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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20251204T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20251205T160000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20251021T145505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251126T193739Z
UID:2815-1764853200-1764950400@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Workshop: 'The Grounds of Planning: Rationality\, Pseudorationality\, and Critique'
DESCRIPTION:The description is taken from the organizer’s website: \n\n\n\nWith keynotes by John O’Neill (University of Manchester) and Aaron Benanav (Cornell University)\nand contributions by  Rabea Berfelde\, Jacob Blumenfeld\, Lillian Cicerchia\, Solveig Degen\, Jan Groos\, Max Grünberg\, Jakob Heyer\, Christian Schmidt\, Sandra Sieron and Gabriel Wollner \n  \n\n\n\nTopic\nWhat does it mean to plan an economy rationally—and what counts as „rational“? This workshop revisits key moments in the theoretical development of economic planning\, from the classic disputes between Hayek\, Mises\, and Neurath to contemporary debates over ecological rationality and algorithmic coordination. Across four panels and a keynote\, we’ll examine how different standards of rationality have been used to justify—or discredit—forms of planning. The aim is not only to reanimate past debates\, but to ask how planning might be rethought today given the distinct logic of ecological constraints\, technological infrastructures\, and political demands for democratic coordination. \nThis two-day workshop brings together scholars working at the intersection of philosophy\, political economy\, and critical theory to reflect on the contested rationality of economic planning. How has the concept of planning been shaped by debates over knowledge\, value\, nature\, and technology? What models of rationality—formal\, substantive\, instrumental—have guided or distorted our visions of a planned economy? And what might planning mean in the face of ecological limits\, algorithmic governance\, and authoritarian capitalism? The event is organized around four key discussions\, framed by classic and contemporary texts\, and features two keynotes by John O’Neill and Aaron Benanav. \nDiscussions will be held in English. \n\n\nProgramme\nThursday\, December 4: Past Debates on Planning \n13:00–14:45 | Rationality or Pseudorationality\nJacob Blumenfeld / Christian Schmidt / Lillian Cicerchia \nText basis for discussion: \n1911   Otto Neurath\, “Lost Wanderers of Descartes”\n1925  Otto Neurath\, “Socialist Utility Calculation and Capitalist Profit Calculation” \n14:45-15:15 | Break \n15:15–17:00 | Knowledge and the Limits of Planning\nRabea Berfelde  / Gabriel Wollner / Jakob Heyer \nText basis for discussion: \n1945   Friedrich Hayek\, “The Use of Knowledge in Society” \n17:00-17:30 | Break \n17:30 –19:00 | Keynote John O’Neill \n  \nFriday\, December 5: Present Debates on Planning \n10-11:15  | Keynote Aaron Benanav \n11:15-11:30  | Break \n11:30 –13:00 | Planning Nature\nSolveig Degen  / Jan Groos \n13:00 –14:15 | Lunch \n14:15–15:45 | Algorithmic Planning\nMax Grünberg / Sandra Sieron \n15:45 – 16:00 | Closing\nChristian Schmidt\, Jacob Blumenfeld\, Rabea Berfelde \n  \n\nDownload the workshop reader here. \n\nThe workshop is free to the public and does not require any registration.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/workshop-the-grounds-of-planning-rationality-pseudorationality-and-critique/
LOCATION:Auditorium\, Grimm-Zentrm\, Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 1-3\, Berlin
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/jdsklaol.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251216T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251216T190000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20251125T160747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251125T160747Z
UID:3171-1765908000-1765911600@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Christmas Party
DESCRIPTION:Join us for this year’s INDEP online Christmas party! This is going to be an informal get-together without an agenda to just talk\, share and look back at the year together. \nTo join\, please register here.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-christmas-party/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/asdkjdopoisda.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20251218T200000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20251218T220000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20251215T093912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251215T105810Z
UID:3219-1766088000-1766095200@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:How do we want to plan the Economy? - Report and Discussion with teilbar e.V.
DESCRIPTION:The event will be in German \nThe description and program are from the flyer of the event: \n“Care work and production are currently organized on the basis of domination and separated ownership\, leading to unnecessary suffering\, environmental disasters\, and the climate crisis. Under what circumstances can we plan and organize care work and production in a way that serves life? This question was recently explored in a variety of ways at two conferences on democratic planning in Berlin. On this evening\, we want to report on these discussions and ask ourselves: How do we want to plan our economy?” \nProgram: \n20:00 Uhr: Report The State of Economic Planning\n20:30 Uhr: Q&A\, short break\n21:00 Uhr: Discussion How do we want to plan the Economy?\n22:00 Uhr: Ending
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/wie-wollen-wir-wirtschaft-planen-bericht-und-gesprach-mit-teilbar-e-v/
LOCATION:Im Kiosk\, Augustenstraße 127\, Stuttgart\, Baden-Württemberg\, 70197\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template.png
ORGANIZER;CN="teilbar e.V.":MAILTO:teilbar@gmx.net
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260115T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260115T210000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260110T105359Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260110T105359Z
UID:3312-1768505400-1768510800@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Talk by Walther Zeug: After the Failure of Really Existing Socialism and Capitalism - Democratic Economic Planning – For a good Life for Everyone within Planetary Boundaries
DESCRIPTION:This talk will be hosted by ‘Emanzipation & Frieden e.V.‘ The talk will be in German. \nHere is the translated description of the event: \nWhat can we learn from the historical failure of real socialism and the current escalating crisis dynamics of capitalism for the possibilities of a post-capitalist economy?\nBuilding on classic and current debates on economic planning as well as new insights and methods from systems science\, Jakob Heyer and Walther Zeug have developed an economic model: Cybernetic Democratic Economic Planning (CDEP) – a cybernetic\, democratic form of economic planning that aims to enable a good life for all within planetary boundaries.\nCDEP is a tool that we could use to decide democratically\, fairly\, efficiently\, and effectively which and how many resources we can and want to use\, with which technologies and production systems\, to satisfy which social needs.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/talk-by-walther-zeug-after-the-failure-of-really-existing-socialism-and-capitalism-democratic-economic-planning-for-a-good-life-for-everyone-within-planetary-boundaries/
LOCATION:Stiftung Geißstraße\, Geißstraße 7\, Stuttgart\, Baden-Württemberg\, 70173\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template13.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260122T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260122T200000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260110T104230Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260110T105135Z
UID:3304-1769104800-1769112000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Talk by Walther Zeug: Democratic Economic Planning - For a good Life for Everyone within Planetary Boundaries
DESCRIPTION:This talk is hosted by the group ‘Plurale Ökonomik Chemnitz‘ (heterodox economics Chemnitz). The talk will be held in German. \nHere is the translated description of the event: \n“What can we learn from the historical failure of really existing socialism and the current escalating crisis dynamics of capitalism for the possibilities of a post-capitalist economy? \nWe invite you to a presentation by Walther Zeug\, in which he will introduce the economic model he developed together with Jakob Heyer: Cybernetic Democratic Economic Planning (CDEP) – a cybernetic\, democratic form of economic planning that aims to enable a good life for all within planetary boundaries. CDEP is a tool that we could use to decide democratically\, fairly\, efficiently\, and effectively which and how many resources we can and want to use\, with which technologies and production systems\, to satisfy which social needs.” \n 
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/talk-by-walther-zeug-democratic-economic-planning-for-a-good-life-for-everyone-within-planetary-boundaries/
LOCATION:TU Chemnitz\, Raum C10.001 (Orangerie)\, Reichenhainer Str. 90\, Chemnitz\, Sachsen\, 09126\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template12.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260129T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260129T220000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260115T170514Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T200810Z
UID:3344-1769715000-1769724000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Movie Screening and Discussion on Democratic Collective Firms
