Bungacast

On shared-labour socialism. Political theorist Alex Gourevitch talks to us about his critique of post-work thought, and how it presupposes the very labour it seeks to free us from. We start of by distinguishing post-work socialism (e.g. Fully Automated Luxury Communism) from various propositions for a Universal Basic Income, and discuss why these ideas are popular today. We then dedicate much of the time to debating Gourevitch's alternative proposal for "shared-labour socialism". What counts as necessary labour – and who is going to do it? How has globalisation changed people's perspectives on what necessary labour is? And will we be producing more under socialism? Part 2 is here: patreon.com/posts/73765804  Readings: Post-Work Socialism?, Alex Gourevitch, Catalyst Why your flights keep getting cancelled, Daniel Zamora Vargas, New Statesman Listenings:  /149/ It’s Not Robots, It’s Capitalism ft. Aaron Benanav / Liz Pancotti /72/ Frankly Awesome Lefty Conversation ft. Aaron Bastani /88/ Vouchers for Toxicity ft. Anton Jäger 

On corruption & anti-corruption. When Bolsonaro won in 2018, he rode a wave of anti-corruption sentiment. Now he's doled out billions in pork via a secret budget, but this doesn't seem to bother his supporters. What happened? Benjamin Fogel, who studies the history of corruption in Brazil, comes on to discuss how a moralistic account of corruption has fortified the far right. How has corruption been used as a political weapon in the past, and how has it shifted from right to left and back again? How are scandals made rather than born? And what would an anti-corruption politics that is emancipatory look like – rather than the predominant technocratic or moralistic form today? Readings: Against Anti-Corruption, Benjamin Fogel, Jacobin From Anti-Politics to Authoritarian Restoration in Brazil, Alex Hochuli, Jacobin

On Trussonomics.   [Patreon Exclusive]   Having stumbled upon a successful recipe under Boris Johnson which would see greater state intervention, Britain's Tories then pivoted to a much more pro-market approach. But the markets haven't liked it – they've hated it.   What does this say about neoliberalism and what the new orthodoxy is? Why did markets react so badly against a budget that featured things they normally like, such as lower rates of corporate taxes? And does this mean the market's authority has been restored, but under a new guise? Readings: Liz Truss’s Britain Is a Morbid Symptom of the World’s New Era, Adam Tooze, Foreign Policy The markets are wrong about ‘Trussonomics’ just like they were about Brexit, Julian Jessop, Telegraph What is Kwasi Kwarteng really up to? One answer: this is a reckless gamble to shrink the state, Adam Tooze, Guardian Britain's Tory Meltdown Is a Case of Socially Determined Stupidity, David Jamieson, Jacobin The economic consequences of Liz Truss, Martin Wolf, FT

On who's responsible for prolonging the Ukraine War + your questions & criticisms.   [Patreon Exclusive]   We start off by discussing whether the Zelensky tail is wagging the NATO dog, and what possible exits to conflict there might be.    Then, in the main section, we respond to listener comments: we talk about the possibility of a "Chinese Dream", what the point of economic growth is, the monarchy and modernisation, and whether 'fascism' is an appropriate term for the far right today.

On Empire of Conspiracy and agency panics.   [Patreon Exclusive - Tiers II & III]   We focus our discussion on the notion of 'agency panic' that is at the centre of Timothy Melley's account of conspiracy theories in postwar America. Does it apply to the Great Reset and Russiagate equally?   Melley's approach is a useful way of understanding what conspiracy theories give voice to – but is Melley defending or attacking the liberal humanist subject? We disagree amongst ourselves.   We then discuss how apathy and paranoia coexist, and wonder whether paranoia characterises the End of the End of History. And does Enlightenment scepticism reside somewhere between these two states?   Finally, we discuss jealous cuck husbands and Obama's idea of an epistemological crisis.   Additional reading: An extensive list of works on conspiracy theory can be found here

On the meaning of Gorbachev.   [Patreon Exclusive]   Mikhail Gorbachev continues to be lauded in Western circles for overseeing the collapse of the Soviet Union without much bloodshed. But given the historic societal disaster that followed, is this status unmerited? How naive was Gorbachev about the wolves at the door? And to what extent was the writing on the wall by the late '80s – was there an alternative path not taken?   Readings: Big Man Walking: Gorbachev’s Dispensation, Neal Ascherson, LRB, 2017 Voices of Glasnost review  Why Gorbachev Failed, Slavoj Zizek, Compact   Listenings: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 4 (on Gen X, the End of History and Soviet collapse) /276/ Broken Promises ft. Fritz Bartel (on the end of the Cold War and the rise of neoliberalism) /270/ Russia vs the West ft. Richard Sakwa (on the geopolitics of NATO expansion)

On Brazil's containment of the crisis. We talk to members of the Unbridled Possibility Collective (Fabio Luis B. Santos | Thais Pavez | Daniel Cunha) about their intervention, trying to look beyond this week's election in Brazil. What does establishment support for Lula this time round represent? Is Lula guilty of "unrealistic pragmatism"? How will Brazil react to a potential coup attempt by Bolsonaro?  And we look at the deeper social and structural context: what are the features of the Brazilian "war of all against all"? How does Bolsonaro accelerate these tendencies? We conclude by looking at the possibility of a new 'Pink Wave' in Latin America and examining the state of the Brazilian left.  Readings: After the Election: a Contribution to the Debate, Unbridled Possibility Collective, Damage /189/ Pink Tide Paradoxes ft. Fabio Luis Brazil's Arrested Development, Alex Hochuli, Jacobin Policing Bolsonaro's Brazil, Alex Hochuli, Verso  

On the Brothers of Italy. We talk to Mattia Salvia, former Rolling Stone Italia politics editor and author of Interregno, about Italy's election last weekend in the context of a Europe in crisis. The big question to start: is Meloni a fascist - and will her government be fascist? With very low turnout, it seems like the working class has deserted politics, with 5 Star being the last gasp of proletarian participation. Does Meloni try to appeal to this constituency at all? Her low-tax anti-welfare policies don't seem like it. And what of Meloni's pro-NATO politics? And what does this mean for the EU - will a FdI-ruled Italy weaken the union, or strengthen it?  Readings: Meet the New Wolf, Giorgia Meloni, Mattia Salvia, Popula In Italy’s Deserted Democracy, Far-Right Giorgia Meloni Has Emerged Victorious, David Broder, Jacobin Meloni’s victory only strengthens the EU, Philip Cunliffe, Unherd What an Italy led by the far-right might mean for Europe, FT In Italian: Coatta Antica, Mattia Salvia, Not Nero http://www.iconografie.it/  

On La Macronie, or Macronistan Is France in perma-crisis? We talk to Nathan Sperber, independent researcher on political economy based in Paris and the author of a recent piece on Macronistan in American Affairs.   Does Macron evince a neo-statist turn, away from the entrepreneurial, neoliberal rhetoric of 2017? And what about the anti-establishment forces, left and right – how much of a chance do they have to shake La Macronie, or will they be co-opted? Readings: Muddling Through in Macronia: How Populism and the Establishment Intertwine, Nathan Sperber, American Affairs Emmanuel Macron announces the “end of abundance”, Katherine Bayford, Unherd Listenings: /256/ How to Boil a Frog (1) ft. Charles Devellennes /257/ How to Boil a Frog (2) ft. Chris Bickerton /64/ These Vests Don’t Yellow ft. Aurélie Dianara  

On your questions and criticisms. [Patreon Exclusive] We discuss the Chinese Dream, speculation and horizontal politics, foreign fighters and spies, Dune, and killing Phil.