The Vienna Jacobin Reading Group

The Vienna Jacobin Reading Group is an English-speaking socialist reading group based in Vienna, Austria and affiliated with Jacobin Magazine in Brooklyn, New York. We meet once a month to discuss Jacobin articles and other sources of cultural and political critique in a non-doctrinaire manner. We believe that collective action is best studied collectively, and we welcome one and all to our meetings, from seasoned activists to those who are new to the left. Join our email list at http://tinyletter.com/viennajacobin

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November Meeting POSTPONED

details to follow shortly...

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This month's theme is "Red October in November" and will be devoted to the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. We have chosen several recent Jacobin articles which illuminate the revolution's contradictory character rather than perpetuate myth-making on either side, and hope to have a lively, productive discussion beyond sectarian in-fighting or name-calling. The readings: Lars Lih - The Lies We Tell About Lenin https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/07/the-lies-we-tell-about-lenin Mike Haynes - Violence and Revolution in 1917 https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/07/lenin-trotsky-russia-1917-war-wwi Ronald Suny - The Baku Commune https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/11/baku-commune-october-revolution-lenin-bolsheviks Credits to the comrades of the Berlin Jacobin Reading Group for this month's concept.

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Come join us at Librería Utopía (Preysinggasse 26-28 Vienna, Austria 1150) on Tuesday, October 24 at 7pm for our first monthly meeting in the 2017-2018 academic year.

***** Why did the social-democratic compromise of the mid- to late-twentieth century give way to Third Way politics? What factors can account for the defeat of the once powerful labor movement, or  the long-term ossification and collapse of mass parties of Western European social democracy such as the SPÖ and the SPD? Today, at a moment when severe cracks are appearing in the ideological hegemony of neoliberalism, analyzing these developments is as crucial as ever, and there's no better time to do so than in the wake of the Austrian parliamentary election (Oct. 15).

required readings

-->Joseph M. Schwarz/Bhaskar Sunkara, "Social Democracy is Good. But Not Good Enough.": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/08/democratic-socialism-judis-new-republic-social-democracy-capitalism

-->Peter Frase, "Social Democracy's Breaking Point": https://jacobinmag.com/2016/06/social-democracy-polanyi-great-transformation-welfare-state

optional readings

-->interview with Wolfgang Streek: "Social Democracy's Last Rounds": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/02/wolfgang-streeck-europe-eurozone-austerity-neoliberalism-social-democracy

-->Peter Gowan/Mio Tastas Viktorsson, "Revisiting the Meidner Plan": https://jacobinmag.com/2017/08/sweden-social-democracy-meidner-plan-capital

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Thanks for a great year!

Wishing a happy summer to all our comrades out there. We’ll see you in the fall!

For more group updates, be sure to join our email list (http://tinyletter.com/viennajacobin) and Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/viennajacobin/)

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Interested in meeting socialists in real life and talking through arguments together? Like pizza? Come join us for our monthly meeting! *** The topic...

Interested in meeting socialists in real life and talking through arguments together? Like pizza? Come join us for our monthly meeting! *** The topic for our June meeting is socialism and human nature. Specifically, we'll discuss whether arguments for socialism should be grounded in a concept of human nature, or whether socialists should reject the concept altogether. We'll do this with the help of Adaner Usmani's recent Jacobin article, "Why Socialists Should Believe in Human Nature," and Richard Seymour's critical response, "Against Nature." Usmani's article: https://jacobinmag.com/2017/04/human-nature-socialism-capitalism-greed-morality-needs Seymour's response: http://www.leninology.co.uk/2017/04/against-nature_13.html The meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 6 at 7pm at Moishe House Vienna (pm us for the address). If you'd like to attend, please RSVP via Facebook or direct message with a definitive yes so we know approximately how much pizza to buy. Also, please let us know if you'd prefer gluten free or vegan pizza :).

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June Meeting - Topic Poll

Vote for the topic you would like to discuss at our meeting on Tuesday, June 6.

Meeting’s on June 6 at 7:00pm. Candidate topics are... The Left and the Working Class (Why do Marxists talk so much about the working class? Who are “the workers,” after all? Why are they important to capitalism, and why are they important to socialists? How can workers use their collective power to challenge injustice?) Thinking about Enlightenment: The Fluss/Frim v. Haider Debate (Should leftists criticize the Enlightenment or embrace it's allegedly radical legacy? We will explore this question through the debate in Jacobin and Viewpoint between Harrison Fluss/Landon Frim and Asad Haider) Socialism and Human Nature (Why does inequality exist? Does it have something to do with human nature? How should socialists respond to this claim?)

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Interested in meeting socialists in real life and talking through arguments together? Come join us for our monthly meeting! Our May meeting will take place on Tuesday the 16th at 7pm. The topic is Universal Basic Income, which we'll be discussing with the help of the following three articles. Peter Frase, "Curious Utopias": https://jacobinmag.com/2013/05/curious-utopias Matt Bruenig, Antti Jauhianen, Joona-Hermanni Mäkinen, "The UBI Bait and Switch: https://jacobinmag.com/2017/01/ubi-finland-centre-party-unemployment-jobs Jesse A. Myerson, "The Right to a Dignified Life": https://jacobinmag.com/2015/08/universal-basic-income-socialist-libertarian

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May Meeting - Topic Poll

Vote for the topic you would like to discuss at our meeting on Tuesday, May 16.

Please vote in our topic poll by Thursday, May 12 at 8pm.

