{
"type": "rich",
"version": "1.0",
"provider_name": "Action Network",
"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
"html": "",
"author_name": "NYC-DSA Citywide Political Education Committee",
"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/wg-citywide-poli-ed",
"title": "Socialism & Liberalism",
"thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/events/photos/003/164/561/normal/Academy_AN_banner_750.jpg",
"description": "Socialism & Liberalism July 14 & 21, 7pm NYC DSA Office, 14 Jefferson St., NYC Are you new to DSA? Maybe you joined because Zohran’s affordability agenda got you excited about politics for the first time, but you still don’t feel like you have a full grasp on what socialist governance looks like and how it differs from liberal progressivism? Don’t feel like you know how to concretely explain the difference between socialist DSA candidates like Claire Valdez and her progressive candidates like her opponent in NY-07 Antonio Reynoso, who has the endorsement of the Working Families Party and other nonprofits? This is the perfect course for you! Course Description: Liberalism and socialism have had a long and complicated relationship; sometimes in alliance, at other times in stark opposition. Many in the past, and again today, come to the socialist movement from their disenchantment with liberalism. Yet hallmarks of the liberal tradition — civil liberties, democracy, equal rights — are not only appealing, but are just as much a part of the socialist movement. What then sets them apart so that in the end, whatever their affinities, socialism envisions a new way of life that liberalism can never achieve. This course will examine the philosophy and history of both these traditions and zero in on their interactions. In the first class we will study their emergence through excerpts from founding texts by John Locke and Karl Marx. What do they share, how do they diverge? We will discuss how both political traditions developed through the great revolutions of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. How were they allied, what severed that alliance? A marriage of liberalism and socialism was attempted in the 20th century. In the second class we will explore this emergence of social democracy and probe its relationship to liberalism and socialism, in the cases of mid-century Sweden and New York City. Where do these traditions support each other, what limits exist to their collaboration and combination? The tension between liberalism and socialism is an ongoing feature of modern life. In this regard, this course will look at contemporary arenas where these issues play out, including the Mamdani campaign and mayoralty and recent primaries, and consider DSA's own positions and actions. Liberalism vs Socialism will consist of two sessions, each running for two hours. Session 1 will concentrate on the emergence of and basic premises of the two philosophies. Session 2 will look at the recent history of their not always peaceful co-existence. Instructor: Penny Lewis studies social class, social movements, and urban social change. Her books include Hardhats, Hippies, and Hawks: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement as Myth and Memory; The City Is the Factory: New Solidarities and Spatial Strategies in an Urban Age; and A Peoples Guide to New York City. She has worked as a union organizer and has been active in various labor and community organizations. She teaches at the City University of New York, where she is also a union leader.",
"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/events/socialism-liberalism"
}