Loving (and Hating?) Your Neighbours and Enemies: Love and Community as Socialists

This week we will discuss the importance of love and community for socialists and see what we can learn from the religious conception of both.

Religious communities often talk in depth about what it means to love God and each other and build rituals and ways of life to celebrate this, but aside from some LGBTQ+ groups, talk of love is often neglected on the left. However, love and community are as essential for a fulfilling socialist life as a functioning public transport system and full democratic control of the economy.

How would love and community look different without capitalism? Is it possible for socialists to love their enemies? Is love a powerful emotion that the left fails to properly harness? What is love? Comrade, don’t hurt me, no more etc.

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Everyone is welcome to come the discussion, regardless of prior knowledge - come listen and share your ideas! If you want to learn a bit about the topic in advance, we recommend a few sources:

Audre Lorde: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power

bell hooks: All about Love - Chapters 5 & 8

The Magnificast Podcast: Love and Communism w/ Richard Gilman Opalsky

Doors open from 6pm for a 6:30pm start.
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We welcome participation from all people: those of all faiths, all political beliefs and none are invited to join the discussion.

The sessions will mostly be run in a P4C (Philosophy for Communities) format which means that they are interactive and participatory with the content and direction of the session decided democratically.

Don’t worry if you’re worrying about managing to complete the reading. Do your best. Turning up and taking part is more important.

The sessions will take place at 6:30pm on the following Tuesdays: Jan 16th, Feb 13th, Mar 12th, and Apr 9th.