DESCRIPTION:IDA (Initiative Demokratische Arbeitszeitrechnung) invites to a screening of the movie “Ohne Chefs – Demokratie bei der Arbeit” (‘Without bosses – democracy at work’). After the movie there will be a discussion with Mario Burbach\, the director of the movie\, a member of a coffee cooperative from Hamburg that play a role in the movie and with the IDA. \nThe movie and the discussion will be in German language. \nThe screening will take place at Regenbogenfabrik\, Lausitzer Straße 21a\, 10999 Berlin. \nMore information on the event and about the IDA can be found on their website.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/movie-screening-and-discussion-on-the-planning-debate/
LOCATION:Regenbogenfabrik\, Berlin\, Lausitzer Straße 21a\, Berlin\, 10999\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template14.png
ORGANIZER;CN="IDA (Initiative demokratische Arbeitszeitrechnung)":MAILTO:gruppe_arbeitszeit@riseup.net
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260204T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260204T193000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260123T085109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260123T085109Z
UID:3382-1770228000-1770233400@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Talk with Paul Adler - What Socialist Planning can Learn from Business Management
DESCRIPTION:This event will take place in English. \nIn order to participate\, please register here. \n  \nDescription: \nIn his work\, Paul Adler has been exploring how large capitalist firms deal with the challenges of corporate planning\, and indeed of democracy in planning\, aiming to understand what they might teach us about how socialism could deal with similar challenges (albeit at a much wider level and in the context of new relations of production). In his 2019 book\, The 99% Economy\, he reviewed four principles that he sees operative in leading firms which suggests ways of overcoming four of these challenges—centralization\, specialization\, standardization\, and incentives. In this talk\, he will review that argument and dive deeper into centralization\, and what we can learn from capitalist firms efforts to combine high levels of centralization with high(er) levels of participation. \nPaul Adler is Professor Emeritus at the Marshall School of Business\, University of Southern California. He began his education in Australia and completed his graduate studies in France. His research and teaching focus on organization theory and comparative political economy. He has published widely in academic journals\, and has edited or co-edited several volumes\, the more recent being The Firm as a Collaborative Community: Reconstructing Trust in the Knowledge Economy (2006)\, The Oxford Handbook of Sociology and Organization Studies: Classical Foundations (2009)\, and The Oxford Handbook of Sociology\, Social Theory and Organization Studies: Contemporary Currents (2015). He co-authored Healing Together: The Labor-Management Partnership at Kaiser Permanente (2009)\, and most recently published The 99% Economy: How Democratic Socialism can overcome the Crises of Capitalism (2019).
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-talk-with-paul-adler-what-socialist-planning-can-learn-from-business-management/
LOCATION:Online
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260206T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260206T210000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260123T115348Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260123T115348Z
UID:3387-1770404400-1770411600@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Talk by Matthias Zwack: Attempt and Failure of a Utopia - The Self-managed Socialism in Yugoslavia
DESCRIPTION:The event will take place in German. \nThe description has been taken and translated from the event website. \n“An open society\, grassroots democracy\, and direct worker control over firms—in the midst of the Cold War\, Yugoslav communists attempted to implement something that today sounds like a distant utopia. Yugoslavia’s “socialist democracy” sought to overcome both the state and capital. The people were to decide for themselves on all matters of social life.\nFor decades\, the Yugoslav model inspired political and economic scientists\, critical thinkers\, social protests\, and reform movements on both sides of the Iron Curtain – until it collapsed in a series of bloody civil wars at the end of the 1980s.\nDid Yugoslavia fail because of the supremacy of its communist party\, which was unwilling to relinquish its power? Or did the self-management system ultimately create the causes for its own demise? Can the Yugoslav model only be evaluated in terms of its demise? Or does the focus on its failure obscure the possibilities and potential it held?\nIn a brief journey through time into this almost forgotten chapter of left-wing history\, the lecture sets out to search for clues: What can we learn from the Yugoslav experience for today’s perspectives on a better future?”
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/talk-by-matthias-zwack-attempt-and-failure-of-a-utopia-the-self-managed-socialism-in-yugoslavia/
LOCATION:translib\, Lütznerstraße 30\, Leipzig\, Sachsen\, 04227\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-temjasddosklplate.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260210T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260210T160000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260203T111201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260203T135053Z
UID:3438-1770735600-1770739200@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Seminar: "Planning and Autonomous Control: Reappraising the Cases for Economic Planning in Socialism" by Sergey Steblev
DESCRIPTION:The REAL-Postgrowth project (Post-growth – REAL – A Post-Growth Deal) hosts an online-talk on “Planning and Autonomous Control: Reappraising the Cases for Economic Planning in Socialism” with the doctoral researcher at ICTA-UAB\, Sergey Steblev as part of their monthly public seminar series. \nIf non-market socialists want to overcome commodity production\, does it mean that a socialist economy must be “planned”? What is the difference between planning and non-planning? In this talk\, I will define economic planning more precisely; show why “”the market”” is not the only alternative to planning; and discuss what and why should be planned in a socialist economic system. The essence of planning is determination of production (or investment) rates by future needs ascertained a priori. Non-market socialism does not logically presuppose planning\, because the system can be coordinated via autonomous control: economic mechanisms that can function without either a priori decided needs or commodity exchange and are based on local feedback. However\, socialism still needs to plan some production and investment\, should it be interested in three goals: the avoidance of slow\, wasteful\, and turbulent regulation; the negotiation of structural change; the pursuit of aggregate-level socio-environmental goals.  Non-market socialism can use autonomous control as its minimal basis and complement it with planning. \nSergey Steblev is a doctoral researcher at ICTA-UAB and is part of the REAL – A Post Growth Deal project. His current research examines how socialism for the twenty first century can work\, as well as conflictual dynamics of radical eco-social reforms in the context of capitalism. \nFind more information on the online-event and the link for the broadcast here.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/seminar-planning-and-autonomous-control-reappraising-the-cases-for-economic-planning-in-socialism-by-sergey-steblev/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Steblev-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260211T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260211T180000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260211T091851Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T091851Z
UID:3479-1770829200-1770832800@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Talk and Discussion: A Plan to Save the Future from Collaps: Half Earth Socialism
DESCRIPTION:The description is taken from the event’s website and has been translated into English. \nThe event will take place in English. \n“Troy Vettese in conversation with Dirk Baecker and Maike Weißpflug\nModeration: Alexander Karschnia \nAn important legacy of naturalist E.O. Wilson is his book “Half-Earth.” In it\, he calls on us to leave half of the globe to nature. Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass take up this call in “HALF EARTH SOCIALISM.” For them\, the only alternative to rewilding is gigantic geoengineering programs. To illustrate the danger of such domination of nature\, they read the classics of neoliberal literature against the grain. Hayek’s thesis of “agnotology\,” or unknowability\, is turned on its head: it is not markets but ecosystems that are too complex to regulate. Can this idea form the basis for ecological policy in times of impending collapse? \nEntry is free\, but requires registration. \nThe event is part of the event series Brecht-Days 2026” \n 
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/talk-and-discussion-a-plan-to-save-the-future-from-collaps-half-earth-socialism/
LOCATION:Museum für Naturkunde\, Invalidenstraße 43\, Berlin\, Berlin\, 10115\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Kopie-von-Kopie-voajsdjkdajojan-Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260223T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260223T200000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260216T030103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T093742Z
