Jacobin Radio Confronting Capitalism: Reviving Class Politics Today
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Oct 8, 2025 
Vivek Chibber, a prominent Marxist theorist and public intellectual, delivers an insightful keynote on the current state of the left. He argues that the left isn't just reviving but starting anew, facing the challenges of neoliberalism and the erosion of class struggle. Chibber highlights the importance of reconnecting with workers and rebuilding unions to strengthen a multiracial working-class coalition. He points to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign as a hopeful example of economic populism gaining traction. The conversation emphasizes reclaiming Marxist theory to advance socialist goals.
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Neoliberalism's Lost Legitimacy
- Neoliberalism lost legitimacy because extreme inequality and slow growth exposed there was an alternative to resignation.
- That delegitimation created an ideological crisis opening space for renewed political contestation.
Slow Growth Plus Concentrated Wealth
- Advanced economies experienced a multi-decade slowdown in growth and accumulation that reduced ordinary people's living standards.
- That stagnation combined with concentrated wealth produced the public anger behind movements like Occupy and Bernie Sanders.
Old Order Dying, New One Not Born
- Political parties lack the capacity or will to offer alternatives because their corporate backers oppose redistribution.
- This creates a political impasse where the old order weakens but no durable new force has taken its place.