world party web site and discussion

To: WSN, the world-systems network.
>From Chris Chase-Dunn and Elson Boles

We propose to hold a  colloquium on WSN to once again discuss the idea
of a World Party.  The colloquium will begin on Wednesday November 10
and go on for about one week. All are invited to participate. Please
subscribe to WSN, the world-systems network, by sending the message
subscribe wsn "your personal name"
to
listproc@csf.colorado.edu

We have put together a World Party web page at
 http://csf.colorado.edu/wsystems/archive/praxis/wp/index.htm
that can serve as an information basis for our seminar. The web page
will be revised in light of the results of our discussion.

Here are the main questions that should be addressed by participants in
the discussion seminar:

1. Is the idea of organizing a World Party in the near future wrong,
premature, anachronistic, too Stalinist, to Napoleonic, destined to
failure, overly compulsive, eschatological,  etc.?

2. Who would be the constituency of  a World Party?

3. Who would be the activists?

4. How would a World Party be organized?

5. What should the general principles and goals of World Party be?

6. What kinds of immediate struggles would the World Party take on?

7. Should we try to get the capitalist world-system to collapse by means

of
a new world war or an ecological catastrophe, and then pick up the
pieces (as in Warren Wagar's _A Short History of the Future_) ,or should

we try to prevent these disasters from occuring while at the same time
organizing to restructure the
contemporary system?

7. How can we create a powerful coalition of counter-hegemonic
movements:
women, workers, environmentalists, Third World and indigenous peoples.
Who should be in this, and who should not be in it?

8. Where are the persuadibles. What kinds of people will not need much
persuasion? Which kinds will never be persuaded?

9. How can we turn the reaction against capitalist globalization into a
movement for globalization from below and the construction of a
democratic and collectively rational global system?

10. What should we do about language (e.g. english, esperanto, etc.)?

Have a look at the webpage, do some reading and thinking and be ready to

share your thoughts on November 10.

Chris Chase-Dunn and Elson Boles