UID:3513-1771869600-1771876800@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Discussion About Moving Beyond Capitalism
DESCRIPTION:The Center for Political Economy at Columbia University will be holding a discussion on how to move beyond capitalism. \nThe discussion will be held in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \nThe description of the discussion has been taken from the event website: \n“We invite you to join the Center for Political Economy on Monday\, February 23 at 6pm for a scholarly discussion of alternative approaches to moving beyond capitalism. The discussion will be centered around Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law and Center Co-Director Katharina Pistor’s new book\, The Law of Capitalism and How to Transform It\, and recent essays in the New Left Review entitled Beyond Capitalism written by Aaron Benanav\, Assistant Professor in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. Columbia Professors Suresh Naidu (Economics) and Jeremy Kessler (Law) will join Pistor and Benanav as discussants. \n\nEvent Contact Information: \nCenter for Political Economy\npoliticaleconomy@columbia.edu“
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/discussion-about-moving-beyond-capitalism/
LOCATION:Jerome Greene Hall\, 435 W. 116 St.\, New York\, NY 10027 Room/Area: 101\, Jerome Greene Hall\, New York City\, NY\, 10027\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Kopie-von-Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pisdfajksaloxel-template.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Columbia University Center for Political Economy":MAILTO:politicaleconomy@columbia.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260224T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260224T193000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260209T172044Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260215T103456Z
UID:3470-1771956000-1771961400@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Talk with Kyle Thompson and James Macumber - Lessons of Cybernetics for Democratic Economic Planning
DESCRIPTION:This event is part of the INDEPxMetaphorum Online Talk Series for Stafford Beer’s Centennial. \nThis event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \nThe polycrisis of economic inequality\, climate change\, and widespread political instability has lead to many looking for new and viable alternatives. The current political and economic order of capitalism has shown itself to be incapable of addressing these existential threats to our society. The field of DEP argues that important decisions over production\, reproduction\, consumption\, distribution\, investment – and\, indeed\, about our lives in general – should be determined consciously and collectively via democratic processes rather than by state authorities or market forces. \nThe rapid growth in interest in democratic economic planning (DEP) over the past two years has given birth to a diversity of publications\, policies\, and initiatives. However\, the discourse across continents has still remained isolated to a degree\, preventing like-minded members of the DEP community from learning from each other and from the different approaches in development. Among the avenues of investigation which has not received an in-depth treatment are the fields of cybernetics and systems theory. This talk from Kyle Thompson (General Intellect Unit) and James Macumber will present the fundamentals of cybernetics in the context of economics with reference to modern examples and contemporary research. This talks’ aim is to demonstrate cybernetics’ continued relevance for DEP.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-talk-with-kyle-thompson-and-james-macumber-lessons-of-cybernetics-for-democratic-economic-planning/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template.ajsksladkpng.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260304T113000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260306T003000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260215T114954Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260215T114954Z
UID:3501-1772623800-1772757000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Conference: What Can the Market Do? What Can Planning Do?
DESCRIPTION:To participate\, please register here. The deadline for registrations is February 18. Prices for participation are on a sliding scale\, depending which services you choose to claim. For more detailed info\, see the section “Preise & Informationen” on the event website. \nThis conference will be in German. \nThe description below has beeen taken and translated from the event website: \n“COORDINATING ECONOMIC PROCESSES – BUT HOW? \nMarket coordination and planning are no longer considered irreconcilable opposites. In light of the polycrisis comprising the climate crisis\, technological upheavals\, and massive trade and geopolitical interventions\, the question of how collective goals can be achieved democratically and efficiently is increasingly being raised anew. Digital control instruments\, demands for ecological economic planning in line with planetary boundaries\, and the geo-economic orientation of global supply chains provide opportunities to reflect on the potential of markets and planning for coordinating economic processes.\nAt the same time\, complex transformation processes—from the energy transition to industrial policy—require hybrid solutions: decentralized spaces for experimentation and central coordination\, artificial markets\, and decentralized mechanisms can be part of the toolbox\, but they have clear limitations. How can planning and the market be combined in such a way that democratic processes become fully effective with regard to the major issues of the future that affect everyone?\nHow can the market and planning be combined in a complex world of transformation in which technocratic planning concepts and perfectly functioning markets are equally obsolete?\nOf interest here are\, on the one hand\, the hybrids mentioned above—planning elements in capitalist markets—and\, on the other hand\, alternative concepts of democratic economic planning\, as initiated by new debates in recent years. This opens up a field spanning two different yet combinable poles\, whose history\, variants\, and theoretical foundations\, as well as changes brought about by big data\, algorithms\, and artificial intelligence\, offer a differentiated view of potentials and limitations in the face of transformative challenges.\nOur conference offers the opportunity to take up this debate and critically develop it further\, both theoretically and in terms of its practical implications. For the open part\, we invite researchers from the economic\, social\, and cultural sciences\, as well as representatives from the field\, to present their research in parallel panel sessions.” \nFor more information on the conference\, please contact this email: niedermaier[at]ev-akademie-tutzing.de \nConference Program: \nWednesday\, March 4th \nArrival from 11.30\n12.30 – Start of conference with snack\n13.30 – Welcome & Introdcution – Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klüh & Katharina Hirschbrunn \nI. Debates on market and plan yesterday and today\n14.15 – Market vs. plan in the ecological transformation – Prof. Dr. Oliver Schlaudt\n15.15 – Coffee\, tea & cake\n15.45 – Political economy of market-based criticism of community economies and socialist planning – Dr. David Mayer\n17.00 – What can markets and prices do? Functions\, problems\, limits – Prof. Dr. Richard Sturn\n18.00 – Dinner\n20.00 – Biophysical limits and necessities of planning – Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Linow\n21.30 – Encounters and conversations in the salons \nTursday\, March 5th\n07.45 – Morningprayer in the castle chapel\n08.00 – Breakfast \nII. Why planning? Why now?\nOn the renaissance of the planning debate\n09.00 – Limits of the conceptions of markets and transformationprocesses in economics – Dr. Christiane Heisse\n10.15 – Coffeebreak\n10.45 – After the failure of really existing socialism and capitalism: cybernetic and democratic economic planning for a good life within planetary boundaries – Dr.-Ing Walther Zeug\n11.30 – Planning the transition of our heating system: the example district heating – N.N.\n12.30 – Lunch\n14.00 – Plenary discussion \nIII. Economic policy praxis of planning and critical discussion\n14.15 – Economic planning and industrial policy: chinese experience and current practices – Dr. Rainer Land\n15.30 – Coffee\, tea & cake\n16.00 – Open conference part based on the call for papers\n18.00 – Dinner\n19.30 – Encounters and conversations in the salons \nFriday\, March 6th\n07.45 – Morningprayer in the castle chapel\n08.00 – Breakfast\n09.00 – Critique of the planning debate from a feminist perspective – Dr. Heide Lutosch\n10.15 – The political-economic and political-ecological limits of planning – Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klüh\n11.00 – Coffeebreak\n11.30 – Concluding discussion\n12.30 – Ending of conference with lunch
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/conference-what-can-the-market-do-what-can-planning-do/
LOCATION:Evangelische Akademie Tutzing\, Schlossstraße 2+4\, Tutzing\, Bavaria\, 82327\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/69zuoz.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Evangelische Akademie Tutzing":MAILTO:info@ev-akademie-tutzing.de
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260305T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260305T193000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260215T101324Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260215T101324Z
UID:3493-1772733600-1772739000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Talk with Angela Espinosa - The Viable System Model as an Emancipatory Approach to Sustainable Self-Governance: Examples from Applications in Communities and Nations
