Program
10:00am
Part of the Marxist Foundations stream
Class is a fundamental feature of capitalism – but what does class actually mean? Who makes up the ruling class and how do they rule? Who makes up the working class? The first session in the Marxist Foundations stream will address these fundamental questions of capitalist society.
Suggested reading:
1. What is social class? by Danica Rachel in Red Flag
2. Competition: Capitalism’s irrational engine by April Holcombe in Red Flag
3. The socialist alternative to the capitalist economy by Ben Hillier in Red Flag
Part of the Capitalism Today stream
Australian politics in 2026 has been defined by the rapid rise of One Nation. This session will explain the rise of One Nation in the context of the success of the far right internationally, the support received from sections of the wealthy elite and media, the normalisation of racism by the major parties, and the radicalisation of the conservative right.
The rapid rise of One Nation has brought urgency to debates about how the Left should respond. Socialists reject the argument that we should accommodate to the so-called ‘legitimate grievances’ of the far right, and the pressure to get behind Labor as the ‘lesser-evil’. We need to build a socialist movement that can confront the far right in the streets, in elections, and everywhere else.
Suggested reading:
1. One Nation needs to be fought, not just analysed in Red Flag
2. We have to fight, not accommodate, One Nation and the far right by Mick Armstrong in Red Flag
3. Editorial: Australia catches up – Understanding One Nation’s far right surge by Tom Bramble in Marxist Left Review
4. Why Pauline Hanson’s rise is different from the last time by Mick Armstrong in Marxist Left Review
Part of the Left Debates stream
Australian politics is rapidly changing. One Nation’s meteoric rise is reshaping politics for the worse. The opposition, whether in the form of the Liberals or ON, has become far-right. The Labor party is facing historic low levels of support after years of ruling for the rich.
Socialist Alternative is playing a leading role in the Socialist Party, attempting to build the socialist movement and intervene into the electoral sphere. This session will go through the perspectives of Socialist Alternative for the Socialist Party, and explain what we hope to achieve with this exciting project.
Suggested reading:
1. The Australian Socialist Party: A project to transform the left by Omar Hassan in Marxist Left Review
Part of The Fire Last Time stream: 1968 and after
In May 1968, over the course of not much more than a month, student protests against police repression in Paris sparked off a general strike of millions of workers, consuming French society for weeks and shattering the notion that capitalism could not be challenged in advanced industrial economies. This session will explore the role of the Trotskyist left in these incredible events.
Suggested readings:
1. Chapter “The French May” in The Fire Last Time by Chris Harman
2. US SWP political committee minutes, June 26, 1968
3. Interview with Pierre Frank and Alain Krivine, July 29, 1968
12:00pm
Part of the Marxist Foundations stream
In a system that creates so much misery, the suffering of workers can seem just one problem among many – but among all the groups suffering oppression, there is something special about the working class. This session will explore why Marxists argue the working class is the unique force that possesses both an interest in fighting capitalism and the potential power to defeat the system.
Suggested reading:
1. What’s so special about the working class? by Ben Hillier in Red Flag
2. Australia’s modern working class by Eleanor Morley in Red Flag
Part of the Capitalism Today stream
Politics across the world today is increasingly defined by war: Western terror in the Middle East, the Trump administration’s aggression in Latin America, rearmament and austerity in Europe, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, US-China tensions, and the rise of a militaristic far right. This session will explore these dynamics and argue that imperialism, the system of global competition under capitalism, is creating a dangerous new world order.
Suggested reading:
1. Faultlines in a new epoch of crisis by Ashley Smith in Tempest
2. The Trump doctrine: a new prewar era? by Ben Hillier in Red Flag
3. Are we living in a new world order? by Eleanor Morley in Red Flag
4. Editorial: Trump ushers in a more barbaric capitalism by Omar Hassan in Marxist Left Review
Part of the Left debates stream
How do we challenge oppression? For left wing people intersectionality theory is put forward as the most radical framework. It argues that different forms of oppression are all caused by different systems that then overlap. The systems themselves are driven by conflicts between different identity groups.
Marxists reject this understanding as it erodes the real basis for solidarity between different oppressed groups. This session aims to put forward a critique of intersectionality theorry alongisde a positive argument for why the working class can lead a genuine unified struggle against oppression.
Suggested reading:
1. Marxism and Intersectionality by Shirley Killen in Red Flag
2. How oppression can be ended
By Louise O’Shea in Red Flag
Part of The Fire Last Time stream: 1968 and after
The history of the ALP is rich in examples of left-wing oppositions and union-led rebellions. At no time have these resulted in a fundamental transformation of the Labor Party. This session will explore the radicalisation of the Victorian Labor left in the wake of the 1960s rebellion and explain why it failed to create a real socialist party.
Suggested reading:
1. The rise and fall of the ALP left in Victoria and NSW by Corey Oakley in Marxist Left Review
1:30pm-2:30pm LUNCH BREAK
BOOK LAUNCH
From Revolutionary Hopes to Shattered Dreams offers a gripping account of one of the most turbulent periods in Australian political history. Bringing to life the strikes, conflicts, and ideological battles that followed World War I, it traces the extraordinary impact of the Russian Revolution, the birth of the Communist Party of Australia, and the fierce struggles that shaped the future of Australian socialism. Come along to hear from author Duncan Hart about this important new contribution to Australian socialist history and buy your copy.
