"Living the Great Refusal" - strategies for living without capitalism instead of existing within it

A consensus-based workshop to explore the theory, ethics, and practicalities of resistance to an oppressive system.

The Great Refusal is a concept associated with the political theorist Herbert Marcuse who was an influential member of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. This talk and workshop will look at Marcuse's position and apply it to 21st century capitalist oppression.

1. A short introductory talk on political theorist Herbert Marcuse's concepts of the "great refusal" and the "liberated imagination," and how they are not only relevant but essential to our understanding of living as vegan anarchists in a speciesist capitalist world. Q&A to follow.

2. Discussion and workshop on Marcuse's theory and its relevance to our own lives and struggles as activists, with reference to the following issues:

"False needs" and consumer culture - identifying and combating this most insidious form of capitalist tyranny.
The capitalist invasion - of our space, communities, bodies and minds: how it defines us and how to redefine ourselves.
"Ivory tower revolutionaries" vs community building? - how to reject hypocrisy while connecting with others living under the system.
Marcuse's "radical consciousness" - how to make this aspiration a reality, and make freedom in a world of unfreedom.
Practical strategies/ideas for creative resistance and how to implement them.
Personal stories of living outside the system and fighting the system, sharing experience and real life techniques.

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Herbert