Institute for the Study of the Science of Society (the Institute)
The Institute, founded 1994 in Chicago, Illinois, US, seeks to educate people in Marxism as the science of society. While acknowledging the leading role of Marx and Engels in the political struggles of the revolutionary era they lived in, the Institute draws from their writings, not the doctrine of that time, but the general lessons applicable to the revolutionary period we live in. The Institute teaches dialectical and historical materialism as the scientific methodology of Marxism. It recognizes that the advances in science and the revolutionary changes brought about by robotics and electronic control of production demand deeper and broader study to navigate our way in a changing world. It offers an opportunity to learn, to teach, and to participate with others in deepening and and extending the science of society and revolution.
The Institute website (scienceofsociety.org) was hacked and closed down. This page was set up on the MARS website to ensure that the valuable resources produced by the Institute are available on the internet. We will continue to add material as available. For more information and requests for assistance in locating resources and conducting classes, contact educ@toardedplanet.com.
The Institute has been renamed as The Institute of Society and Revolution. You can find its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Institute-for-Society-and-Revolution-703708583401205/ and its new website is instituteforthestudyofthescienceofsociety.org,
Why Study
Dedicating oneself to changing society — to creating a world where we cannot just survive but flourish; and not just ourselves but everyone and not just for our generation, but also for future generations – is the most profound task anyone could undertake.
Such a serious undertaking demands that we take it seriously. How can we be the best, the most skilled revolutionaries that we can be? To change society, one must understand how societies develop and change – how history works. As with any other serious undertaking, this requires study, reflection, discussion and practice.
There are no shortcuts to being a skilled revolutionary. It’s not enough to be out in the streets fighting for change. Revolutionaries must have a clear sense of how societies develop, how revolutions happen, what stages revolutions proceed through, what stage the process is in at the moment.
Skilled revolutionaries see farther because they know the steps, the stages, and the process. Skilled revolutionaries see the road that the revolutionary movement must take to succeed – the line of march.
These skills come from study. Knowledge is the result not just of interacting with the world, but also of reflecting on that interaction.
Knowledge requires structure or framework through which to understand experiences, and a method for analyzing and understanding events around us. By studying the accumulated experience and thinking of others who have gone before us, we can become experts that much faster.
A regular study program, then, must be an essential component of any revolutionary’s life. No one ever knows it all. Plus new experiences and new discoveries and new developments require us to constantly reflect on the new information and its meaning.
Regular study is key to keeping that line of march in view. Study groups have been a key part of every successful revolutionary movement. The core leadership of these movements developed out of study groups.
Today, as before, a network of revolutionaries who approach the line of march from the perspective of science is essential to guaranteeing that both the present and the future struggles stay on track towards the ultimate goal. The starting point for building this network is building study groups.
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Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today. – Malcolm X, 1964
Courses in the Study of the Science of Marxism
Two courses developed by the Institute for the Study of the Science of Society. The first Course introduces the study of the science of Marxism; the second Course is an advanced course in the Study of Marxism for Revolutionaries in the Age of Electronics. Each can be used for self study or in study circles. Please contact the Institute at isss@gocatgo.com or email us at educ@toaredplanet.com if you have questions or want assistance. As time, location and resources permit, experienced teachers can be available to lead classes and workshops.
Feel free to share. Please credit the Institute of Science and Revolution
Science of Society Intro Course
“The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” (Karl Marx, Thesis on Feuerbach)
Marxist Philosophy Study Guide
Institute Resource Papers
The Institute Resource Papers are documents developed by the staff of the Institute. The current list of papers appears below:
Paper #1: Science and Doctrine
Paper #2: Marxism as the Scientific Current Within Communism
Paper #3: How and Why Things Change
Paper #4: The Shape of History: Historical Materialism, Electronics and Value
Paper #5: Revolutionaries The Role of the Individual
Paper #6: Revolution The Line of March
Paper #7: Applying the Science of Society: The African slave trade, capitalism, and the ideology of race
Paper #8: Applying the Science of Society: The World Prior to 1492
Paper #9: Historical Materialism: The Civil War in the United States
Paper #10: The Philosophy and Methodology of the Institute
Paper #11: New epoch calls for new doctrine — The doctrine of the leap