MEET THE HIGH SCHOOL ANTICAPITALISTS
High School Anti-Capitalists is the radical high school collective behind the school walkouts against Hanson that have driven the right-wing media and politicians mad. The collective organises political discussions and education, campaigns in schools and organises demonstrations and strikes. Come along to this workshop to find out how to get involved and help us promote the next student strike against One Nation on September 17.
2:30pm
Part of the Marxist Foundations stream
Revolution isn’t a romantic idea; it’s a necessary step to end inequality, oppression, and ecological collapse.
This session lays out the Marxist theory of revolution: the self-emancipation of the working class through revolutionary organisation, and the breakdown of ruling-class control. We’ll discuss real revolutionary moments and what they teach about leadership, strategy, and the fight for democratic workers’ power.
Suggested reading:
1. What do we mean by Revolution? by Sarah Garnham in Red Flag
2. Worldwide revolution is possible and necessary by Luca Tavan in Red Flag
Part of the Capitalism today stream
Australia’s union movement has been missing in action, with pro-Labor bureaucrats trading away workers’ wages and conditions while membership numbers decline. In the Australian Education Union, a fight of the rank and file and the Left, organised as Socialists In Schools, has shown how socialists can intervene into the union movement to challenge our leaders’ sell outs and win workers to a more militant approach. This session will unpack the lessons from this fight in the AEU and discuss the socialist approach to turning around the union movement.
Suggested reading:
1. Rebellion in the AEU by AEU members in Red Flag
2. Teachers and school staff fight back against imminent union sellout by Maria Dabbas in Red Flag
Part of the Left Debates stream
Stalinism is anathama to socialism. In place of genuine working class democracy it celebrates dictatorship and in place of working class struggle it allies itself to ‘progressive’ capitalists and states.
For the socialist movement to go forward Stalinism needs to be resoundly rejected. Unfortunately it is having a small revival. The USSR and China are now commonly being put forward as socialist or more progressive states. Anti-imperalist strategy is being reduced to choosing between imperialist blocs.
This session will give a revolutionary socialist critique of Stalinism, and argue for genuinely revolutionary and anti-imperialist politics.
Suggested reading:
1. The fraud of Stalinism by Daniel Taylor in Red Flag
2. Stalinism’s long shadow by Tomáš Tengely-Evans in International Socialism
Part of The Fire Last Time stream: 1968 and after
Italy’s “Hot Autumn” was one of the most profound moments of the global radicalisation of the late 1960s, a period of massive strikes, student revolt and social struggle. In this ferment, radicals were given an unparalleled opportunity to put their ideas and strategies to the test. This article will chart the experience of Europe’s most active revolutionary left from the highs of leading workers in militant struggle to the lows of lifestylism and terrorism.
Suggested reading:
1. Workerism and autonomism in Italy’s “Hot Autumn” by Luca Tavan in Marxist Left Review
2. Chapter “Italy: The Long Hot Autumn” in The Fire Last Time by Chris Harman
4:30pm
Part of the Marxist Foundations stream
Socialists need to be organised and put their ideas into practice. Marx himself had little time for philosophers who “only interpreted the world”, arguing instead “the point is to change it”. But what kind of organisations do socialists need? This session will round out the Foundations stream by addressing this central question.
Suggested reading:
1. What kind of organisation is Socialist Alternative by Luca Tavan
2. Chapter ‘The revolutionary party and our project today’ in Introducing Marxism by Tom Bramble
Part of the Capitalism today stream
Revolutionary groups in Argentina have been leading the resistance to far-right president, Javier Milei. For more than two years, they have led mass protests, big strikes, and university occupations. They are now beginning to break out of the margins and become a serious force in Argentine politics, polling around 13 percent nationally.
Their success contains important lessons for socialists as well as interesting questions and challenges.
Suggested reading:
1. The Left Front in Argentina grows in popularity by Jordan Humphreys in Red Flag
2. In Argentina, the struggle continues by Chloe Rafferty in Red Flag
3. Another general strike in Argentina challenges Milei by Tom Sullivan in Red Flag
4. The left in Argentina’s general strike by Jasmine Duff in Red Flag
5. Far-right victory in Argentina by Tom Sullivan in Red Flag
Part of the Left Debates stream
The politics of borders and migration has become the key battle ground for the far right. The militarisation of borders and racist politics is spurring on their growth. But how to respond to this has long been debated on the left by radicals who argue for internationalism, and reformists who support nationalist solutions to capitalism’s problems. This talk will explore those debates.
Suggested reading:
1. The left case against open borders by Angela Nagle in American Affairs
2. The case against ‘the case against open borders’ by Justin Akers Chacon in Socialist Worker
Part of The Fire Last Time stream: 1968 and after
The 1968 upsurge spurred the birth of a new revolutionary left from France, to Italy, to Portugal. But as stuggle receded in the second half of the 1970s, many of the groups that had embodied the hopes of the most radical workers for a revolutionary challenge to capitalism fell into crisis. This session will explore the fruitful and sometimes tragic debates that took place on the European left during the downturn.
Suggested reading:
1. Crisis of the European Revolutionary Left by Chris Harman in International Socialism
2. Crisis of the revolutionary left: a view from France by Bernard Navaculles in International Socialism
3. The crisis of the Italian revolutionary Left by Riccardo Albione in International Socialism
6:00pm-7:00pm DINNER BREAK
7:00pm CLOSING PANEL – Building a socialist movement against capitalism and the far right
Join us for a closing panel to hear from seasoned socialist activists about how we can build a socialist movement to confront a world of capitalist crisis, racism, and war.
