BELATED HALLOWEEN : Let's disgust Immanuel Waller-scream's World-Systems Fear-y

"[Karl Marx] was a monumental figure in modern intellectual and political history. He has bequeathed us a great legacy which is conceptually rich and morally inspiring. When he said, however, that he was not a Marxist, we should take him seriously. ... Let us, therefore, use his writings in the only sensible way—that of a comrade in the struggle who knew as much as he knew."

( NOTE: I had planned this event for around Halloween, but due to delays I am only able to post it now [ Recall our strong tradition of observing important dates several weeks too late (e.g., Women in Translation Month, Sept. 11, and many more ]. But I refuse to let this graphic and title go unused. Costumes welcomed, but not required. )

Immanuel Wallerstein (1930-2019) was an influential historian and sociologist best known as the pioneer of the World-Systems Theory perspective. Submarines, let's dive in and take the plunge into an article from Wallerstein's book Historical Capitalism with Capitalist Civilization, where he attempts to weigh the pros versus cons of the capitalist world system in a critical but (arguably?) not too dogmatic way, informed by actual history rather than just by idealized theories considered in a vacuum.

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TEXT :

• "Capitalist Civilization: A Balance Sheet" from Historical Capitalism with Capitalist Civilization by Immanuel Wallerstein (pgs. 120-142 of this PDF courtesy of Libcom, or pgs. 115-137 by the labelled page numbers).

AUDIO :

• A not-too-robotic audio reading of the above text is here on Youtube (around 40 minutes long, from 2:29:12 to 3:09:00).

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Don't let it be a dealbreaker if you don't make it all the way to the end of the reading. If you're at all inclined, just feel free to join us! In the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity, we shall help bring one another up to speed.