DESCRIPTION:This event is part of the INDEPxMetaphorum Online Talk Series for Stafford Beer’s Centennial. \nThis event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \nWhen Stafford Beer invented the Viable System Model (VSM) for explaining complex social systems as self-organised neural networks\, capable of consciously adapting to chaotic or changing environments\, he was 50 years ahead of his time. His famous Cybersyn project in Chile attempted to put it fully into practice at the national level\, to reinvent the idea of governance. This webinar introduces recent work clarifying how the VSM understands sustainable self-governance in complex social organisations\, and the challenges of putting it into practice\, as an emancipatory systemic approach supporting the transition to a post capitalistic economy. It illustrates these ideas by reflecting on practical applications in Latin America and the EU\, in communities\, and nations. All together\, they demonstrate the potential for using the VSM as an emancipatory approach to support a transition towards fairer\, more democratic\, and more sustainable organisations and societies. \nAngela Espinosa has been an international leader in developing Organisational Cybernetics\, a cybernetic theory for viability of social organisations pioneered by Stafford Beer\, who she worked closed with. She co-founded and led the Metaphorum\, a cooperative developing his legacy\, when he passed away in 2002. She has developed innovative cybernetics’ theory and praxis and advised organisations in Europe and America on more effective ways of self-organising and being socially and environmentally responsible. She has taught Systems Thinking and Cybernetics for three decades and has published extensively in the European Journal of Operational Research and other systems and cybernetic journals. ‘A Complexity Approach to Sustainability’ and ‘Sustainable Self-Governance in Businesses and Society: The Viable System Model in action‘ summarise her recent work and applications. She is an Emeritus Fellow at the centre for Systems Studies – Hull University Business School; and a Board member of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-talk-with-angela-espinosa-the-viable-system-model-as-an-emancipatory-approach-to-sustainable-self-governance-examples-from-applications-in-communities-and-nations/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/uoiurwupoq.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260319T093000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260319T150000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260122T173616Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260122T180708Z
UID:3363-1773912600-1773932400@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Workshop - Planification Écologique: Reality and Aspiration
DESCRIPTION:This workshop is organized by Gabriel Kahan (Sciences Po) and supported by LIEPP’s Environmental Policies research group (project Ecological Planning in the 21st Century: Uses\, Forms\, Methods and Effects) and INDEP. \nIn order to participate\, registration is mandatory. The registration form can be found here. \nThe workshop will take place in English. \nThe description and program have been taken from the event’s website: \nAbstract\nEcological planning has taken root in French policy circles\, with the “greening” of state budgets and billions of euros for low-carbon retrofits. Meanwhile\, Mexico legislates public grid expansion\, South Korea directs electric vehicle production\, Denmark pioneers offshore wind development\, and China barrels ahead with state-backed venture capital\, positioning itself as a global provider of green technologies. Together\, an emerging cohort of countries is rewriting the playbook for rapid decarbonization. The central message: transitions to low-carbon economies will require a strong state. \nSimultaneously\, researchers and climate advocates have turned their attention to planning as a promising if speculative alternative to market-led decarbonization. Flighty and risk-averse investors chasing dependable returns\, it is argued\, are proving incapable of providing the massive reallocation of capital necessary for low-carbon futures. In its place\, robust public coordination of investment across diverse sectors and geographies appears increasingly urgent. \nFor France\, ecological planning is now central to the state’s agenda\, yet remains conceptually thin and institutionally underspecified. This ambiguity is striking for a country whose postwar experience continues to serve as a global reference point for planning. Today\, clarifying the mechanisms that drive ecological planning — both in reality and in aspiration — is essential. \nIn response\, this workshop treats ecological planning not as a slogan\, but as a set of instruments and institutions. We will begin by revisiting France’s postwar period to capture how planning has functioned in the past\, then turn to ongoing experiments in the contemporary policy landscape\, and conclude with a forward-looking discussion of what ecological planning could become. \nProgramme\n9h30 | Morning Coffee \n9h50 | Opening Remarks\, Gabriel Kahan (Sciences Po) \n10h | Morning Panel —  Postwar Planning: Historical Realities\nAntoine Jourdan (EHESS)\, Éric Monnet (Paris School of Economics)\nAudience Q&A \n11h30 | Break: Lunch \n12h30 | Afternoon Panel — Ecological Planning: Experiments & Aspirations\nClara Leonard (Institut Avant-Garde) Hannah Bensussan (Universität St. Gallen)\nAudience Q&A \n14h | Break \n14h15 | Roundtable with Speakers — Future Directions\nAntoine Jourdan\, Éric Monnet\, Clara Leonard\, Hannah Bensussan\nModerator: Gabriel Kahan (Sciences Po)
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/workshop-planification-ecologique-reality-and-aspiration/
LOCATION:SciencesPo Salle 900\, 9 rue de la Chaise\, Paris\, 75007\, France
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/skjdaoljkdf.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260319T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260319T210000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260317T220733Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260317T220733Z
UID:3604-1773948600-1773954000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Online Talk by Heide Lutosch - The Thirteenth Fairy: Caring for Children in a Liberated Society
DESCRIPTION:The description of the event has been translated from the original German from the event’s website. \nThis online talk will take place in German. \nYou can find the Zoom link for the talk here. \nEven people who advocate for a democratically planned economy as an alternative to capitalism become somewhat hesitant when confronted with the demand to consistently deprivatize care work\, including childcare. On the one hand\, this has to do with a widespread uncritical attitude toward the nuclear family\, as well as a downplaying of the suffering it causes. On the other hand\, historical attempts to collectivize childhood have in fact often wrongly ignored children’s basic needs\, especially the fact that they must be able to form close\, lasting\, and reliable bonds—both physical and emotional—with their immediate caregivers. This lecture proposes a model of alternative parenting for a liberated society and argues for placing the realm of social reproduction at the center of the planning debate. \nHeide Lutosch is a literary scholar and feminist activist. Her book Kinderhaben was published in spring 2023 by Matthes&Seitz Berlin. She works as a translator in Leipzig. \nThis is a joint event organized by Emanzipation und Frieden and teilbar e.V.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/online-talk-by-heide-lutosch-the-thirteenth-fairy-caring-for-children-in-a-liberated-society/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kopie-von-Kopie-von-INDEP-Events-Pics-pixel-template.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260324T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260324T193000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260317T215215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T144301Z
UID:3599-1774375200-1774380600@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Talk with Janina Urban and Solveig Degen - Who Plans the Future? Democratising Investment in a Financialised Economy
DESCRIPTION:This event will take place in partnership with the Centre for Social Critique at the Humboldt University Berlin. \nThis event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \nInvestment is a form of planning: it brings into existence what currently does not yet exist. Today\, large-scale investment decisions are largely made either by states or by actors in the financial sector. But can finance – one of the central nodal points of contemporary capitalism – be transformed into a tool for democratically shaping the future?\nIn this talk\, Janina Urban (University of Witten-Herdecke) and Solveig Degen (Humboldt University Berlin) explore the principles that currently structure financial investment and the profound challenges these logics pose for social and ecological relations. Building on this diagnosis\, they examine how investment could be reorganised along democratic lines. They will discuss both historical and contemporary initiatives aimed at socialising investment and introduce two prominent approaches within current debates on democratic economic planning. Finally\, the talk reflects on the political and practical limits of such projects\, given that the financial system is often perceived as the domain of experts rather than an arena for democratic contestation.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-talk-with-solveig-degen-and-janina-urban-who-plans-the-future-democratising-investment-in-a-financialised-economy/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/zuweqirtzo.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260326T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260326T200000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260325T155430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260325T155430Z
