Next Session: 'Circuits of Capital'

1) Vol.II - Next Session: 'Circuits of Capital'

The Reading Group had a very interesting discussion last Monday on Ernest Mandel's Introduction to Volume II, which can be downloaded here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/427153667/KCLReadingCapital_NickBeech_October_25_2010.mp3

For our next session, Jonny Jones, deputy-editor of International Socialism Journal, will be presenting a short introduction on 'Circuits of Capital', followed by a discussion. Room details now below:

Monday 8th November
6pm
Room S-3.18
Strand Building
King's College London

"The two forms assumed by capital-value at the various stages of its circulation are those of money-capital and commodity-capital. The form pertaining to the stage of production is that of productive capital. The capital which assumes these forms in the course of its total circuit and then discards them and in each of them performs the function corresponding to the particular form, is industrial capital, industrial here in the sense it comprises every branch of industry run on a capitalist basis."

"Money-capital, commodity-capital and productive capital, do not therefore designate independent kinds of capital whose functions form the content of likewise independent branches of industry separated from one another. They denote here only special functional forms of industrial capital, which assumes all three of them one after the other."

N.B. We will be reading Chapters 1-4 for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119774294751013

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2) Upcoming Events & Information:

a) 'Crisis and Critique': Historical Materialism Annual London Conference 2010:
HM London 2010 aims to serve as a forum for dialogue,
interaction and debate between different strands of critical-Marxist theory.
Central London, Thu 11th-Sun 14th November
Registration and Provisional Programme Now Available online: http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/conferences/annual7

b) London Seminar on Contemporary Marxist Theory:
This seminar will explore the new perspectives that have been opened up Marxist theory. It involves collaboration among Marxist scholars based in several London universities. Guest speakers ­ from both Britain and abroad ­ will include a wide range of thinkers engaging with many different elements of the various Marxist traditions, as well as with diverse problems and topics. The aim of the
seminar is to promote fruitful debate and to contribute to the development of more robust Marxist analysis. It is open to all.

9th November, 5pm King's College London, Strand Campus, S-1.04, Raked Lecture Theatre
Massimiliano Tomba (University of Padua) The Historical Materialist at work: Re-reading 'The Eighteenth Brumaire'

15th December, 5pm King's College London, Strand Campus, K.3.11 Raked Lecture Theatre
Peter D. Thomas (Brunel University) Contours of Contemporary Western Marxism

For further information, please contact:
Alex Callinicos, European Studies, King's:
alex.callinicos@kcl.ac.uk
Stathis Kouvelakis, European Studies, King's:
stathis.kouvelakis@kcl.ac.uk
Costas Lapavitsas, Economics, SOAS:
cl5@soas.ac.uk
Peter Thomas, Politics and History, Brunel:
PeterD.Thomas@brunel.ac.uk

c) Education Activist Network Conference:
The EAN conference is an opportunity for students and education workers to discuss how to defeat the cuts in higher, further and adult education and fight for another vision of education.

Among the highlights will be workshops with strikers and student occupiers and a forum on the resistance in Europe with activists from France and Greece. This is a chance to organise for French-style resistance in Britain. Visit the link below to register online.

Education Activist Network National Conference
Sunday 31st October 11am-5pm
King’s College London & London School of Economics
Supported by NUS, London Region UCU and others
http://educationactivistnetwork.wordpress.com/national-conference-31st-october/

d) International Socialism 128 Out Now:
In this issue...
Palestine and Israel
Jamie Allinson analyses Hamas, the Islamist movement that has emerged as the pivotal force in the Palestinians’ struggle for national liberation.
Crisis and resistance
Panos Garganas in Greece speaks from the front line of the struggle there, Christakis Georgiou looks at the crisis in the eurozone and Jane Hardy surveys the forms taken by the Great Recession in Central and Eastern Europe. Also...
Jairus Banaji, on insurgency in rural India, Neil Davidson on struggles in the global South & Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolution, John Molyneux on Marxism & Michelangelo. Simon Pirani defends his interpretation of the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Jess Edwards differs with the view of sex work put forward by Gareth Dale and Xanthe Whittaker in our last issue.
To order copies, email isj@swp.org.uk, call 020 7819 1177 or send £5.50 to ISJ, PO Box 42184, London SW8 2WD
www.isj.org.uk

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3) Volume I & Highlights:

More information coming soon on the Volume I discussion group.

Nicholas Beech on Mandel's Introduction Vol.II

1) REMINDER: Volume II of Capital:

The Reading Group begins Volume II of Marx's Capital this week with Ernest Mandel's introduction to Volume II. For our first session, Nicholas Beech, a PhD student from UCL, will be presenting a short introduction followed by a discussion. Room details now below:

Monday 25th October
6pm
Room S-3.18
Strand Building
King's College London

N.B. We will be reading the Introduction to Vol.II by Ernest Mandel for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=116271315100098

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2) Volume I Group:

We have now had sufficient numbers interested in reading Volume I of Capital to launch a group. If you have not already contacted us and would like to be involved in discussing when this meets please contact us on the usual email address kclreadingcapital@gmail.com.

John Weeks recording & Introduction to Volume II

1) John Weeks Recording:

Around 70-80 people came to King's last Monday evening for John Weeks' very interesting talk on 'Capital, Exploitation and Economic Crises'. For those who weren't able to come, there is a recording of the talk here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/424492618/JohnWeeks_11Oct2010.mp3

A copy of John's powerpoint presentation will also be available soon on kclreadingcapital.blogspot.com

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2) Volume II of Capital:

The Reading Group continues this year with Volume II of Marx's Capital. Although, as Engels pointed out, Volume II does not contain 'much material for agitation', in describing the process by which the total social capital is reproduced and circulated, it occupies a crucial place in Marx's analysis of the capitalist mode of production. Volume II, centred around the market-place, explains not how value and surplus-value are produced, but how they are realised.

For our first session, Nicholas Beech, a PhD student from UCL, will be presenting a short introduction followed by a discussion on Ernest Mandel's Introduction to the Penguin edition of Volume II.

Monday 25th October
6pm
Strand Building, Room tbc
King's College London

N.B. We will be reading the Introduction to Vol.II by Ernest Mandel for this meeting.

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3) Reading Marx:

A number of people have expressed an interest in attending one-off sessions around shorter works by Marx, such the Communist Manifesto, the Paris Manuscripts, etc. If you would like to take part in such sessions please contact us on usual email addresskclreadingcapital@gmail.com.

Also if you would like to be put in touch with others interested in reading Volume I of Capital likewise please email.

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Regards,
KCL Reading Capital

Abstract for John Weeks Meeting

Download now or preview on posterous

CpExpEcCrss abstract.doc (25 KB)