The Slavoj Žižek—Raymond Lotta Debate: On the History and Prospects for Communist Revolution
The World Is a Horror—Is Bob Avakian's Re-envisioned Communism the Answer?
March 31, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
In January 2012, in an interview in Platypus journal, Slavoj Žižek launched an intellectual attack on the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) and Bob Avakian's new synthesis of communism. In response, Raymond Lotta wrote a polemic in Revolution newspaper and challenged Žižek to a public debate. Žižek accepted. And the debate is on.
When: Monday, April 15, 2013, 6-9 pm
Where: Columbia University, New York City—Altschul Auditorium, International Affairs Building, Rm 417 (enter at Amsterdam & 117th, below the overpass)
The core questions up for debate:
- Was the first stage of communist revolution, the Russian and Chinese revolutions, overwhelmingly positive, with real shortcomings—or was it at best a mixed record, or even a failure and disaster?
- Does Bob Avakian's new synthesis provide the framework for forging a vibrant socialist society in transition to communism—or not?
- Is it presumptuous and preposterous at this stage to pose definitive answers and alternatives to the horrors of the world—or is this in fact what is needed, demanded, and possible at this hour?
- Is the RCP strategy for revolution, ultimately aiming for the seizure of state power, what is needed today—or is this outmoded or impractical, requiring a different approach for social change?
Slavoj Žižek is a prominent philosopher and social theorist. His books include In Defense of Lost Causes, Living in the End Times, In the Year of Dreaming Dangerously, and many other titles. He teaches at Birkbeck College in London.
Raymond Lotta is a political economist and advocate for Bob Avakian's new synthesis of communism. He writes for Revolution newspaper, is the author of America in Decline, and leads the web site www.thisiscommunism.org.
Tickets: $10.00; $5.00 for students, youth, and unemployed
Sponsored by: Revolution Books–NY, 146 W. 26th St., New York, NY 10001, 212-691-3345
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