UID:3649-1774548000-1774555200@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Talk and Discussion about the new Debate on Democratic Economic Planning
DESCRIPTION:This event will take place in German. \nThe description has been translated from the original German: \nThe collapse of the Soviet Union was not only supposed to herald the victory of capitalism\, but also to provide definitive proof that free markets are superior to the social planning of economic processes. In response\, a new debate on democratic economic planning began to emerge in the late 1980s and continues to this day. This lecture will provide an overview of this debate by examining its various strands of argument.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/talk-and-discussion-about-the-new-debate-on-democratic-economic-planning/
LOCATION:Club Commune\, Weserstr. 17\, Kassel\, Hessen\, 34125\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/qweuiopr.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260402T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260402T193000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260215T103900Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260215T103900Z
UID:3496-1775152800-1775158200@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Talk with Jon Walker - Viable Systems\, Authoritarian Control\, Neo-liberal Economics and the Future of our Socio-Economic-Political Approach to Governance
DESCRIPTION:This event is part of the INDEPxMetaphorum Online Talk Series for Stafford Beer’s Centennial. \nThis event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \nThis talk examines the essence of the Viable System Model as originally conceived by Stafford Beer and discusses the application of his approach to governance in business\, politics\, and society in general. It concludes that the majority of approaches currently in use are\, in VSM terms\, essentially dysfunctional and that there are far better ways of organising our society based upon cybernetic principles.\nThe VSM sees governance not in terms of authority and obedience\, but by describing the laws and axioms which define how self-organising\, autonomous parts can be brought together or cohered in a new wholeness at a higher level of organisation. The implications of the need for autonomy have far-reaching implications for all organisations\, and provides a new light for looking at democracy.\nThe VSM emphasises the need for collaboration in order to ensure effective coherence\, and\, as a consequence of its recursive nature\, requires viability at all levels. This is diametrically opposed to the neo-liberal view which promotes ruthless competition and minimal governmental involvement. \nJon Walker has worked in the co-operative business sector since 1978. He has established and co-managed a range of businesses including retail outlets\, a small-scale manufacturing plant\, a warehouses and a chain of supermarkets dealing mainly with whole-food\, organic and fairly-traded products. Concurrently\, Jon has lectured\, published\, consulted and provided training courses in both private and public sectors. Central to this work has been the applications of systems theory and cybernetics to co-operative organisations in order to design highly effective structures based firmly on principles of democracy\, self-empowerment and human dignity. Emerging from this work is the clear conclusion that the most effective\, responsive structures must be based on self-organisation and non-hierarchical approaches. Cybernetics provides the basis for the design of organisations in which effective business performance and individual well-being are mutually supportive. Jon has a PhD in Cybernetics from Aston University and has published papers on neural networks\, robotics\, the use of the Viable Systems Model in co-operative organisations\, and recently the application of systems tools to sustainable design. He established a web site introducing the Viable Systems Model and applying its principles to non-hierarchical design\, which has been in constant use for over 10 years.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-talk-with-jon-walker-viable-systems-authoritarian-control-neo-liberal-economics-and-the-future-of-our-socio-economic-political-approach-to-governance/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/zwwoqi.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260414T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260414T183000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260402T153725Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260402T153725Z
UID:3688-1776186000-1776191400@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP x Green Planning Commission Online Panel - Green Planning for Transition and Policy
DESCRIPTION:This event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \nINDEP and Common Wealth’s Green Planning Commission are convening a joint online panel to explore how green democratic economic planning can be translated into concrete policy proposals and integrated into broader transition strategies.\nMelanie Brusseler will introduce the Green Planning Commission (GPC)\, outlining its mandate\, research agenda and forthcoming areas of work. The GPC brings together researchers and practitioners to examine how democratic planning institutions can guide decarbonization\, industrial strategy\, public investment\, and the restructuring of key sectors in ways that are socially just and ecologically grounded. Following the introduction\, the panelists will offer their perspectives on how democratic economic planning can be utilized for transitions regarding their national contexts and respective areas of expertise. \nOur Panelists:\nMelanie Brusseler – Green Planning Commission\, Common Wealth\nIsabel Estevez – i3T\, GPC commissioner\, Climate & Community Institute\nGabriel Kahan – Sciences Po\, University of Wisconsin-Madison\nJustus Henze – Communia\nSolveig Degen (Moderation) – Humboldt-University Berlin \nMelanie Brusseler is a political economist and the US Programme Director at Common Wealth. She is also a co-founder of the Green Planning Commission. Her research focuses on green democratic planning and green macrofinance\, and she has published widely on these topics. Her writing on economic planning has appeared\, among others\, in the Financial Times\, Jacobin\, Phenomenal World\, and The Guardian. \nIsabel Estevez is an institutional and development economist whose work focuses on the dynamics of economic transformation\, nature–economy relations\, and green transitions. She is the former Deputy Director of Industrial Policy and Trade at the Roosevelt Institute’s Climate and Economic Transformation Program. She has advised policymakers in the United States\, Europe\, and Latin America\, as well as multilateral institutions and civil society organisations\, on the design of transformative industrial policies. She has published widely on green industrial strategy\, including the working paper “Global Green Industrial Policy\,” co-authored with Thea Riofrancos for Climate & Community. \nGabriel Kahan is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a visiting researcher at the Centre de Sociologie des Organisations (CSO) at Sciences Po. His research lies at the intersection of political sociology\, development\, and finance. He studies the effects of green industrial policy on multinational emitters\, the role of derisking in energy transitions\, and compares France’s postwar experience with industrial planning to contemporary experiments in “ecological planning” under the country’s National Low-Carbon Strategy. \nJustus Henze is a political economist and PM project coordinator at the Communia think tank in Germany\, where he works on strategies for the socialisation of the German energy sector. He is also speaker of the Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen campaign and a co-founder of the German Network for Democratic Economic Planning. His writing on green economic planning has appeared in Surplus Magazine\, Jacobin\, and Neues Deutschland. \nSolveig Degen is a doctoral candidate in the research project Socialization in Theory and Practice\, which is based at the Centre for Social Critique in Berlin. Solveig leads the subproject on socialization in the energy sector\, which is also the topic of her dissertation. As part of her doctoral studies\, she is conducting a systematic analysis of the problems of market-based energy provision and investigating the possibilities and challenges of socializing energy systems in the EU context. In her research\, she combines approaches from political economy and sociology with perspectives from political theory and critical social philosophy. Previously\, she worked at the Institute for Spatial and Social-Ecological Transformations (ISSET) at the Vienna University of Economics and Business\, where she also completed her Master’s degree in Social-Ecological Economics and Policy.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-x-green-planning-commission-online-panel-green-planning-for-transition-and-policy/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/upuiop.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260416T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260430T200000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260318T105833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260406T061432Z
