Politics Theory Other

Richard Seymour responds to questions sent in by listeners on subjects ranging from conspiracy theory, the ferocity of anti-communist rhetoric on the right - in spite of the absence of a global communist movement - to the history of the eastern European left since the end of the Cold War.

Amber Husain joins PTO to talk about her new book, Meat Love: An Ideology of the Flesh. We talked about whether it's possible for there to be such a thing as 'ethical meat', why Amber thinks veganism need not be solely about lifestyle and personal consumption choices - as is commonly argued by left critics of veganism, and we also talked about King Charles, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalll and other lovers of small scale animal farming, and how they invoke notions of love and care, classical tragedy, and the timeless circle of life to argue for the continued consumption of animal flesh.

Adam Shatz joins PTO to talk about his new book, 'Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination'. We talked about why Adam, though a huge admirer of Edward Said and his classic work Orientalism, feels that some of the work subsequently inspired by Said has failed to give a well rounded picture of middle eastern societies in all their complexity. We also talked about why Adam thinks that there can be value in reading reactionary writers whose politics we might abhor, and why nuance and complexity are not the enemies of radical political commitment. Finally, we discussed the ways in which early experiences of trauma can be the starting point for creativity.

On the 23rd of June, following months of increasing tension between the Wagner Group and the Russian Ministry of Defence, Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his rebellion. Prigozhin's forces quickly took control of the head quarter's of Russia's Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don, after which an armoured column of Wagner troops advanced towards Moscow. In today's episode of Interregnum I asked Richard Seymour about Prighozin's background in crime and his early business ventures, the founding of the Wagner Group, the scope of its operations and its reputation for appalling violence. And we also talked about why Richard thinks Prighozin can accurately be described as a fascist. Finally, Richard addressed the claim, made by some analysts that the abortive rebellion actually leaves Putin in a stronger position.

David Wearing joins PTO to discuss his article 'The myth of the reforming monarch: Orientalism, racial capitalism, and UK support for the Arab Gulf monarchies' We talked about the nature of Britain's relationship with the Gulf states, and why it's a mistake to see Western support for brutal, absolutist authority in the region as simply self-consciously cynical realpolitik. And we also talked about the nature of the Sportswashing debate and what's missing from mainstream discussion of the purchase of football clubs such as Manchester City, Newcastle United and Paris St. Germain by the gulf states. If you enjoyed this episode please consider rating the show on Apple podcasts, or whichever podcast app you use. The show's music and graphic design is produced by Planet B.

The recent National Conservatism conference in Britain brought together an array of politicians, journalists, and academics of varying stripes of conservatism, but united by their hostility to so-called woke politics. I spoke to Aurelien Mondon about his recent article in Jacobin, Right-Wing Grifters Love to Say They’re “Canceled” — but Get All the Elite Support They Want, in which Aurelien provided ten rules for making a successful career in the anti-woke grift. We talked about some of those rules, and the extent to which liberal media outlets that have provided platforms for the Matt Goodwins and Jordan Pertersons of this world might now be regretting doing so. We also talked about the extent to which the 'war on woke' is a rehashing of traditional conservative themes, and Aurelian addressed the claim that, in spite of being sometimes poorly paid and living in rented accommodation, left wing academics and cultural producers can plausibly be described as being part of a 'New Elite' that dominates our politics.

Hil Aked joins PTO to talk about their new book, Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity, the first book length treatment of the pro-Israel lobby in Britain. We talked about the strategies that Israel and pro-Israel organisations in Britain have adopted to deflect criticism of the ongoing occupation and the dispossession of the Palestinian people, and their efforts to undermine the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. Hil explained why they characterise contemporary Zionism as a "social movement from above" and how apartheid-era South Africa was a forerunner for some of the public relations techniques adopted by Israel and its outriders. We also talked about John Mearsheimer and Steven Walt's 2007 book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign policy and where Hil's analysis differs from theirs. We also discussed the pitfalls of writing on this topic at a time of increasing anti-semitism. And finally, we talked about why parliamentary support for Israel was once stronger within the Labour party than the Conservatives, and what the role of the Labour and Conservative friends of Israel groups is today.

Richard Seymour discusses the protest movement in Israel that has emerged in response to the plans of the most right-wing Israeli government in history to dramatically curtail the power of the judiciary and further empower the executive. We discussed the makeup, social base and ideology of the parties in the coalition government, why the Israeli protest movement and liberal Israelis remain anchored to an ethno-nationalist politics (in spite of their opposition to the government) and we also talked about the Palestinian Authority - increasingly a misnomer as the PA's already minimal public support further erodes and as it starts to lose control of parts of the West Bank.

Sebastian Budgen returns to PTO to talk about the protest movement in France, sparked by Emmanuel Macron's pension reform bill. We talked about why the new bill has encountered such broad opposition in the country, and why it is that Macron has been so intransigent over a policy that is opposed by around two thirds of the French public. We also discussed the tactics of the French unions, the increasing involvement of young people in the protest movement, and the extent to which Marine Le Pen's far right National Rally is benefiting from the situation - despite opposition to the new pension law being led by the left.

Adam Tooze returns to PTO to discuss the key causal factors that allowed fascism to emerge in the early twentieth century and whether conditions that would enable fascism on the interwar model exist today. We also talked about whether describing the Bolsanaros, the Le Pens and the Orbans of this world as fascist may be analytically wrong but tactically effective, and about how close the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s and 80s are to the fascist model. Links: Adam's chartbook post: https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-166-19222022-the-centenary Eurotrash podcast episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ep-6-sex-fascism-73970252 Adam on The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy: https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/adam-tooze-on-nazi-ideology-and-the-german-war-economy Adam on Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy: https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/adam-tooze-on-shutdown-how-covid-shook-the-worlds-economy Part one and two of Adam on Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World: https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/20-adam-tooze-on-crashed-how-a-decade-of-financial-crises-changed-the-world https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/23-adam-tooze-on-crashed-how-a-decade-of-financial-crises-changed-the-world-part-2