Held just under a week after Donald Trump's presidential victory over Hillary Clinton, the group of students shared their thoughts on the notion of an alternative revolution that may be emerging in response to what they term as "Trumpism."
Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal newspaper in the UK, delivered a lively speech during the evening event, in which he described Trump's victory as "a political earthquake" that has not only shaken US society, but has also spread tremors across the entire world.
"An anti-establishment mood has been gripping societies worldwide for some time and the question we must now ask ourselves is not whether there will be a retaliating revolutionary movement or not, because this is already unfolding before our eyes currently, but whether this will be a successful revolution or not," Rob Sewell told the audience."
According to Sewell, Karl Marx himself had predicted the eventual turmoil likely to spread across all levels of society as a result of crumbling capitalist structures that no longer fit to serve the needs of everyday people.
"Marx said there would be increased polarization under capitalism. In the US, what was once termed 'the American Dream' has been destroyed for all those who have been left behind, and the same level of disdain has been able to spread across so many countries all around the world," Sewell said.
Trump's win: the status quo has failed https://t.co/5iQqBNbnqC pic.twitter.com/LLHHQGAVFG
— Socialist Appeal (@socialist_app) November 10, 2016
However, Sewell feels that Trump may not be able to deliver on the kind of changes that the electorate in the US have demanded for:
"Donald Trump's victory is like a mandate to completely disrupt Washington, and America has dispatched the equivalent of something that could either reform an already broken system, or it could also completely destroy it from the ground upwards. This may have been the intention of many who voted for him even."
Sewell went on to discuss the overwhelming lack of trust US voters had in the Clinton campaign and acknowledged how so many voters saw her as a candidate in the pockets of Wall Street. Bernie Sanders, according to Sewell, was a candidate who had the chance to radically change US society, and his movement attracted tens of thousands at rallies across the states.
A YouGov poll that was conducted in early 2016, found that especially amongst younger millennial voters, Bernie Sanders was favored considerably over Hillary Clinton because they actually liked his concept of a new socialist movement as opposed to one that adopted the same old capitalist elements.
This may also explain the amount of votes third-party candidates such as Jill Stein and Gary Johnson received in the election results.
US youth begin the fight back against Trump https://t.co/wK9XdlwSyh pic.twitter.com/EMYFP6BgT1
— Socialist Appeal (@socialist_app) November 11, 2016
Some student speakers from the Marxist Society at LSE also shared their thoughts on the election results.
"I think what we are seeing right now is the beginning of the end of the liberal, capitalist agendas. In my opinion, the so-called left-wing factions are the cause for far-right groups gaining such increased support from desperate people seeking drastic change. It's like the Pandora's box of society has been opened and has unleashed the Trumps, the Le Pens and the Farages of the world back into mainstream politics," Adam Booth, one of the organizers of the LSE event told the audience.
But not all were in agreement with the speakers. An international politics student from another university in London felt that the President-elect Donald Trump, could in fact encourage a shift towards a more conscious capitalism to bring about positive changes in society.
"Maybe the shift that is needed in society could come from a more revised version of capitalism. And maybe digressing back towards a more nationalistic culture could address imbalances many feel about American society, for example. We don't have to experiment with a new form of socialism as the only other alternative to what isn't working currently" the student told Sputnik.
"We have to bring people together and demand for an alternative revolution," Rob Sewell said.
He also mentioned how countries such as the US, Britain and many others in Europe and beyond all have the chance to reform their societies to build a future that could be equally fairer for everyone and not just the select few:
"All we need to see is just one successful social revolution in the world and this could cause a domino effect for others to follow. We are all in the same boat and humanity everywhere relies on good people coming together and rejecting the status-quo before it is too late…
"For now, the revolutionary storms are coming… and we must all be prepared!" he added.