UID:3615-1776362400-1777579200@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:UNED Course: Democratic planning. Post-capitalist Models in the Era of the Climate Crisis. 2nd Edition
DESCRIPTION:A new edition of a course from UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia\, an online university in Spain) explores democratic planning and post-capitalist models in the context of the climate crisis. It will be offered in Spanish from April 16th to April 30th. It can be attended in Person or taken online. \nPart of the university’s extension programme\, the course offers a space to engage with current debates on how to organize production and society beyond existing economic frameworks\, bringing together different perspectives and approaches. \nFor more info\, click here. \nProgram (all times are in CEST/UTC+2)\nThursday\, April\, 16th 2026\n18:00-20:00 h. 1st Session. Climate crisis versus planetary crisis. \nThe physical foundations of climate change. Crisis\, collapse\, transitions.\nTaught by Damián Herrera Cuesta \n  \nFriday\, April\, 17th 2026\n18:00-20:00 h.  2nd Session. Introduction to Economic Planning from a self-managed perspective.  \n\nIntroduction to the planning concept. Historical background. \n– Ecologies of Planning Today: Democratic Planning in the Age of Planetary Crises. – Yousaf Nishat-Botero City \nTaught by Endika Alabort Amundarain \n  \nThursday\, April\, 23rd 2026\n18:00-20:00 h. 3rd Session. Democratic economic planning: five models. \n\n– Democracy and economic planning: the political economy of an autonomous society. – Pat Devine \n– Democratic Economic Planning. – Robin Hahnel \n– Economic planning in an era of climate crisis. – Jan Philipp Dapprich\, W. Paul Cockshott\, Allin Cottrell \n– Systemic socialism: a model of models. – David Laibman \n– Towards an inclusive democracy: the crisis of the growth economy and the need for a new liberating project. Takis \nTaught by Darío Azzellini \n  \n\nFriday\, April\, 24th 2026\n18:00-20:00 h. 4th Session. Problematizing the cooperative enterprise: A Marxist vision of organizational paradoxes. \nOrganizational paradoxes\n– The concept of paradox according to the Critical Management Studies literature\n– A Marxian review of the concept of organizational paradox\n\nThe cooperative as a commodity producer\n– The cooperative as a direct solidarity organization between producers of goods\n– The paradoxical conscience of the commodity producer\n\nThe cooperative as a breeder of capital\n– Solidarity strategies and competition of cooperatives\n– The cooperative as a crystallization of a class struggle\n\nThe paradoxes of the Mondragón cooperative\n– Three internal paradoxes of the Mondragón cooperative\n– Two external paradoxes of the Mondragón cooperativeTaught by Jon Las Heras Cuenca \n\n  \nThursday\, April\, 30th 2026\n18:00-20:00 h. 5th Session and closure. Ecologies of planning from a libertarian perspective. \nThe Belly of Revolution: Agriculture Energy and the Future of Communism. – Jasper Bernes\nTaught by José Luis Carretero Miramar
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/uned-offers-a-course-on-democratic-economic-planning/
LOCATION:Pious Schools Classroom 7 or Online\, C. de Tribulete 14\, Madrid\, 28012\, Spain
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/qwiourpqwoe.png
ORGANIZER;CN="UNED Madrid":MAILTO:cursos-extension@madrid.uned.es
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260422T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260422T180000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260330T083317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260403T131042Z
UID:3671-1776873600-1776880800@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Lecture by Søren Mau - A Marxist Defense of Utopian Thought
DESCRIPTION:On Wednesday 22nd April 2026 from 4PM-6PM CEST in room SFG 1030 in the Universität Bremen\, Søren Mau will criticise anti-utopianism within Marxism and provide a Marxist defense for engaging in utopian thinking. \nThis lecture is part of the lecture series “Contemporary Perspectives on Marx” that is being held by Universität Bremen. \nA summary of the event can be found below: \n“For the first meeting of the Institute Colloquium lecture series of the Institute of Philosophy in the summer semester 2026\, we welcome Søren Mau. He will present on the topic “A Marxist Defense of Utopian Thought”\, followed by discussion with the audience. Søren Mau will criticise anti-utopianism within Marxism and provide a Marxist defense for engaging in utopian thinking\, which includes postcapitalist democratic planning. \nThe Institute Colloquium lecture series entitled “Contemporary Perspectives on Marx” is organized in the summer semester in the working field of Practical Philosophy. All interested parties are cordially invited to participate. The entire colloquium plan can be found here.” \nYou can find out more about the event here.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/institute-of-philosophy-lecture-by-soren-mau-a-marxist-defense-of-utopian-thought/
LOCATION:Room  SFG 1030\, Bibliothekstraße 1\, Bremen\, Bremen\, 28359\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/tzuweiq.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260423T084500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260423T170000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260420T123430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260420T123430Z
UID:3819-1776933900-1776963600@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Colloquium on Planning the Social and Ecological Transformation at University of Lausanne
DESCRIPTION:An in-person colloquium in French\, entitled “Planifier la transformation économique et sociale” (Planning Social and Ecological Transformation)\, will be held at the University of Lausanne on April 23rd. \nHere’s a translation of it’s summary: “The concept of planning refers to the idea of regulation and public policies capable of guiding and bringing about profound change in technical\, economic\, and social systems. But it also raises many questions: What are the potential and limitations of a planning-based approach to transition? Can the transition be managed? Who decides which paths to follow?” \n 
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/colloquium-on-planning-the-social-and-ecological-transformation-at-university-of-lausanne/
LOCATION:Université de Lausanne – Géopolis\, 1022 Chavannes-près-Renens\, Suisse\, Lausanne\, Switzerland
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1774877286856.M.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="STRIVE":MAILTO:dunia.brunner@unil.ch
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260428T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260428T183000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260417T165655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260420T101507Z
UID:3791-1777395600-1777401000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP x Espaces Marx online Talk with Hugo Pompougnac and Hannah Bensussan - Uses of Demand Forecasting for Planning Ecological Transformation
DESCRIPTION:This event is done in partnership between INDEP and Espaces Marx. \nThis event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please sign up here. \n  \nTwo arguments are put forward in defense of planning today. On the one hand\, the ecological argument states that the transition cannot be undertaken by private actors seeking to maximize the return on their investments\, but rather needs a public actor to plan the coordinated transformation of the system of provisioning. On the other hand\, the technological argument states that information technologies are the solution to the knowledge problem that planned economies once faced. However\, these two arguments are often presented in isolation. Few studies consider how these technologies might be useful for ecological planning\, or whether ecological planning could address its own knowledge problems thanks to these technologies. \nAlthough we do not aim to « write recipes for the cook shops of the future »\, it is possible to reflect on these questions by opening the black boxes of these technologies and their institutional use. By examining the case of forecasting\, we first consider statistical forecasting techniques in 20th-century for state planning\, and their actual development with AI techniques for corporate planning. We then explore different forms of ecological planning\, and ask which forecasting techniques is/could be helpful to overcome knowledge problems faced by ecological transformation. \n  \nHugo Pompougnac is an engineer and researcher in the field of neural network compilation. He is also president of Espaces Marx\, where he works at the intersection of the humanities\, mathematical sciences\, and public policy. \nHannah Bensussan is a political Economist\, postdoc at the University of Saint Gallen. Her work focuses on digital capitalism and ecological planning.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-x-espaces-marx-online-talk-with-hugo-pompougnac-and-hannah-bensussan-uses-of-demand-forecasting-for-planning-ecological-transformation/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/567867.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260430T130000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260507T150000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260211T154017Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T163230Z
UID:3484-1777554000-1778166000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP x The New Centre for Research and Practice - Introductory online Workshop: "What is Democratic Economic Planning?"
