The Regrettable Century

This week we discuss why the left allows the liberals to set the tone for its politics. Liberalism’s Hegemony Over The Lefthttps://www.counterfire.org/article/liberalisms-hegemony-over-the-left/ Death Sentence For The American Left?https://damagemag.com/2023/01/25/a-death-sentence-for-the-american-left/Debord and the Postmodern Turn: New Stages of the Spectaclehttps://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/Illumina%20Folder/kell17.htm Nothing is Any Longer the Opposite of Anything: Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle Todayhttps://www.versobooks.com/blogs/5019-nothing-is-any-longer-the-opposite-of-anything-guy-debord-s-the-society-of-the-spectacle-todaySend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We are back with another book that Chris read in grad school. This one is an interesting read about the impact of material culture on the lives of late Soviet citizens called "The Things of Life: Materiality in Late Soviet Russia" by Alexy Golulbev.Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole episode and join the Discord to take part in the discussions.Support the showSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We are once again joined by our old friend and comrade Matthew, who is currently residing in Paris. Matthew gives us the rundown of the French pension reforms and we talk about the prospects for the labor and socialist movements.  Music- Edith Piaf- Ça Ira (Sans-culotte version)Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finearistocrats to the lamp post!Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finethe aristocrats, we'll hang them!If we don't hang themWe'll break themIf we don't break themWe'll burn themAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finearistocrats to the lamp-postAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finethe aristocrats, we'll hang them!We shall have no more nobles nor priestsAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineEquality will reign everywhereThe Austrian slave shall follow himAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fineAnd their infernal cliqueShall go to hellAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finearistocrats to the lamp-postAh! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be finethe aristocrats, we'll hang them!And when we'll have hung them allWe'll stick a shovel up their arse.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We are finally back with part four of our discussion of Rodrigo Nunes' new book on Verso. This week we actually finish the book.Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole episode and join the Discord to take part in the discussions.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

No Royal Road is back!Varn joins Chris and Jason to discuss the second part of Evegny Morozov's  "Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason."  Check out Varn Vlog here:https://www.patreon.com/varnvlogSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

The boys are back and we are finally finishing this masterwork of left sociology by heavyweight Polish intellectual and dissident Marxist, Zygmunt Bauman.From the publisher's note:"Modernity was supposed to be the period in human history when the fears that pervaded social life in the past could be left behind and human beings could at last take control of their lives and tame the uncontrolled forces of the social and natural worlds. And yet, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, we live again in a time of fear. Whether its the fear of natural disasters, the fear of environmental catastrophes or the fear of indiscriminate terrorist attacks, we live today in a state of constant anxiety about the dangers that could strike unannounced and at any moment. Fear is the name we give to our uncertainty in the face of the dangers that characterize our liquid modern age, to our ignorance of what the threat is and our incapacity to determine what can and can't be done to counter it."We cover the last two chapters and conclusion in this episode. Bauman, Zygmunt. 2006. Liquid Fear. Cambridge U.A.: Polity Press.Music:  Dimitri Shostakovich- Waltz No. 2Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We return to the concept of the republic, this time with our comrade Brad who is a member of the CPUSA, a union activist, and first class republic respecter. Brad  is here to make a pitch for the continuation of a revolutionary tradition that is steeped in revolutionary  republicanism.  Pettit, Philip. 2012. On the People’s Terms : A Republican Theory and Model of Democracy. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press.Bill of Rights Socialism and the Future of the RepublicSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

This week we're discussing  A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev which is a not very good book that advances a thesis that doesn't need to exist. Enjoy! Zubok, V M. 2009. A Failed Empire : The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev. Chapel Hill: University Of North Carolina Press.Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole episode and join the Discord to take part in the discussions.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

No Royal Road is back! Varn joins Chris and Jason to discuss Evegny Morozov's  "Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason." This is the first of what will probably be a multi part series.  Check out Varn Vlog here: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlogSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Steven from Supreme Leap Forward is back and this time he's bringing his thoughts on natural law. For this weeks episode we read from Olúfémi Táíwò's Legal Naturalism and an article by Anna Lukina to prepare for this discussion.  Olúfémi Táíwò. 2015. Legal Naturalism : A Marxist Theory of Law. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.https://legalform.blog/2020/07/30/kelsen-on-marx-engels-and-natural-law-anna-lukina/?fbclid=IwAR3qomVFwcvNttJqNJJKDhJcyrRPLbF4kGnBpplao3C-BsS3EfjZp01AjcwMusic: Tupac- Fuck the LawSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show