LAHORE: The Awami Workers Party’s two-day Marxist Political School ABC of Marxism came to a close on Thursday at the AWP federal secretariat here.

The event was attended by students, activists and workers. Several well-known left activists and scholars discussed the importance of developing a wide-ranging movement and the need for necessary critique of neo-liberal and other power structures.

Activist Ammar Ali Jan’s session on “Dialectics as a philosophy” focused on revolutionary politics as a strategic art. He said the main aim of revolutionary politics was to assert itself in the everyday struggles of ordinary people and to bring them together to build a viable, pro-people alternative to the existing political system.

Hassan Javid, a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, spoke on Marxist political economy.

Citing Steven Pinker’s “The Better Angels of Our Nature”, he said the idea that a liberal political system was the reason why the world was more peaceful than it has ever been in history, was flawed.

He said it had only given way to other forms of violence that of greater economic inequality and deprivation.

On Wednesday, Khalid Mehmood had talked about ‘historical materialism’, questioning why people do not challenge conventional perceptions of history.

Activist Sarah Suhail, while speaking on Marxist-Feminism, cautioned against essentialising male and female social roles.

Aima Khosa highlighted differences of opinion among women activists on whether or not to associate themselves with a political party.

She said veteran activists frequently told her that currently there was no women’s movement in the country that was comparable to the one witnessed during the 1980s.

Aiman Bucha highlighted the need for feminists to understand personal privileges and constraints before forming an understanding of the (patriarchal and capitalist) society.

She said there was a dearth of public space where one could openly talk about issues concerning gender.

There was consensus among the participants that it was incorrect to say that feminism was about women’s issues only.

General secretary Farooq Tariq stressed the need to discourage suggestions that women were to blame for their sufferings.

He said such excuses were raised by some men to perpetuate their dominance.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2016