Monday, July 04, 2016

Summer School (Birmingham 22-24 July )

Summer School 
Money Talks 
22-24 July
Fircroft College
1018 Bristol Road South,
Selly Oak,
Birmingham B29 6LH

Money flows through every aspect of society, and therefore affects every aspect of our lives. What possessions we have, the efficiency of the services we use, and how we are supposed to value ourselves are all shaped by the money system. We’re encouraged to think of the economy in much the same way as we think about the weather – something changeable, but always there. When the climate is ‘good’, life feels brighter. When the climate is ‘bad’, we huddle down until we can ride out the storm. Although we’ll always have the weather, the economy doesn’t have to be permanent. Our weekend of talks and discussion looks at the role of money in our society. In what ways does money affect how we think and behave? How does the economy really function? How did money come to be such a dominant force? We also look forward to a moneyless socialist society, which will be – in more than one sense of the word – free.

FRIDAY 22 JULY

17.00: Arrival
18.30 - 19.00: Evening Meal
19.45: Colin Skelly gives a talk about 'Labour-Time Vouchers and Socialism'
21.15: Social

SATURDAY 23 JULY

7.30 - 9.30: Breakfast
10.00: Adam Buick provides 'An Idiot's Guide to Banking: How To Avoid Being A Currency Crank'
12.30 - 13.15: Lunch
15.30: Darren Poynton selects some short videos on 'The Root of All Evil? How Money Affects Behaviour And Attitudes'
18.30 - 19.00: Evening Meal
19.15: 'Socialists In Space: A Game Of Co-operative Economics' run by Bill Martin
This team game will give us a chance to co-operatively run a money-free society!
20.45: Social

SUNDAY, 24 JULY

7.30 - 9.30: Breakfast
10.00: Janet Surman discusses 'Profiting From A Moneyless World'
12.30 - 13.15: Lunch
13.30 - 14.00: Departure
Please note that sessions may be filmed and/or recorded - attendees can opt out of being included in any published videos or recordings if they so wish.

There will be an exhibition on the SPGB's views on money and a moneyless society over the decades. This will include some rarely-seen articles from the Socialist Standard, leaflets, posters and cartoons.   

Attendees will receive a free, exclusive, illustrated publication packed with specially-commissioned articles on the theme of money and a moneyless society.

As always, Summer School will also include a bookstall, with hundreds of titles about politics, society, economics, history etc. For one weekend, it's the only radical bookshop in the whole West Midlands!

Full residential cost (including accommodation and meals Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) is £100. The concessionary rate is £50. Day visitors are welcome, but please book in advance.



To book a place, send a cheque (payable to the Socialist Party of Great Britain) to Summer School, Sutton Farm, Aldborough, Boroughbridge, York, YO51 9ER, or book online. E-mail enquiries to spgbschool@yahoo.co.uk


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