We know that rich people get rich by exploiting workers, but how does this whole capitalist system get started in the first place? How did it come about that there are two types of people in the market—capitalists who own the means of production and workers who must sell their labor-power in order to survive?

The Red Rose Salon, the newest offering from DSA-LB's Political Education Committee, is an informal reading group for anyone and everyone who wants to gossip about capitalism and rebel rouse for socialism. Meet us at a lost park in downtown Long Beach on March 29 at noon, where we'll make a light pilgrimage into primitive accumulation, gabbing about capitalism's very own starter pack by honoring the remnants of a very queer neighborhood it once snuffed out.

Readings:

• Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. 1967. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. New York: International Publishers. [Part VIII, Chapter 26]
• Angus, Ian. 2023. The Meaning of ‘So-Called Primitive Accumulation’. Monthly Review, April 1.
• Roberts, William Clare. 2017. What Was Primitive Accumulation? Reconstructing the Origin of a Critical Concept. European Journal of Political Theory 0(0):1–21.
• Federici, Silvia. 2004. Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation. Brooklyn: Autonomedia. [All the World Needs a Jolt or Summary]
• Cohn, Matt. 2013. Welcome to the Jungle: The Forgotten Tale of Long Beach’s Oceanfront Slum. Long Beach Post, October 23.

*Reading is encouraged, but it's not required!