Margaret Thatcher’s slogan, “There is no alternative,” was a declaration of war that installed the horrors of neoliberal policies that have eroded and systematically undermined democratic and public-based projects for more than 30 years. The global financial crisis of 2008 exposed these neoliberal policies that have paved the way for the rise of an untouchable oligarchical class whose top 80 members now possess more wealth than the bottom half of the world’s population. It is now abundantly clear that neoliberalism has accelerated radical inequality and at the same time forced the world to conform to their unquestionable, anti-democratic policies, lest even greater disasters befall us. Faced with no alternative, on their terms, in 2011 a new series of insurrections began to emerge from the Occupy movement to Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, to Spain, Ireland, and Greece. The recent historic victory of Syriza brings forth the message that citizens must decide their own future, and thus the reassertion of the primacy of politics takes place again in the world. In the wake of Syriza’s victory and the hope it articulates for the world, we propose a conference with academics and activists from the birthplace of democracy, Athens, Greece. The purpose of the conference is to bring together intellectuals and activists to think through and propose strategic alternatives for democracy and its future.
The conference is free and open to the public. To register, or more details, see the Global Centre for Advanced Studies website.