

The Regrettable Century
Chris, Kevin, Jason, & Ben
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you. “The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” -- Antonio Gramsci-------Visit the Regrettable Century's merch shop:https://theregrettablecentury.threadless.com/
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 4, 2019 • 1h 11min
The Uses and Abuses of Identity Politics
This week Jenny makes the case that there are "good" and bad types of identity politics and we discuss the redeemable and irredeemable aspects of them. Ultimately, we come to conclusions that are sure to get us canceled by workerists and idpol-libs alike. Which... doesn't matter because will have all been boiled alive by rising oceans of acidic seawater long before we ever figure any of this out. Combahee River Collective Statement :http://circuitous.org/scraps/combahee.htmlAsad Haider: 'Eight Theses on Identity' http://salvage.zone/Haider, Asad. Mistaken identity : race and class in the age of Trump. London Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2018.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Feb 18, 2019 • 56min
Gothic Marxism and Marxist Romanticism: Horror, Witches, and Gothic Fascism
In part two of our discussion we finally get around to talking about horror movies, Jenny talks about Caliban and the Witch a lot more, and Chris brings that conversation back to fascism... again. The outro music is Lords of the New Church- Open Your EyesTowards A Gothic Marxism I – On Monstershttps://thelitcritguy.com/2018/02/05/towards-a-gothic-marxism-i-on-monsters/Towards A Gothic Marxism Part Two: Monsters For Socialismhttps://thelitcritguy.com/2018/02/05/towards-a-gothic-marxism-part-two-monsters-for-socialism/ A Thousand Lost Worlds: Notes on Gothic Marxism by Adam Turlhttp://www.redwedgemagazine.com/evicted-art-blog/a-thousand-lost-worlds-notes-on-gothic-marxism Socialists Must Reclaim Halloweenhttps://jacobinmag.com/2018/10/halloween-socialism-china-mieville Michael Lowy on Benjamin’s Gothic Marxismhttps://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/walter-benjamin-and-surrealismThe Horror of the Real: Zizek as Modern Gothichttp://zizekstudies.org/index.php/IJZS/article/view/356/356Adam Tooze on Surrealism and Gothic Marxismhttps://blindfieldjournal.com/2016/12/01/of-surrealism-marxism/McNally, David. Monsters of the Market : Zombies, Vampires and Global Capitalism. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2012.Cohen, Margaret. Profane Illumination : Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993Federici, Silvia. Caliban and the Witch. New York London: Autonomedia Pluto, distributor, 2004.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Feb 10, 2019 • 53min
Gothic Marxism and Marxist Romanticism: Embracing All That Makes Us Human
In this episode we talk about Marxist romanticism and the gothic strain in Marxism, or "gothic Marxism." We attempt to salvage the detritus of bourgeois society and the broken dreams of generations of the defeated to piece together a vision of world worth fighting for. Marx often used Gothic imagery in his writings and held a strong romantic streak that we think has been ignored by "vulgar" Marxists who cling to the mechanistic Protestantism and scientism of the enlightenment. This is only part one of a two part episode and we promise you we talk about horror movies eventually, just keep your shorts on. The intro is a paraphrasing of Adam Turl from a piece he wrote for Red Wedge Magazine, linked below:The outro music is Bauhaus- The Passion of LoversTowards A Gothic Marxism I – On Monstershttps://thelitcritguy.com/2018/02/05/towards-a-gothic-marxism-i-on-monsters/Towards A Gothic Marxism Part Two: Monsters For Socialismhttps://thelitcritguy.com/2018/02/05/towards-a-gothic-marxism-part-two-monsters-for-socialism/ A Thousand Lost Worlds: Notes on Gothic Marxism by Adam Turlhttp://www.redwedgemagazine.com/evicted-art-blog/a-thousand-lost-worlds-notes-on-gothic-marxism Socialists Must Reclaim Halloweenhttps://jacobinmag.com/2018/10/halloween-socialism-china-mieville Michael Lowy on Benjamin’s Gothic Marxismhttps://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/walter-benjamin-and-surrealismThe Horror of the Real: Zizek as Modern Gothichttp://zizekstudies.org/index.php/IJZS/article/view/356/356Adam Tooze on Surrealism and Gothic Marxismhttps://blindfieldjournal.com/2016/12/01/of-surrealism-marxism/McNally, David. Monsters of the Market : Zombies, Vampires and Global Capitalism. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2012.Cohen, Margaret. Profane Illumination : Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993Siegel, Paul N. The Meek and the Militant : Religion and Power Across the World. Chicago, Ill: Haymarket Books, 2005. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 28, 2019 • 1h 3min
