6/2: Life After Capitalism Conf/Organizers will be in Bay Area

Friends,

When i was in New York recently I met two of the folks organizing the "Life
After Capitalism" conference described below. Max (left activist recently
finished school at NYU) and Francesca (active in antiwar and left politics
at NYU) will be out in the Bay Area May 29-June 6 and are interested in
talking with activist groups/individuals here about the conference and, more
generally, what folks here and there are thinking and doing. If you are
interested in connecting with them, I think it would be worth your time; go
ahead and e-mail either one or both of them directly, Max at max [at] riseup.net,
Francesca at ff291 [at] nyu.edu

Take care, peace,

Max

The Republican National Convention (RNC), which is being held in New York
City this coming summer presents us all as activists, as organizers, and
as concerned community members, with a historical opportunity to oppose
the Bush administration's disastrous policies both at here at home and
abroad. Though much of the conversation in the weeks leading up to the RNC
will inevitably revolve around this 'anyone but Bush' argument - there are
many of us that realize that our problems run much deeper then the
Republican Party.

As the Life After Capitalism organizing collective, we would like to take
the time to invite activists from across the country to come to New York
City one week before the major protests, in an attempt to engage in a full
weekend of visionary dialogue that extends well beyond the critiques of
the current administration. Far from the traditional talking heads
conference structure, our goal is to provide a space for both analysis,
discussion and networking between anti-capitalist activists here in the
United States. Life After Capitalism 2004 will focus on four main areas:

* Contours of Capitalism; including panels and discussions on such topics
as: Capitalism & Democracy, Election Strategies for the anti-authoritarian
left, Class struggle in the 21st century, The changing face and psychology
of Capitalism, Is Neoliberalism unraveling? How does Capitalism work?

* Perspectives on Power; including panels and discussions on: Building
autonomous spaces, Dual power structures, Activists & Communities.

* Visions for a Post-Capitalist society; including panels, debates and
discussions on: How do we as activists define 'Vision', Participatory
Economics, Life beyond the market economy, Horizontalism, Social Ecology.

* Organizing Strategies; including panels, and discussions on: Networks &
Coalition work, Local and international solidarity activism, Color in the
movement, Organizing experiences from recent activist formations such as
DASW (Direct Action to Stop the War) and APOC (Anarchist People Of Color)
as well as not so recent coalitions like OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against
Poverty).

Building on the project initiated by ZNet at the 2003 World Social Forum
in Porto Alegre, Brazil - Life After Capitalism aims to bridge political
theory and practice in a way that continues to build solidarity across our
many and diverse organizing communities. Please join grass roots activists
from around the country for what should be an exciting convergence this
August 20th-22nd, 2004.