Public event

Democracy and Collective Action in the Twenty-First Century

House Of Commons, Committee Room 6, SW1A 0AA

In his latest book, Common Ground: Democracy and Collectivity in an Age of Individualism, Jeremy Gilbert argues that individualism is forced upon us by neoliberal culture, fatally limiting our capacity to escape the current crisis of democratic politics. He suggests that radical politics today must find ways to assert the creative potential of groups while giving no quarter to conformism or conservatism.
 
In their new pamphlet for Compass, Reclaim Modernity, Gilbert and co-author Mark Fisher argue that progressive politics can only renew itself by reclaiming the mantle of modernity, asserting that democracy and collectivity are twenty-first century ideas, while refusing the dogma that collective politics must be socially, culturally and technologically conservative. They argue for the democratic reform of public services, the rejection of bureaucracy in the private and public sectors and an end to the neoliberal micro-managment of working life.
 
On Tuesday 11th November they will be joined by several prominent speakers from the progressive Left to discuss the future of collective action, horizontal and vertical forms of democracy, the problematic place of individualism in contemporary culture, and what possibilities might exist for a realistic radicalism in the twenty-first century.
 
Speakers:
 
Mark Fisher, Lecturer in the Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, author of Ghosts of My Life and Capitalist Realism.
Jeremy Gilbert, Professor of Cultural and Political Theory at UEL, editor of the journal New Formations, author of Common Ground and Anticapitalism and Culture.
Hilary Wainwright, Founder and Co-editor of Red Pepper magazine, Fellow of The Transnational Institute, author of Reclaim the State: Experiments in Popular Democracy.
Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communications at Goldsmiths, cultural theorist, commentator, author of many books including The Aftermath of Feminism.
Neal Lawson, Chair of the pressure group Compass, Contributing Editor of the progressive policy journal Renewal, author of All Consuming.
 
When: Tuesday 11 November, 18:30 – 20:30
Where: House of Commons, Committee Room 6, SW1A 0AA
Organised by Compass and Red Pepper
 
~ The event will start at 7pm but we suggest you aim to arrive at the venue from 6.30pm because there can be large queues at the entrance where security checks take place. ~
 
The event is now fully booked, but you can put your name on the waiting list here 

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/democracy-and-collective-action-in-the-twenty-first-century-tickets-13633868267

 

 
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