The Left Forum, April 17-19, 2009 conference entitled "Turing Points" was larger than years past due to he change in venue. In the post few years the weekend event was held at Cooper Union. This year the "left" community or those who just want to know piled into Pace University the third and sixth floor to hear "what is going on " and what the alternative media and academicians have to say on current events.
Current events of note abound.
From one session to another three to five men stood on their small podium to discuss the depression (here there is no illusion of a repression or slow down of economic malais) with tentative offerings of an assessment of what use we, not them, can make of the moment and where do we go from here.
Where we go from here is an endless topic with lively criticism of the current policies and forecast of doom and gloom for the "risk and speculation" debt driven world that has dominated the economy known as Capitalism.
The grass roots movements seemed small but notable challenges for the rights of people to get what they think government should provide (food, clothing, shelter and the ability to fulfill their potential) while others debated the forecast of another "Bubble" or the dimensions of the crisis and if the crisis is good, leading towards another kind of economic system or bad, leading to a fascistic society where more members of the ruling elite separate themselves further and further from the crowded working/lower class citizens.
Of course there is still debate on if there is a working class and how will this huge debt be paid and by whom and will China loom large or will 'China come down into the mire of the world economy
It was lively, even enjoyable conference with plenty of books and ideas to take home. But the overall complaint as to why Men must be in the forefront and women so neglected as speakers remains in the minds of those who care about such things. Does gender matter?, was not one of the titles of the more than sixty sessions and vegetarianism was frowned upon as being off the map, irrelevant And if one looked around at the participants at the conference it is easy to see why Vegetarianism hasn't taken hold, at least, not for this group of high thinkers and poor eaters.
Linda zises
WBAI women Collective
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