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What exactly do people mean when they talk about identity politics, and why has it become such a contentious term? How has the meaning of the term changed over time? What does identity politics have to offer left theory and practice? In our April meeting we'll address these questions with the help of three recently published articles on identity politics. They are as follows: Asad Haider, "White Purity": https://www.viewpointmag.com/2017/01/06/white-purity/ Salar Mohandesi, "Identity Crisis": https://www.viewpointmag.com/2017/03/16/identity-crisis/ Thea N. Riofrancos and Daniel Denvir, "The 'Identity Politics' Debate Is Splintering the Left. Here's How We Can Move Past It":http://inthesetimes.com/article/19902/heres-how-we-can-move-pastthe-identity-politics-debate-splintering-the-left

As the meeting is in a private residence, we don’t post it publicly. To request it, send an email to [email protected].

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April Meeting - Topic Poll

Vote for the topic you would like to discuss at our meeting on April 3.

Please vote in our topic poll by Friday, March 24.

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Monday, February 6, 8:00-9:30pm. Bäckerstraße 7/8, 1010.

The past decades have seen a steady march rightward in the US political establishment. While feminist, antiracist, and LGBTQ movements have succeeded in drawing attention to ongoing forms of oppression, in establishing equality a topic within popular discourse, and even in achieving some major policy victories, the corporate-funded Democratic and Republican Parties have passed cuts to public spending and social services that have decreased the standard of living of "the 99%," tended to hit oppressed minority groups the hardest, and created material conditions that have bred rightwing revanchism in the cultural sphere. The election of Donald Trump on the strength of his racist, nationalistic, authoritarian campaign needs to be understood in this context. However, as the self-proclaimed "democratic socialist" Bernie Sanders's leftwing insurgency campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination demonstratred, millions of Americans want an alternative of greater social and economic equality for all. Yet Sanders's eventual loss, which in part came about due to the Democratic establishment's virtually unanimous endorsement of Clinton, suggests that this alternative needs to take the form of a new party. What would it take to create such a party? What are the biggest obstacles that we socialists face to bringing one given US electoral law? Why have past attempts at this project failed, and what can we do differently? We'll explore these questions and more with the help of an article by Seth Ackerman and a response by Mark Dudzik and Adolph Reed. The articles are as follows: Seth Ackerman, "A Blueprint for a New Party": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/bernie-sanders-democratic-labor-party-ackerman/ Mark Dudzik & Adolph Reed, "No Easy Solutions: A Reply to Seth Ackerman": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/no-easy-solutions/

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February Meeting: Topic Poll

Vote for the topic you would like to discuss at our meeting on February 6

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Jacobin published two "where we should go from here"-style reflections from Austrian leftists following the Austrian presidential election on December 4. This is obviously of relevance for our group! The Jacobin articles are as follows: Benjamin Opratko, "The Alternative in Austria": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/12/austria-fpo-hofer-bellen-right-fascists-trump/ Walter Baier, "Winning a Battle, Not the War": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/12/austria-election-fpo-hofer-eu-europe-democracy-fascism/ The Opratko and Baier pieces have relatively similar arguments. For a counterpoint, here's an article by Owen Jones in The Guardian. Since the article presents a less critical analysis of the political situation in the wake of the election, it might make sense to read this one first: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/31/not-game-over-austria-stopped-rightwing-populism-election We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

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January Meeting: Topic Poll

Vote for your preferred topic for our January meeting.

If you plan on coming to our January meeting (17.1.), please consider voting in our topic poll by 6.1.

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Date: 12.12.

Time: 20:00-21:30

Location: Moishe House, Bäckerstraße 7/8, 1010 Vienna

In recent years, the phenomenon of "Euroskepticism"—various forms of opposition to the European Union—has gained a traction in the political mainstream that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. This has largely been the result of far-right political parties and right-wing movements within traditional conservative parties adopting Euroskeptic positions in order to take advantage of a popular resentment toward the political status quo that has intensified in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Given that this right-wing Euroskeptic movement has by and large been characterized by incredible levels of xenophobia and racism, many on the left have reflexively adopted pro-EU positions in response. However, is this the response that we as leftists should be taking? In our December reading group, we will explore this question with the help of the following three articles:

Yanis Varoufakis, "Europe's Left After Brexit": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/09/european-union-strategy-democracy-yanis-varoufakis-diem25/ Lee Jones, "Yanis Varoufakis's Fantasy Politics": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/09/yanis-varoufakis-eu-syriza-diem25-europe-brexit/ Catarina Príncipe, "How to Understand the European Union": https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/10/eu-brexit-varoufakis-europe-lexit-troika/

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December Reading Group

Vote for your preferred topic for the December Reading Group

The topic candidates are: "The Left and the EU" "Why the Working Class?" "Socialism and Antiracism" You can also write in a different topic

Please consider voting if you plan to come to the meeting

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November Meeting

Date: 7.11.

Time: 20:00-21:30

Location: Bäckerstraße 7/8, 1010 Vienna

The 2016 election campaign has been a crazy time indeed. That being said, the craziness becomes eminently more understandable when viewed as a symptom of a global economic system in crisis. Come join us in discussing the following three articles, all of which help to ground this insight in different ways: Charlie Post, "The Republicans Have Been Trumped" http://www.brooklynrail.org/2016/10/field-notes/the-republicans-have-been-trumped Luke Savage, "Why Bernie Was Right" https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/10/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-podesta-emails-wikileaks/ Connor Kilpatrick, "Fool Me Once" https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/10/democratic-party-clinton-trump-white-voters-workers/