Michael Hardt joined Coop and Taylor for a look at his work with a focus on an article from he and Toni Negri titled, Empire, 20 Years On. We look back at some of the arguments made in the text and discuss a bit about Michael's experience collaborating with Negri. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/muhh Twitter: @unconscioushh Instagram: @unconscioushh

Eminent political theorists Michael Hardt and Sandro Mezzadra discuss the global war regime, colonial continuities, and resistance movements against the Gaza genocide. They explore complexities of international law, capitalist interests in global wars, and the impact of militarization in Italy. The conversation also touches on reimagining politics of liberation, building solidarity with Palestine, and challenging traditional narratives of war.

Michael Hardt, a Professor of literature and political theory at Duke University and co-author of the Empire trilogy, delves into the revolutionary movements of the 1970s. He challenges misconceptions about these movements, arguing they laid groundwork for today’s activism. Hardt emphasizes the interconnectedness of LGBTQI, labor rights, and anti-capitalism movements. He also explores participatory democracy through the Kwangju Community, critiques traditional views on labor struggles, and highlights the importance of intersectionality in social justice movements.

Exploring the radical movements of the 1970s, challenging misconceptions and highlighting diversity. Discussing the evolution of liberation movements, radical actions in France and Japan, and the legacy of World War II. Analyzing the dual strategy of the Black Panthers and the unity of diverse struggles for lasting change. Delving into power structures of capitalism, racism, and patriarchy.

This is part 1 of a 2-part conversation on Michael Hardt’s recent book The Subversive Seventies.  Michael Hardt teaches political theory in the Literature Program at Duke University. He is co-author, with Antonio Negri, of the Empire trilogy and, most recently, Assembly. He is co-director with Sandro Mezzadra of The Social Movements Lab.  A couple of things I need to say up front. This conversation was recorded in September and initially would have been released in October, but obviously our programming took a quick turn to solidarity work on the Palestinian struggle in light of those events. As I mentioned in the intro to our most recent episode we will continue to do that solidarity work primarily though not exclusively through our YouTube page for a while just so that we can get some of these other conversations out on the podcast feed. Nonetheless, this conversation and the book and the problems it poses I think are as interesting and relevant today as they were in September. I mostly note it's recording date for two reasons, one it will be glaring that we don’t talk at all about events in Palestine in the conversation. The second reason I mention the date is that in the intervening months Michael Hardt’s long-time collaborator Antonio Negri passed away. Negri was of course a very serious and renowned political philosopher, militant organizer, and a political prisoner, coming out of some of the very movements that Michael Hardt discusses in this book. May he rest in peace and our condolences to Michael for the loss of his friend and collaborator. This discussion is about Michael Hardt’s book The Subversive Seventies which was one of the more interesting books we read last year on the podcast. And we would definitely recommend it both for its value as a historical text as well as for the theoretical work Hardt is engaged in in the text. As is laid out quite well I think on the publisher’s website, it is a book that attempts to reconstruct the history of revolutionary politics in the 1970’s, to systematically approach political movements of the seventies within a global framework of analysis, and to bring together a wide range of political movements from the decade highlighting the ways movements in different countries resonated with and were inspired by one another. Part 2 of the conversation will be released this coming week.  I would also be remiss if I didn’t say rest in power to Sekou Odinga who passed away earlier this week. We hope to be able to do more in honor of him and as a tribute to his legacy in the coming weeks and years.  If you appreciate the work we do, our work is only possible through the support of our patrons. You can support our show for as little as $1 a month or $10.80 per year at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism