Michael Albert -founder of Z Magazine- speaks: “Challenging Neo-Liberalism: A Vision for the Future”

dublin | anti-capitalism | event notice Wednesday October 04, 2006 23:51 by Barry Finnegan - CAUEC - Alternatives To Neoliberalism CAEUCemail at gmail dot com

Michael Albert on “Challenging Neo-Liberalism: A Vision for the Future”, at the Mansion House, Dawson St., on Wednesday 25th October, 7.00 to 9.00pm hosted by CAEUC - Alternatives To Neoliberalism.

Michael Albert, prolific American economist, founder of Z Magazine, co-founder of South End Press, and co-creator Parecon will be speaking in Dublin for one night only in Dublin during his European tour.

Also Speaking:

Also speaking, Andy Storey (Centre for Development Studies, UCD; Afri), drawing on his recently published paper “The Struggle for Europe: Resistance to Neoliberalism” [ http://www.bisa.ac.uk/groups/ipeg/papers/22%20Storey.pdf ] will address opposition to the neoliberal character of the EU with specific reference to the French and Dutch rejections of the proposed EU constitution, and the possibilities for, and constraints to, the emergence of an anti-neoliberal European project.

Who Is Michael Albert?:

Along with Robin Hahnel, Professor of Economics at American University, Washington D.C, Albert has created a model of an economic system called Parecon, which, according to Noam Chomsky “is the most serious effort I know to provide a very detailed possible answer to ... the grave flaws of contemporary society”. While Mikhail Gorbachev claims it “constitutes an alternative both to capitalism and to what used to be the Soviet-style model of Real Socialism”; Howard Zinn says “Albert is an important thinker who takes us beyond radical denunciations and pretentious ‘analysis’ to a thoughtful, profound meditation on what a good society can be like”.

On the night, Michael Albert, will be addressing his own experiences of creatively confronting and resisting neoliberalism while also expanding on Parecon (or, ‘Participatory Economics’) which is a type of economy proposed as an alternative to contemporary capitalism.

Who Are CAUEC - Alternatives To Neoliberalism?:

Formed in early 2005 the CAUEC - Alternatives To Neoliberalism, who are hosting the event, are a campaign coalition of “various activists, left political organisations, trade unionists, grassroots groups, academics, environmentalists & politicians” which was formed to provide a coherent broad progressive coalition to help defeat the draft EU Constitution and its attack on democracy, workers rights and the environment. Later that year French and Dutch citizens voted ‘No’ to the Constitution and stopped the neoliberalist advance in its tracks.

Last February the Campaign hosted a successful conference which included the author and activist Susan George. The Campaign continues to remain active and contribute to the debate on what kind of Europe we wish to create.

More:

For a short article on Michael Albert, more weblinks and some quotes from him see:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78817

For more on Michael Albert and Parecon see: http://www.zmag.org/parecon/indexnew.htm

Check out ZNet at: http://www.zmag.org/

For Andy Story's paper on the Struggle for Europe see: http://www.bisa.ac.uk/groups/ipeg/papers/22%20Storey.pdf

For more on CAEUC - Alternatives To Neoliberalism see: http://www.freewebs.com/alternativestoneoliberalism/ind...x.htm

Contact CAEUC - Alternatives To Neoliberalism at:
Email: [email protected]; or phones: 085-7131903; 087-2179866; 01-8309649 [for interviews with Albert, press info, getting involved with the campaign, etc]