DESCRIPTION:This workshop is hosted by The New Centre for Research and Practice and is organized in partnership with INDEP. \nIt will consist of two sessions\, which will be 1\,5 – 2 hours each. The first session will be on April 30\, the second one on May 7. Both will take place from 1pm UTC to 3pm UTC. The entire workshop will be in English. \nThe workshop costs 125 USD total\, but is available for a reduced price of 75 USD for New Centre Members. To sign up and learn more\, click here. \nIt will be taught by Raphael Arar and Eric Meier. You can find their Bios below. \n  \n“This Roundtable explores Democratic Economic Planning (DEP) as an alternative to the financialized market-based economy. With neoliberalism in crisis and authoritarian movements on the rise\, there’s renewed interest in how economies might be organized differently. Any proposal for economic planning has to answer several basic questions: How do you gather accurate information about what people need and what resources exist? What do you measure things in—money\, labor time\, physical units\, some combination? Who makes decisions\, and how centralized should that be? Do markets have any role\, and if so\, what kind? How do you motivate work and handle distribution? These questions are not new. They emerged in the Socialist Calculation Debate of the 1920s-30s. Answers have been attempted differently across historical experiments—from Soviet central planning to Chile’s Cybersyn project to contemporary participatory budgeting initiatives. Today’s proposals range from participatory economics to algorithmic coordination models that imagine repurposing Amazon’s logistics infrastructure for democratic ends. \nSESSION ONE: The opening session will lay out this intellectual landscape and the core problems any planning model confronts. We’ll look at how these questions connect to contemporary concerns about technology\, ecology\, and democratic transition strategies. \nSESSION TWO: The second session builds from student research to map current debates and identify where productive collective work might happen. \nOUTCOMES: You’ll understand the fundamental challenges facing economic planning proposals and how different models tackle them. We’ll cover key historical debates and experiments alongside contemporary paradigms that leverage digital infrastructure. You’ll gain frameworks for evaluating whether planning proposals are actually democratic and practically viable\, plus exposure to real-world implementations and transition strategies. And you’ll connect with others exploring alternatives to market coordination.” \nRaphael Arar works at the nexus of complex systems\, transdisciplinary design and arts-based research. His work highlights the social\, political and economic implications of technological acceleration and human-to-machine interaction. Raphael currently heads Design at One Project\, an organization building infrastructure for a new economy where resources serve people and planet\, not profit. He also serves as an Executive Board Member at Leonardo\, the International Society for the Arts\, Sciences and Technology and a mentor at NEW INC\, a museum-led cultural incubator from the NEW Museum. Previously\, he led design for learners at Khan Academy\, tackled ethical platforms of AI at IBM Research\, taught media theory at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and designed over a hundred iOS apps with Apple. His artwork has been shown at museums\, conferences\, festivals and galleries internationally including the ZKM | Center for Art and Media\, Moscow Museum of Applied Art\, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory\, International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA)\, Gamble House Museum\, ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems\, Science Gallery\, Boston Cyberarts Gallery\, and Athens Video Art Festival. Notable commissions include Dublab\, Noema Magazine\, Goethe Institut\, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts\, Intel Labs\, and IBM Research. His design work has been featured in publications including TED\, Forbes\, Inc. Magazine\, FastCompany\, Wired and others. \nEric Meier is an organizer\, researcher\, and artist working on democratic economic planning\, critical theory\, and digital culture. He unites researchers\, activists\, and practitioners globally to advance the research and practice of democratic approaches to economic organization. He studies sociology and philosophy at the University of Bielefeld and is a certificate alumnus of the critical philosophy program at The New Centre. He co-founded INDEP – the International Network for Democratic Economic Planning\, where he works as a strategic network facilitator. He also serves as a student assistant at the University of Kiel\, where he supports Jan Groos\, host of the Future Histories podcast\, in the DFG project Governing Algorithms – A Sociology of the Algorithmic Art of Governing (led by Prof. Robert Seyfert). As an artist\, his practice explores the topics of contemporary internet culture\, (distorted) desire\, and utopian imagination through digital image and video collage. His artistic practice has been presented in the 2023 exhibition Art\, Design\, Aesthetics of Democratic Economic Planning in Bonn—a show he conceptualized\, curated and organized- the Science-Fiction Film Festival 2024 in Berlin and the 2025 exhibition Das Private ist Politisch in Bonn. His work has also appeared in publications by Rizomatica\, Reincantamento\, the Institute of Network Cultures and Rabble Review. He has spoken at a range of international events\, including the 2024 Science-Fiction Film Festival Berlin\, the 2024 London Ecosocialism Conference\, the 2024 and 2025 Future Factory festivals in Rome and the 2025 INDEP conference in Montreal. He regularly hosts workshops\, moderates panels\, and appears as a guest on podcasts discussing democratic futures and transformative imaginaries.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/introductory-online-workshop-what-is-democratic-economic-planning/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/wioeupprq.png
ORGANIZER;CN="The New Centre or Research and Practice":MAILTO:organizers@thenewcentre.org
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260507T200000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260507T220000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260427T060535Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T074922Z
UID:3835-1778184000-1778191200@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Book Presentation of German Translation of "Creative Construction"
DESCRIPTION:This event will take place in German. \nTickets for the in-person event can be bought for 6€ full price and 4€ reduced price here. \nThe event will also be livestreamed here. \n  \nIn the face of ecological crises\, social upheaval\, and economic instability\, more and more people are seeking alternatives to capitalism. The two-volume project Creative Construction: Democratic Planning in the 21st Century (Brumaire Verlag\, 2026) brings together theoretical reflections and practical examples. Co-editor Christoph Sorg speaks with Rabea Berfelde and Nina Scholz about the political\, economic\, and social prerequisites for democratic planning and about the question of how an economy beyond capitalism could be organized. \nIn mediapartnership with Jacobin Germany.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/bookpresentation-of-german-translation-of-creative-construction/
LOCATION:Literaturforum im Brecht-Haus\, Chausseestraße 125\, Berlin\, Berlin\, 10115\, Germany
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/7438927.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Sao_Paulo:20260509T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/Sao_Paulo:20260509T150000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260501T042015Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260505T094607Z
UID:3858-1778333400-1778338800@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Automation\, 6X1 Scale And Possible Outcomes - Aaron Benanav In Conversation With Marcela Soares
