The New Left, Czech-Style: Havel’s The Power of the Powerless in the Western Context
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: April 6, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00
At the end of the 1960s the New Left rejected not only the capitalism of the West but also the bureaucratism of the Soviet East and with it Western trade union bodies and political parties, social democratic and communist. Against their hierarchical and centralised organisation “from above” they proposed anarchistic and decentralised self-organisation “from below”. Contrasting with their plans to remake society by means of state power, they called for the transformation of life on the basis of immediate decisions by individuals. Instead of a Utopia that would follow the arrival of a bright future “there and later” they advocated for a revolution of everyday life “here and now”.
Knowledge of this programme should prove interesting to readers of The Power of the Powerless.
Debate with political scientist Pavel Barša based loosely on his most recent book Cesty k emancipaci (Paths to Emancipation) (Academia, 2015), helmed by Jáchym Topol.