The Regrettable Century

When we were kids: history ended, the Christian right launched an all out assault on the gains of the 1960s/70s, the liberals launched an all out assault on the gains of the New Deal/labor movement, and the left launched an all out assault on each others shopping choices. It sucked. The world was recreated in the dumbest and worst possible ways and we are going to let you listen to us talk about how it warped all of our brains. Coming of Age at the End of Historyhttps://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/26/coming-of-age-at-the-end-of-history-2/ Neoliberalism Is A Political Projecthttps://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ From Revolution to Evolution: The Changing Nature of the Christian Right (1994)http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.857.5145&rep=rep1&type=pdf What Pat Robertson Teaches Ushttps://jacobinmag.com/2018/03/pat-robertson-cbn-evangelical-christian-sandersThe Reagan Counterrevolution Crushes The American Dreamhttps://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/9/8/1328063/-The-Reagan-Counter-Revolution-Crushes-the-American-DreamHow The Christian Right Ended Up Transforming American Politicshttps://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/brief-history-of-the-christian-rightThe Sexual Counterrevolutionhttps://prospect.org/article/sexual-counterrevolutionMusic: Propagandhi- "Stick The Fucking Flag Up Your Goddam Ass, You Sonofabitch"Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We received a really thoughtful and challenging question/comment from one of our Patrons and we decided to give it the attention it deserves, in the form of a full episode. We discuss "pessimism of the intellect/optimism of the will," mourning, melancholy, the church-like euphoria of the mass meeting, and how much it is necessary to bum people out. If you have a question or concern you'd like us to address, send it to our email address regrettablecentury@gmail.com or message us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Patreon.  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We read a bunch of stuff about Walter Benjamin and Enzo Traverso and tried to have a conversation about it. We've only managed to reinforce the idea that "The organization of pessimism" is the only slogan that can save us from death. Traverso, Enzo. Left-wing melancholia : Marxism, history, and memory. New York: Columbia University Press, 2016. Print.Against Revolutionary Pessimism and Optimism: Revolutionary Realism by J. Moufawad Paul http://moufawad-paul.blogspot.com/2016/10/against-revolutionary-pessimism-and.htmlAn Invisible Underground River: On Left-Wing Melancholia- Michael Lowyhttps://www.versobooks.com/blogs/3289-an-invisible-underground-river-on-left-wing-melancholiaHow to kill a zombie: strategizing the end of neoliberalism- Mark Fisher https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/how-to-kill-zombie-strategizing-end-of-neoliberalism/ Walter Benjamin’s Gothic Marxism and The Organization of Pessimism: Michael Lowy https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/walter-benjamin-and-surrealismVictor Serge: Indispensable Critic of Leftist Illusion- Mitchel Abidor https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/02/28/victor-serge-indispensable-critic-of-leftist-illusion/ Four Reasons the European Left Lost- Wolfgang Streeck https://jacobinmag.com/2019/05/european-parliament-elections-results-left?fbclid=IwAR0IIEH5W8SrlH9EfJ31XDLDFjvTZ2lp-ucok0GtxtpDsWzsrSMHQ_oB9DMThe Organization of Pessimism: Profane Illumination & Anthropological Materialism in Walter Benjaminhttps://www.academia.edu/33848834/The_Organization_of_Pessimism_Profane_Illumination_and_Anthropological_Materialism_in_Walter_BenjaminSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We sat down with C. Derick Varn and solved all the problems that are currently ailing the left. We reconciled the divergent currents of Marxism and wove together the materialist and idealist dichotomy with resounding success, but then lost an hour and a half of audio and were forced to restart the recording; what resulted was a meandering, but entertaining, discussion about just about everything... and religion. Varn's Podcast "Symptomatic Redness"http://zero-books.net/blogs/zero/tag/symptomatic-redness/and his poetry.http://www.unlikelystories.org/unlikely-books/apocalypticsMusic:Des Geyers Schwarzer Haufen- Bauernkreig (German Peasant Revolt Anthem)Further Reading:MacIntyre, Alasdair C. Marxism and Christianity. Notre Dame, Ind: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984.Religion for radicals: An interview with Terry Eagletonhttps://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-gospel-according-to-terryRoland Boer on Marxism and Religionhttp://isj.org.uk/the-full-story-on-marxism-and-religion/Lenin: The Attitude of the Workers Party To Religionhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1909/may/13.htmBoer, R. (2014). Religion and Socialism. Political Theology, 15(2), 188–209.Fitzpatrick, F. (1967). A. V. Lunacharsky: Recent Soviet Interpretations and Republications.Soviet Studies. Vol. 18. No. 3. pp 267-289Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

After our Socialism From Below episode, Jason and Chris thought they could have used more time to talk about the 4th Comintern congress and the question of "Workers' Governments."What resulted is an impromptu discussion that we posted on our Patreon. Head on over and sign up for $2. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

