Doomscroll with Joshua Citarella Doomscroll 37: Vivek Chibber
15 snips
Dec 15, 2025 
Vivek Chibber, a sociology professor at NYU and author of 'Confronting Capitalism,' dives into the evolving landscape of socialism in 2025. He discusses why workers are vital to challenging capitalism and neoliberalism, emphasizing labor organization as a path to reform. Chibber debunks myths surrounding social democracy's productivity and argues for a disciplined leftist party. He promotes the Meidner plan for worker ownership and outlines practical steps toward decommodifying essentials like healthcare and education, all while advocating for slow, strategic progress toward socialism.
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Workers Are The Strategic Center
- Workers are the only class with real leverage against capital because capital depends on their labor for profit.
- Organizing workers targets the majority and builds universal gains, not just charity for the marginal.
Neoliberalism’s Crisis Is Political, Not Terminal
- Neoliberalism faces an ideological and political legitimacy crisis, not an existential collapse of capitalism.
- That crisis opens space for social-democratic alternatives if the left coheres and offers a viable economic program.
Right Gains From Vacuum, Not Solutions
- Right-wing parties gain from neoliberal discontent but lack coherent economic alternatives to replace it.
- Without a left alternative, responses may be corporatist or authoritarian rather than redistributive.
