Rev Left Radio Philosophy Series: Hegel, Marx, & Modern Life (Part 2)
Aug 8, 2025
Rick Roderick, a late philosophy professor known for his impactful discussions on Hegel and Marx, dives deep into the relevance of their ideas in modern America. He critiques the cultural obsession with job identity and advocates for recognizing the value of reproductive and unwaged labor. The conversation also touches on the emotional roots behind reactionary ideologies and the irony of political slogans like 'Make America Great Again.' Roderick emphasizes the need for meaningful connections and critiques commodified spirituality in the quest for true freedom.
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Marxism’s Real-Time Explanatory Power
- Marxism gives us tools to explain events in real time rather than only retrospectively.
- Breht argues that this real-time traction makes Marxism uniquely useful for action and analysis.
Money Locks Politics Into Oligarchy
- Roderick documents how political discourse has narrowed and how economic power and political office interlock.
- He uses the prevalence of millionaires in the Senate as prima facie evidence of systemic capture.
Freedom Means More Than Work
- Rick Roderick stresses that life reduced purely to work cripples human freedom and self-development.
- He treats material security as necessary but insufficient for an excellent life.
