Jacobin Radio Dig: What’s Left w/ Malcolm Harris
13 snips
Nov 29, 2025 
Malcolm Harris, a Philadelphia writer and author of "What's Left" and "Palo Alto," discusses the need for the Left to embrace a multi-faceted strategy in addressing planetary crises. He critiques capitalist structures, explaining how they drive ecological degradation. Harris advocates for 'public power' over mere market tinkering, emphasizing social provisioning and ethical considerations. He highlights the role of indigenous movements in anti-extraction efforts and calls for coordinated strategies to navigate contemporary challenges.
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Capitalism Turns Values Into Money
- Value in capitalism compresses all human values into money, forcing life choices through an impersonal 'mute compulsion.'
- Malcolm Harris argues this explains why fossil fuels become socially indispensable despite causing death.
The Oil–Value–Life Chain
- The 'oil–value–life' chain ties fossil fuels to social reproduction so capitalism defends extraction as if oil were life.
- That makes phasing out fossil fuels extraordinarily difficult without altering value relations.
Craft Markets To Serve Public Goals
- Change market rules when markets fail to deliver societal goals instead of worshipping markets.
- Use carrots, sticks, and public infrastructure to reshape market outcomes for public ends.
