Marx Engels Institute

Gord Magill returns to discuss his recent piece in Newsweek on the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act, a bill which seeks to remove overtime pay exemptions for truckers. We also speak about the state of the economy and the effects of climate change policy on the trucking industry and beyond. Read Gord's piece here:  Republicans: Want to Support the Working Class? Vote for Andy Levin's Trucker Bill

This was originally released as part of our reading group series, which you can access by becoming a Patron : https://www.patreon.com/red_star_radio We review Weber's section on Bureaucracy included his seminal work (and foundational sociological text) Economy and society:  An outline of interpretive sociology.

As Boris Johnson is finally deposed we pay tribute to the fallen leader of the British Tories.  We look at Brexit, covid, the state of the Conservatie & Unionist Party and examine the reasons for the ruling class disposing of Boris Johnson.  We also issue a poetic tribute to our departed hero. 

We welcome back investigative Kit Klarenberg to speak about his series of articles on Grayzone outlining the latest slew of intelligence operations around Brexit and Ukraine, prominently involving Sir Richard Dearlove and Paul Mason. You can find Kit's reporting here: https://thegrayzone.com/author/kit-klarenberg/ You can also follow him on Twitter here: Kit Klarenberg

We look at the history and politics of the temperance movement, a major alcohol moderation turned teetotalist social movement with international reach. Check out Alex's article on the topic here: https://www.thebellows.org/temperance/

We talk about the reasons for low literacy in advanced capitalist nations, the degradation of the arts, and the role of schools and education in capitalism.  Article mentioned: The Crisis of Low Literacy by Peter Kerek

We look at prominent liberal explanations for the recent mass shooting in Texas, and offer up another perspective, that from Marxist Criminology. Painting: Alex Colville, Pacific, 1967

In this episode Alex speaks to Natylie Baldwin who is the author of The View from Moscow: Understanding Russia and U.S.-Russia Relations.  The discussion goes into the chaos in Russia in the 1990s, Putins economic and legal reforms & how these are not understood in US government  Natylie has written for outlets such as The Grayzone, Consortium News, RT, OpEd News, The Globe Post, Antiwar.com, The New York Journal of Books, and Dissident Voice.  Be sure to visit her website and follow her on twitter

We review the state of the economy and give our thoughts about the latest market drama and the newest economic phrase to bubble back up into popular consciousness: stagflation. We then reflect on how much an economic crisis actually matters. 

We review Adam Curtis' documentary film, "The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts", and explore the limits of mathematical modelling, the tyranny of consensus-based decision-making, and why hippies are the worst.