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Historical Materialism w/ Torkil Lauesen

13 snips
Dec 17, 2024
Torkil Lauesen, a seasoned activist and writer from Denmark, shares his 50 years of experience in historical materialism. He discusses its foundational role in understanding societal changes and class structures. Torkil recounts his activism during the late 60s to 80s, his imprisonment linked to anti-imperialist work, and his insights into the relationship between capitalism and ecological crises. He critiques neoliberalism and explores the complexities of post-colonial struggles, emphasizing the need for socialist principles in contemporary resistance movements.
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ANECDOTE

Finding the Principal Contradiction

  • Torkil Lauesen's communist group used historical materialism to analyze the principal contradiction.
  • Their goal was to develop practical strategies for revolutionary change.
INSIGHT

Four Rules of Historical Materialism

  • Historical materialism analyzes human societies, including economics, politics, and culture.
  • It emphasizes interconnectedness, processes, qualitative leaps, and contradictions as drivers of change.
ANECDOTE

Interconnectedness of Events

  • Denmark's agricultural modernization depended on Britain's working class and colonialism.
  • This illustrates how global and national contradictions interact.
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