, it has revealed an unprecedented view of the human condition. From the seemingly limitless possibilities of freedom demonstrated in the occupation of Egypt’s Tahrir Square in 2011, to the Assad regime’s counter-revolutionary genocide being perpetrated against the Syrian people now, we are living through what Marxist-Humanism has described as an Age of Absolutes. This calls for the most serious rethinking by all who hope to move toward a freer, more human world.

To help meet this challenge, we are holding a series of four discussions that will look at the present moment in light of the political-philosophic analyses in Crossroads of History: Marxist-Humanist writings on the Middle East by Raya Dunayevskaya. From the 1961 article on “The Syrian Revolt” to the 1986 writings on Reagan’s terrorist bombing of Libya that spelled out a changed world for revolutionaries, these writings analyzed regional politics in light of a philosophy of human freedom, or what Karl Marx called revolution in permanence. Can this liberatory idea become a determining factor in today’s struggles? We invite all to participate in free and open discussion.