Paralysis of will

Bernie Sanders's capitulation

Paralysis of will

 September 6, 2016  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

THE U.S. DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONVENTION in Philadelphia ended with a big schism that divides not only the supporters of Hillary Clinton from her opponents, but also Bernie Sanders from the movement he led until not very long ago. The senator from Vermont who attracted thousands across America to his rallies and ignited them with his speeches looked helpless – even ridiculous – in Philadelphia. In a matter of seconds, his speech endorsing Hillary turned a charismatic leader who embodied the hopes of millions into a pathetic old man who does not understand what is happening around him. [Read More]
Bernie Sanders  Donald Trump  /2016 American Presidential Election  Democratic Party 

Sanders, the Democrats, and the Left

Sanders, the Democrats, and the Left

 May 3, 2016  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

ON APRIL 2, 2016, during its eighth international convention in Chicago, Illinois, Platypus brought together Jason Schulman of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Bernard Sampson of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA), to discuss how the electoral campaign of Bernie Sanders matters for the Left. Coeditor of the socialist journal New Politics, Jason Schulman’s latest book is Neoliberal Labour Governments and the Union Response: The Politics of the End of Labourism. [Read More]
Bernie Sanders  DSA  CPUSA  Hilary Clinton  Democratic Party  /2016 American Presidential Election 

Third Parties and the Left: Problems and Prospects

 April 10, 2012  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

A panel recorded at the Left Forum at Pace Univeristy in New York City on 18 March 2012. Aired on April 10, 2012 on the Radical Minds radio show. Audio Recording Your browser does not support the audio element Panelists Katie Robbins (Healthcare NOW) Nikil Saval (n+1) Jason Wright (International Bolshevik Tendency (IBT)) Lenny Brody (Justice Party National Steering Committee) Moderated by Ed Remus Description Electoral politics are a longstanding problem for the U. [Read More]
Platypus International Convention 2012  Democratic Party  Green party  IBT  International Bolshevik Tendency  Justice party  Labor party  Leftism  Platypus Affiliated Society  Third parties  Third party 

Third Parties and the Left: Problems and Prospects

 March 18, 2012  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Video Recording Audio Recording Your browser does not support the audio element Panelists Nikil Saval is an editor at n+1, and a co-editor of Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America (Verso, 2011). He is currently writing a history of office design and white-collar work. Lenny Brody is an activist, student of political change, printing industry worker, and descendant of union organizers. He fought with Martin Luther King, Jr. [Read More]
Left Forum  Left Forum 2012  Democratic Party  Election  Electoral politics  Green party  Justice party  Labor party  Third party 

Immigration and the Left

 August 31, 2011  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

JEREMY COHAN PUBLICLY INTERVIEWED DAVID WILSON, coauthor of The Politics of Immigration (2007), on April 19th, 2011 at NYU. The original description of the event reads: “Mass marches on May Day 2006 in the U.S., banning of minarets in Switzerland, pogroms in Libya against blacks from Central Africa feared to be mercenaries: Immigration is a central issue faced by the contemporary Left. But as mobilization has waxed and waned, the question of what constitutes an emancipatory response to the problems of immigration in modern society too often remains unaddressed. [Read More]
David Wilson  Immigration  race  racism  Democratic Party 

Progress or Regress?

The Future of the Left under Obama

 December 6, 2008  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

The Platypus Affiliated Society in New York organized a moderated panel discussion and audience Q & A to critically evaluate the widespread assumption that the election of Barack Obama presents an opportunity for today’s Leftists. Asking how opportunity can be distinguished from opportunism, Platypus invited several intellectuals and activists to publicly think through the foreseeable pitfalls and potentials posed by the passing of the Bush-era into the age of Obama. [Read More]
/2008 election  Barack Obama  Democrat  Democratic Party  Democrats  Electoral politics  George Bush