DESCRIPTION:As part of the Anniversary Party of Marx\, on Saturday 9 May from 1:30PM-3PM (Brasilia Standard Time) at Utopia Warehouse (Warehouse 6\, Cais do Porto\, s/n)\, Aaron Benanav of Cornell University will discuss automation\, the future of work and multi-criterial socialism with Marcela Soares. \nFurther details about the Anniversary Party of Marx and how to purchase tickets can be found here.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/automation-6x1-scale-and-possible-outcomes-aaron-benanav-in-conversation-with-marcela-soares/
LOCATION:Utopia Warehouse\, Av. Rodrigues Alves\, s/n - Armazém 6 - Santo Cristo\, Rio de Janeiro - RJ\, 20220-364\, Brazil\, Rio de Janeiro\, Brazil
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/34897209.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260516T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260516T150000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260322T071759Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260403T130530Z
UID:3641-1778940000-1778943600@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Meeting On Labour-Time Economy by the Cybernetic Economy Thematic Group of the Dutch Revolutionary Socialist Party
DESCRIPTION:The Themagroep Cybernetische Economie van de RSP/Cybernetic Economy Thematic Group of the Dutch Revolutionary Socialist Party will holding a meeting on Saturday 16th May from 2PM CEST\, where two members of IDA (Initiative Demokratische Arbeitszeitrechnung/Initiative for Democratic Working Time Accounting) will discuss how a communist economy can be organised on the basis of labour-time. The meeting will be conduct in English. \nA summary of the event can be found below (from the website\, originally in Dutch\, translated into English): \n“On Saturday\, May 16\, at 2:00 PM\, the Cybernetic Economy thematic group is organizing a meeting at De Gaffel (Gaffelstraat 61b\, Rotterdam). We will be joined by two guests from the German group Initiative Demokratische Arbeitszeitrechnung (IDA)\, who will discuss how a planned cashless economy functions on the basis of working time. The session will be conducted in English. The group draws on the theoretical work of Jan Appel and the Group of International Communists\, specifically the pamphlet “Fundamentals of Communist Production and Distribution\,” which explains how a working-time economy operates. Reading the book is not required\, but it is helpful and may assist in preparing specific questions. The book is available online at the Marxist Internet Archive (including an ePub that was updated a few years ago) and as a hardcopy at De Rode Lap (almost sold out!).\nFor those interested\, recordings of the sessions where this book was discussed are also available on the theme group’s website (sessions 2 through 6 and session 8). If you don’t have time for that\, don’t worry\, because on the IDA website you’ll also find\, among other things\, a short explanatory video about the concept (available in English\, among other languages).\nThe comrades at IDA are very much looking forward to meeting the RSP. I therefore hope to see you there!” \nYou can find out more about the event and register here.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/themagroep-cybernetische-economie-van-de-rsp-meeting-on-labour-time-economy/
LOCATION:Gaffelstraat 61B\, Gaffelstraat 61B\, Rotterdam\, Netherlands
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Cybernetics-1.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260520T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260520T180000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260505T111840Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260515T063856Z
UID:3883-1779296400-1779300000@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:INDEP online Talk with Eric Meier - The Political Aesthetics of Democratic Economic Planning
DESCRIPTION:This online event will take place in English. \nTo participate\, please register here. \n  \nDoes democratic economic planning have its own political aesthetics? This talk explores that question and argues that\, at present\, it does not—and that this absence poses a problem\, even for those with little interest in art or aesthetics. By examining how political projects rely on images\, symbols\, and forms of representation\, the talk highlights why aesthetics matter for making democratic economic planning imaginable\, communicable\, and compelling. \nBuilding on his 2023 exhibition “Art\, Design\, Aesthetics of Democratic Economic Planning\,” Meier will engage broader questions of (utopian) political aesthetics and their strategic significance. It takes stock of existing aesthetic experiments related to democratic economic planning\, raises methodological questions about how such aesthetics might be approached\, and aims to provoke further experimentation rather than prescribe a unified visual or cultural language. \n  \nEric Meier is an organizer\, artist and curator working on democratic economic planning\, critical theory\, and digital culture. He co-founded INDEP\, where he works as a strategic network facilitator. As an artist\, his practice explores the topics of contemporary internet culture\, (distorted) desire\, and utopian imagination through digital image and video collage. His artistic practice has been presented in the 2023 exhibition “Art\, Design\, Aesthetics of Democratic Economic Planning” in Bonn—a show he conceptualized\, curated and organized- the Science-Fiction Film Festival 2024 in Berlin and the 2025 exhibition “Das Private ist Politisch” in Bonn. His work has also appeared in publications by Rizomatica\, Reincantamento\, Conjure Utopia\, the Institute of Network Cultures and Rabble Review.
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/indep-online-talk-with-eric-meier-the-political-aesthetics-of-democratic-economic-planning/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/723416589.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260527T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260527T210000
DTSTAMP:20260524T153959
CREATED:20260518T141724Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260518T141829Z
UID:3943-1779908400-1779915600@www.indep.network
SUMMARY:Book Premiere with Razmig Keucheyan on the German Translation of his Book with Cédric Durand on Ecological Planning
DESCRIPTION:On the 27th May\, 7pm CEST\, Razmig Keucheyan will be giving a livestreamed talk about the book “Comment bifurquer. Les principes de la planification écologique“\, which he co-authored with Cédric Durand. The book has recently been translated into German as “Das Prinzip Verzweigung. Über ökologische Planung in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft” and published by the Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. \nThe livestreamed talk is hosted by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and done in cooperation with the Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. \nYou will be able to watch the talk here. \nHere’s the description of the event (translated from German): \nHow can the ecological transition be achieved—not as a spontaneous adaptation\, but as a conscious\, collectively driven process? In “Das Prinzip Verweigerung”\, Cédric Durand and Razmig Keucheyan call for social planning to democratically organize production\, energy\, and consumption within the limits of the planet. They draw on historical experiences of economic planning during times of crisis and war—and they think radically anew: decentralized\, participatory\, and ecological. In opposition to the ideology of the free market\, they formulate the principles of a planable future in which social needs and ecological realities are once again brought into alignment. Their plea is for a new culture of responsibility that understands planning not as coercion but as collective shaping—as a prerequisite for freedom\, equality\, and sustainability. A compelling\, combative book on the art of shaping what is to come. \n 
URL:https://www.indep.network/event/book-premiere-with-razmig-keucheyan-on-the-german-translation-of-his-book-with-cedric-durand-on-ecological-planning/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.indep.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-15-162716.png
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