London seminar on Marxist economics

As The Economist noted recently of the British economy, 'jobs are evaporating, the pound is falling, banks may soon proceed from partial to full nationalisation. The politicians who boasted of their light-touch regulation denounce the “casino capitalism” they encouraged. And as the New York Times has noted, some economists and traders have begun to refer to London by an ominous moniker: Reykjavik-on-Thames. Like the Icelandic capital, London is home to a stricken financial industry that once underpinned the economy, and to banks whose liabilities dwarf national output. As in Iceland the banks’ collapse has catalysed a new recession and rising unemployment, and may well contribute to the fall of a prime minister—even if Gordon Brown’s defenestration is likely to be more decorous than that of his ousted Icelandic counterpart...'

It is therefore appropriate that in the heart of 'Reykjavik-on-Thames', at the London School of Economics no less, there is a seminar coming up on Marxist responses to the current crisis:

The current economic crisis has provoked a growing interest in Marxist political economy. But different Marxists have responded in different ways, with some, for instance, stressing the financial aspects and others rooting the financial crisis in deeper problems in the real economy. At this International Socialism journal seminar Joseph Choonara will survey a range of accounts of the crisis and consider their strengths and weaknesses.

⦁ 6.30pm, Friday 27 February. Room H102, Connaught Building, London School of Economics, Aldwych, central London.
Maps available here.
For more information phone 020 7819 1177 or email isj@swp.org.uk

A recording of last month's seminar, Alex Callinicos on the IS tradition in political economy, is available here

Some future dates for your diary:
⦁27 March 2009, ISJ seminar: Charlie Kimber on the balance of class forces in Britain
⦁24 April 2009, ISJ seminar: Gavin Capps on The Development of Capitalism in the Global South
⦁Bookmarks are hosting a talk by István Mészáros, author of a classic text on the Marxist theory of alienation, Wednesday 25 February, 6:30pm, Bookmarks, 1 Bloomsbury St, WC1B 3QE. Phone 020 7637 1848 to reserve a place at this talk.