UP-THE-ANTI.

     A date for December, it could be a talking shop, but in reality it will be what you make it, and what you take away from the event.

From Up-the-Anti:

Since the financial crisis broke we have seen a rising tide of protest, revolutions and resistance. One of the driving forces of these movements has been a desire to change the future: to reject the idea that we have no future outside of the logic of never ending austerity, declining living standards and the loss of public services to private profiteers.

     Up the Anti is a one day conference to think about and discuss  how we lay claim to the future that we want and deserve. It will host an eclectic mix of sessions, ranging from in-depth seminars and debates to participatory, facilitated discussions and workshops. There are many questions we need to ask, including:

• Is there an alternative to capitalism? What might it look like?
• How do we win popular support for new radical projects?
• What can we learn from the social struggles and new movements in Europe?
• And how do we overcome divisions within left and radical movements?

What next after the Occupy protests?

       We called the event ‘Up the Anti’ because we all agree that we need to build a bigger movement against social oppression and capitalism.  But we are not just against things, we also want to reclaim the future from those in power who seem intent on dragging us towards austerity, growing social inequality and environmental destruction.

      The conference will be held in London at Queen Mary university, not far from Mile End and Stepney Green underground stations.

But the day is not just all workshops and seminars, we also have time for a gig at Queen Mary Student Union with comedy, music and DJs. Highlights include the up and coming radical comedian Chris Coltrane and the critically acclaimed blues guitarist Sean Taylor.

      UP THE ANTI is a genuine movement event put on by a plurality of groups, websites, publishing houses, and networks. It is sponsored by New Left Project, Ceasefire, Occupied Times, Anticapitalist Initiative, Platypus and Globalise Resistance.

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LOOKING FOR ANSWERS.

        We face “austerity” cuts, which will increase poverty, decimate our social services and destroy the social fabric of our lives, we face rising unemployment and wage cuts/freezes. If you have a job, you'll have to work longer to get your pension and that pension isn't going to be worth anything, it certainly will not let you go into old age with dignity. It is obvious that there is something drastically wrong with the system we live under.

       Where should we look for answers? Well the bankers are criminals, the politicians are corrupt and the business world is run by a bunch of greedy self seeking parasites, and all of them work together to increase and protect their own power and wealth. So we can't expect much in the way of help from those sections of this society. It should be obvious that if we appeal to that cocktail of greed and corruption they will only dispense more of the same. They are in fact the problem with our society and can never by part of the answer.

       The answers to our problems will only materialise when we all come together and decide to do something about it. The answer will not be found within the present system, we have to look outside to alternative ways of structuring our relations one with the other. Only the people can decide what the people want, and only the people can construct a society that sees to the needs of those people with fairness and justice. 

       We have had enough of leaders, kings, presidents and prime ministers, enough of party politics and so called representative democracy. Their track record is one of war, corruption, greed, exploitation, repression and wide spread poverty. The world has enough resources to see to the needs of all on this planet, the reason we don't do so is because of the system we tolerate, you can only have things, including the essentials of live if some parasite can make a profit from the transaction. It doesn't have to be that way, a society based on mutual aid, co-operation and sustainability is possible, but only if we want it to be that type of world. It is up to us, not them.

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