WELCOME TO LEFT FORUM 2012 Thank you for participating in Left Forum 2012. The conference has steadily grown over the years, and has been trans- formed by the influence of thousands of participants from six continents and myriad political perspectives. We are proud of this year’s gathering, humbled by the diversity of voices it includes, and honored that you can join us. We are grateful to be hosted by Pace University for the fourth consecutive year. Without critical support and input from their faculty, staff and students—who worked tirelessly with us to ensure a successful conference—Left Forum could not happen. The same must be said of the hundreds of volunteers who help before, during and after the event to make the weekend possible. This program guide includes the full conference schedule, and will help you navigate the more than 400 panels, work- shops, and events happening this weekend. Please look through it carefully. The accompanying map should get you there on time, but feel free to ask a staff member or volunteer for assistance. We also heartily invite you to participate in the Left Forum Exhibition, held in the student union, multi-purpose room and reading room, located next to the registration tables. The Exhibition is the primary meeting and networking space for the conference, and includes book publishers and movement organizers. With so much happening at once, we ask that you help us keep things running smoothly: please keep your conference badge visible. Additionally, we ask that you not overcrowd rooms; due to fire code restrictions, we ask anyone who cannot find a seat to please select another panel to attend. Please note that the plenary sessions and all stand-alone Schimmel events are first come, first served. Tickets for the Saturday event with MIchael Moore, as well as the Sunday closing plenary, will be available at the registration desk starting at 12:00 pm on the day of the respective event. In be- tween panels, you can find food options in the first floor cafeteria in addition to many culinary options in the vicinity of Pace University. Lastly, we apologize that we are unable to provide childcare for this year’s conference due to budget constraints and other difficulties. Finally, we encourage you to indulge the opportunity to share and discuss ideas with each other, and take advantage of the rare occasion for such a rich public debate. We organize the Left Forum to open an arena for dialogue on the most pressing matters of our world, with an ardent belief that this will help change it. To this end, we once again thank you for your participation, and look forward to seeing you in the future. In Solidarity, The Board of Directors and Staff of Left Forum Board of Directors Left Forum Staff & Organizers Stanley Aronowitz Seth Adler .................................. Conference Coordinator Maxim Hammer ................................... Administrative Roderick Bush Sacha Amry ................................Operations Coordinator Luki Ling.................................... ............ Administrative Eric Canepa Aparna Rishi .....................................Media Coordinator Carol Woodward........................... ...... Administrative Nancy Holmstrom David Nelson ........................... Exhibition Coordination Tony Galligani ..................................Web Development Jamie McCallum Jung Chao ............................. Videography Coordination Robert Blackman........... ........ .........Web and Graphics Lorraine Minnite Karla Cote .............................. Videography Coordination Stephon Boatwright .......................... ....Social Media Catherine Mulder Crystal Tong ........................... Registration Coordination Ann Larson.................................................Social Media Donna Murch Ishtiaq Alam .......................................Panel Coordinator Harshal Shah .........................................Graphic Design Frances Fox Piven Nick Legowski......................... ..........Panel Coordinator Flaco .....................................Graphic Design, Videography Robert Robertson Mia Ragozino ....................................Panel Coordinator Roger Salerno Michael McCabe................ ..............Panel Coordinator Event Planners Web, Database Development Hobart Spalding Thao Phan.............................. ............Panel Coordinator Sharon E. McCullough* Mark Libkuman*** William Tabb Jeremy Fisher.............................Media/Public Relations Jennifer Reynolds* Eric Goldhagen*** Richard D. Wolff Donna Troung ..............................Panel Administration Julia Wrigley Volunteers Thomas Ponniah Natasha Katerinopoulos ,Tamar Zura- Advisory Board Angela Dillard Gerald Horne Barbara Ransby bishvili, Nicholas Glastonbury, Caitlin Gilbert Achcar Stephen Duncombe Boris Kagarlitsky Michael Ratner Riggsbee, Tom Buechele, Tony Buontem- Tariq Ali Hester Eisenstein Robin D. G. Kelley Jan Rehmann po, Sarah Dunn, Fl4co, Jeff Erickson, Luki Robin Blackburn Barbara Epstein Christine A. Kelly Gerardo Rénique Ling, Harsh Lochon, Kayla Mackey, Jade Barbara Bowen Deepa Fernandes Peter Kwong Rainer Rilling Millan, Pooja Patel, Candace Paul, Zachary Rose Brewer Héctor Figueroa Joanne Landy Colin Robinson Smith, Carol Wood, Ralph Yazzo, Marie Sim- Renate Bridenthal Harriet Fraad Jesse Lemisch Nan Rubin mons Michael Brie Josh Freeman Michael Löwy Stephen R. Shalom Stephen Brier Barbara Garson Randy Martin Neil Smith * A very special thanks to Expert Events. Stephen Eric Bronner Marvin Gettleman Liz Mestres Eleni Varikas **Our gracious thanks to artist Katie Paul Buhle Arun Gupta Susan O’Malley Victor Wallis Shelly for Left Forum’s illustrated graph- Joseph A. Buttigieg Jack Hammond Leo Panitch Ross Weiner ics; and to Joel Simpson for photographs. Luciana Castellina David Harvey Christian Parenti Joseph Wilson ***Abiding thanks to Openflows. 1 Left Forum 2012 - Occupy the System: Confronting Global Capitalism LEFT FORUM 2012 CONTENTS against unemployment, foreclosure, inadequate housing Occupy the System: Confronting Global Capitalism and deteriorating schools from among those active in the PANEL INDEX ..................................................................................................................4-16 U.S. and many other countries, as well. MAPS ............................................................................................................................. 17-18 Beginning with the celebrated Arab Spring and the ex- CONFERENCE SCHEDULE .......................................................................................... 19-70 plosive revolts in Greece and beyond, uprisings against Will the mass movements in Egypt, Greece, Latin America, SPEAKERS INDEX ........................................................................................................ 72-78 dictators, crony capitalism, corporate greed and neo- the United States and elsewhere further extend their par- SPEAKER BIOS ...........................................................................................................80-144 liberal state austerity regimes have spread across the ticipatory democratic, community-building, non-capitalist, globe. Although it has been a long time coming, the and caring forms of struggle into the institutions of eve- Occupy Wall Street movement’s message is clear: one ryday life? Will the movements confront and disrupt the percent of people living in the wealthiest nation in the complicity of neo-liberal state elites with corporate capi- world have grabbed most of the country’s wealth and tal? Are there alternatives to the increasingly brutal capital- used it to corrupt politics, while unemployment, mort- ist system on the horizon? Join us in exploring such ques- Exhibition and Social Space gage foreclosures, strangling student debt and rising tions and moving forward left agendas for social change. All Weekend in the Multipurpose Room, Student Union, and Reading Room poverty grip the rest of the population. Next to the registration areas, the exhibition provides the main social and networking space for The world is changing, the people are rising, and new About Left Forum conference attendees. Come see over 70 organizations, publishers, and artists. possibilities for the Left are emerging. Tactical inno- vations in the new movements from Tahrir Square to Each spring Left Forum convenes the largest gathering in Adalah-NY OWS Sustainability Madison, Wisconsin are breaking down old barriers in North America of the US and international Left. Continuing Against the Current/Solidarity Palgrave-Macmillan the fight for a better future for the world’s people and a tradition begun in the 1960s, we bring together intellec- AK Press Pluto Pres the planet. tuals and organizers to share perspectives, strategies, ex- Alan Botens PM Press perience and vision. For the US and the world, revitalizing Autonomedia Polity/OR Books Against this inspiring background, the Left Forum will an American Left has never been more urgent; Left Forum Babylon Buttons Progressive Writers host its annual conference at Pace University on the has a critical role to play in that undertaking. Between the Lines Cooperative/Critical Sociology weekend of March 16-18, 2012. As it has done for many Blue State ProutmovementUSA years, the conference will gather civil libertarians, envi- Left Forum seeks to link the critique of neo-liberalism to Bluestockings Books Revolution Books ronmentalists, anarchists, socialists, communists, trade anti-capitalism,