REMINDER: Capital course in NYC, from 10/13

["Drewk" <Andrew_Kliman@xxxxxxx>]

CAPITAL, MARX'S _CAPITAL_, AND ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITAL

A THREE-TERM SEMINAR LED BY ANDREW KLIMAN

Mondays, 7:30?9:30 p.m., starting on October 13, 2003

At the Brecht Forum, 122 West 27th St., 10th floor, New York, NY
(212) 242-4201.  Tuition on sliding scale.


Although we now have a mass movement which opposes global
capitalism and holds that ?Another world is possible,? few have
turned to Marx?s writings to help gain an in-depth understanding
of what capitalism is and whether proposed alternatives are
actually viable.  Yet _Capital_ is a book which Marx wrote "for
the workers," and which in his view showed that ?the present
society is no solid crystal, but an organism capable of change,
and constantly engaged in a process of change.?

This full-year (3-term) seminar will grapple with the following
questions ?? "Can capitalism be reformed for the better?,? "Is
market socialism a viable alternative?," "What specific social and
economic changes are necessary if humanity is to free itself from
the power of capital?," and "Is such freedom possible?"  In order
to help answer these questions, we will undertake a close reading
of Volume I of _Capital_  in conjunction with parts of other works
by Marx that treat these questions ?? _The Poverty of Philosophy_,
_A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy_, and the
?Critique of the Gotha Program.?  Writings of more recent
thinkers, including critics of Marx, will also be examined.  The
seminar is therefore primarily a class on _Capital_, but not on
the book "in general."  We will read it specifically as a book
about the above questions.

All seminar participants are expected to do the readings for each
class and to take their turn in making presentations and leading
the discussion.  No prior knowledge of _Capital_ is necessary or
expected, though those who have read it before are welcome to
participate.  Participants are urged to buy the Ben Fowkes
translation (available as a Penguin or Vintage paperback) so that
we can easily refer to selected passages.  Photocopied selections
from other works will be made available at cost.

For the first session?s reading, or more information, please write
to Andrew_Kliman@xxxxxxx .

*     *     *     *

Andrew Kliman teaches economics at a local college. At the Brecht
Forum, he has recently taught courses on Volumes II and III of
_Capital_, Marx?s commentaries on _Capital_, and economic crisis
and crisis theory.  He is co-editor of the forthcoming collection
_The New Value Controversy and the Foundations of Economics_, and
his work has appeared in the _Cambridge Journal of Economics_,
_Capital and Class_, _Historical Materialism_, _Research in
Political Economy_, and elsewhere.  His latest project is a
book-length critique of radical political economics.