Tariq Ali: The Russian Revolution and Global Development, SOAS University of London

www.soas.ac.uk...
This seminar titled "The Russian Revolution and Global Development: Lessons from the First Hundred Years" was given by Tariq Ali, Professor August H. Nimtz and Professor Tamás Krausz on 28 February 2017 as part of the Development Studies seminar series at SOAS University of London.
You can find out more about this event at goo.gl/PNaNFf
The Russian Revolution was the greatest anti-capitalist uprising in history, and from its origins, sparked controversy, chaos, imagination and hope. It began with the dismantling of the Tsarist autocracy in February 1917 and its replacement with a provisional government; by October, the provisional government was also overthrown. The Soviets (workers’, soldiers’ and peasants’ councils) began to run society and peasants took over and redistributed land; women's rights​ ​were recognised and there was an explosion of cultural and artistic creativity. The civil war that followed nearly overthrew the revolution, and the devastation it caused helped create the conditions for its ultimate defeat under Stalin. Nevertheless, the world was never the same again. This panel explores the roots and significance of the October revolution in world history, the role of Lenin and other revolutionaries, and the contribution of Marx to the theory and practice of revolution.

[@hussainitawhidbangladesh5727]

I am now doing my fourth year of honors/undergraduate at University of Dhaka,Bangladesh at Economics...I am extrimly interested to do my postgraduate and PhD from SOAS in either at Development econ or in Anthropology.
So I am now preparing for my IELTS Exam.
I have done some extra-curricular works like,I have translated and published a book..I am workinf with the marginal hizra/transgender community and street childrens and doing case studies about them.And some other extra-cur works.
And,My CGPA is expected to be 3.25-30(out of 4) after the graduation.
Am I eligible for soas Anthropology or Dev.Econ?
And,will I get fundings/scholarship?(as it is very hard to manage the full amount myself.And I want to focus on study rather than doing extra-jobs for paying the educational expenses)

[@mogligondorff8700]

As important as historic analysis may be I think it is misguided. The times - unlike today or the near future - were not ripe for any form of communism. The machine was not yet fully developed and profits were still to be had in accord with a rise in living standards for everyone.

[@yonisgure7348]

Funny enough, I think the present is more apt for communism than any other period in history: economies are run on abundance and not scarcity, the Western nations are fully developed - in the capitalistic sense of the word - and automation poses several problems that could lead, not least, to an excess of surplus reserve labor, who could act as the agents of this radical societal transformation. If I had to predict, I think by the time I'm 50 (in about 30 years), i think the planet will look fundamentally different and the social formation by 2050 will be of kind never seen before in human history. One can only hope for a more just and peaceful transition to such a world, but history doesn't exactly provide reassuring examples lol.

[@fatimapylova2326]

Нужен русский перевод!

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

this guy from Hungry looks like Ken Livingston! the former London mayor? is this a coincidence.

[@ghulamrabbani3954]

All analysis regarding collapse of capitalism and eventual rise of communism gets frustrated and stunted due to capitalist countries ability to bring reforms by way of social security benefits, affordable and free healthcare, old age benefits, social welfare, unemployment benefits and various regulatory measures. Thus avoiding revolutionary upheavals during which economy is reset to work again until a new cycle hits economic downturns and governments take measures to get out of the rout. For now communism has been put in the cold storage in Russia and China the birthplace of practicing socialism. Both the country adopted capitalist mode of production with little or no political freedom. Socialism had appeal in some parts of third world countries and as soon as development takes place in these third world pockets, the appeal of communism recedes or will recede. Marx ad other theorist perhaps did not foresee the resiliency of capitalism. Economic and social democracy may be the way forward. That’s my insignificant knowledge on the subject matter.