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Institute for Social Ecology Annual Summer Gathering

August 19, 2016, 1:00pm - August 21, 2016, 3:00pm

Marshfield, VT, United States

The ISE cordially invites you to attend our annual Summer Gathering for a weekend of engaging political discussion, great food, and a chance to socialize with fellow social ecologists in the beautiful Vermont countryside. Events of the past year have triggered an exciting surge of public interest in Social Ecology. The transformation within the Kurdish liberation movement, the legacy of Occupy, the Sanders campaign, debates prompted by Black Lives Matter on the relationship between race and class, the inability of Syriza and other left parties to reign in neoliberalism; all these have all underscored the urgent need for Social Ecology’s holistic critique and reconstructive political vision. While grassroots movements like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter have energized millions, they have faced difficulties moving from protest to social transformation. This has in turn allowed radical energy to be channeled into traditional electoral politics in the name of pragmatism. Yet despite inspiring calls for “political revolution” and “democratic socialism,” history has repeatedly shown the structural limits faced confronted by parties and electoral politics, resulting in a long line of disappointments from various social democratic parties, the German Greens, to the Obama presidency. This year’s gathering will address the relationship between the state, socialism, and social change, addressing questions including: how does Social Ecology point us beyond the pendulum of street protest and state power? How should radicals relate to state power and electoral campaigns generally? How do we assess the limits of electoral politics versus the limits of prefigurative politics? Why do many reject engagement with the state on principle yet embrace economic alternatives which remain embedded in capitalist power? How can we ensure our critique of the state does not unwittingly legitimize the neoliberal project of dismantling the welfare state? Why has no coherent socialist alternative to neoliberal capitalism emerged? What might this look like, and how should we get there? We hope you’ll join us for a stimulating weekend exploring these themes and more, while also taking time to relax, hike, dance, play pool, soak in the wood-fired hot tub, or swim in the solar pool. The gathering is a unique opportunity to renew the Social Ecology community in person, renew old friendships and make new ones, connecting with like-minded people from around the world.