From Babeuf and Blanqui to Bakunin; from Karl Marx and Kautsky to Kropotkin, an ideological battle rages over the true nature of socialism!  But why though?This week we discuss whether or not there really are only "Two Souls of Socialism" and if idea of "socialism from below" is a useful analytical framework around which to organize our politics. Hal Draper’s “Two Souls of Socialism”https://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1966/twosouls/ Marxism, Anarchism, & the Genealogy of “Socialism From Below”https://uppingtheanti.org/journal/article/02-marxism-anarchism-the-genealogy-of-socialism-from-below Building Socialism From Below- Ben Tarnoffhttps://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/12/nicos-poulantzas-socialism-from-below-democratic-power Socialism From Below: A Delusion? -Mike McNairhttps://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1071/socialism-from-below-a-delusion/Music: Back in the USSR by Crisis  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

This is part one of a series in which we will chart the history of fascism and attempt to dissect and discuss it in greater detail than we have previously been able to. Our goal is to analyze some of the scholarship done by mainstream and Marxist scholars alike, in order to better understand the phenomenon. In Part one we synthesize a list of the ideological characteristics of Classical Fascism from similar lists that are employed by fascism scholars, in an attempt to understand what gave historic fascism the unique appeal that it had and attempt to construct a working definition that we can use to define our terms for the rest of the series. If this ends up going well, the series will trace the history of fascism from its roots in the societal ferment of the 19th century to the modern day post-fascist movements. Payne, Stanley G. A history of fascism, 1914-1945. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. PrintSternhell, Zeev, Mario Sznajder, and Maia Ashéri. The birth of fascist ideology : from cultural rebellion to political revolution. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1994. Print.Paxton, Robert O. The anatomy of fascism. New York: Knopf, 2004. Print.Griffin, Roger. The nature of fascism. London New York: Routledge, 1993. Print.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

The Gang Gets Underwhelmed by Zizek v. Peterson. It wasn't the "Debate of the Century" we wanted, but it's the one that we deserved.  Music: Kerber- Ratne IgreSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

We are currently witnessing what appears to be the death of the micro sect form of political organization, a bastard form of the Leninist party that has all but dominated the minuscule and embattled American radical left for the past half century. The political landscape has changed in a way that has rendered these groups obsolete, removing the sectarian left's monopoly on socialist politics in the US, but what will replace it?Dare we be hopeful for a bright new era?LOLThe New Communist Movement: An Obituaryhttps://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-7/mrl-obit.htm?fbclid=IwAR21HRylPBOW_OuyET7G4gIdgQnTHI_Qfy430OQnF9f_vScuQG3zIunN_q4Hal Draper’s the Anatomy of the Microsecthttps://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1973/xx/microsect.htmHal Draper’s the Alternative to the Microsect https://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1971/alt/alt.htmWarning about microsect organizing from David McNally in 2009http://davidmcnally.org/p=1077&fbclid=IwAR1giyezHhZfnQPDzKvu2YvJoBp31_JWtnSXDBqypJ_saOd8GIlZeih7mt0Socialism In One Organizationhttps://failedharvest.com/blog/socialism1orgJohn Riddell on the SWPPart Onehttps://johnriddell.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/the-u-s-swp-attempts-an-outward-turn-1977-83/ Part Twohttps://johnriddell.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/causes-of-a-socialist-collapse-the-u-s-swp-1976-83/ The Sect Systemhttps://libcom.org/library/sect-systemSong: Bill Bailey (The Ultimate Sectarian) Joe Glazer and Bill FriedmanSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

As a concept, as a slogan, as an expression of intent The Right to The City contains within it an opportunity for this generation to conceive of new methods of class struggle, of new models of class organization, and of the return of class power. It’s but one of many opportunities we have right now to advance a constructive, utopian, and revolutionary vision of the future. It’s about demystifying social relations where they are presently abstracted. It’s about no longer viewing  political activity as either pressuring politicians or becoming them. It’s about identifying what are presently hidden means of exerting our power as class to confront the class enemy, not just at work, but everywhere. Henri Lefebvre and the Right to the Cityhttp://faculty.washington.edu/mpurcell/jua_rtc.pdf Neoliberalism is a Political Project -- Harveyhttps://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ The Right to the City -- Harveyhttps://newleftreview.org/II/53/david-harvey-the-right-to-the-city PDF of Henri Lefebevre's Urban Revolution https://thecharnelhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Henri-Lefebvre-The-Urban-Revolution.pdfWritings on Cities -- Lefebvre https://thecharnelhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Henri-Lefebvre-Writings-on-Cities.pdfCritique of Urban Geography -- Debordhttps://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/presitu/geography.html Why Psychogeography?https://www.sayitwithpavingstones.org/news/2018/8/14/derive-0-why-psychogeography  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show