Disagreements With the Unabomber
This week we dive deep into eco-terrorism / green anarchy / primitivism, and discuss why we think the Unambomber had some good points while also disagreeing with him, a lot. Anti-Civ folks would tell you that the problems that plague humanity begin with the industrial revolution and that we need to go back to hunter/gatherer societies. We at The Regrettable Century, however, enjoy the fact that we survived past childbirth and can wear corrective lenses to read books safely inside of our warm homes this winter. We bet you can figure out what we think the real problem is. Also, we talk about eco-fascism. A short list of resources we mined for this episode:Children of Tedhttp://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/the-unabomber-ted-kaczynski-new-generation-of-acolytes.html The Unabomber's Manifesto as originally published by WaPo:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unabomber/manifesto.text.htm?noredirect=onInterview with John Zerzan on NPRhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/oregonpublicbroadcasting/anarchy-and-civilization“No Way Out?” By John Zerzan https://www.johnzerzan.net/articles/no-way-out.html“The Problem of Civilization” from Deep Green Resistance, Derrick Jensen’s group, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2011/05/05/deep-green-resistance-strategy-save-planet20 min ELF propaganda video: https://youtu.be/MO2pA5We34AWatch full length documentary “If a Tree Falls: a Story of the Earth Liberation Front” https://youtu.be/UmZkNNJqr1I“Whatever Happened to Ecoterrorism?” https://psmag.com/environment/whatever-happened-to-eco-terrorismReview/summary of “Ecological Rift,” by John Bellamy Fosterhttp://links.org.au/node/2293Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 20, 2019 • 49min
Strasserism, National Bolshevism, and Third Positionism (Part II of II)
We pick up where we left off last week; discussing Russian Nazbols, American Third Positionism, and the re-emphasizing the need to speak with clarity about this topic of dire importance. Listen to Part II of a II part series, in which we think out loud about the history and politics of fascist anti-capitalism. https://www.patreon.com/theregrettablecenturyA short list of some of the material referenced for the show:Payne, Stanley G. A History of Fascism, 1914-1945. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.Lee, Martin A. The Beast Reawakens. Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1997.Coogan, Kevin. Dreamer of the Day : Francis Parker Yockey and the Postwar Fascist International. Brooklyn, N.Y: Autonomedia, 1999.A scholarly article about The National Question and the Communists in Weimar Germany. https://libcom.org/files/NATIONAL%20BOLSHEVISM%20IN%20WEIMAR%20GERMANY.pdfThe (Now Defunct) Traditionalist Workers Party:https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/traditionalist-worker-partyAn undercover expose of the Traditionalist Workers Party:https://unicornriot.ninja/2018/leaked-a-year-inside-the-failed-neo-nazi-traditionalist-worker-party/Article about a alt-righters adopting “anti-capitalism”https://www.thenation.com/article/the-racist-right-looks-left/ Music: Holocaust by Crisis off of No Town HallSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 16, 2019 • 56min
Strasserism, National Bolshevism, and Third Positionism (Part I of II)
Yes there is an anti-capitalist right and leftists need to stop being so confused when rightists are opposed to, or critical of, capitalism. Listen to Part I of a II part series, in which we think out loud about the history and politics of the Strasserites, Nazbols, European New Right, and Third Positionists. https://www.patreon.com/theregrettablecenturyA short list of some of the material referenced for the show:Payne, Stanley G. A History of Fascism, 1914-1945. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.Lee, Martin A. The Beast Reawakens. Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1997.Coogan, Kevin. Dreamer of the Day : Francis Parker Yockey and the Postwar Fascist International. Brooklyn, N.Y: Autonomedia, 1999. The National Question and the Communists in Weimar Germany. https://libcom.org/files/NATIONAL%20BOLSHEVISM%20IN%20WEIMAR%20GERMANY.pdfThe (Now Defunct) Traditionalist Workers Party:https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/traditionalist-worker-partyAn undercover expose of the Traditionalist Workers Party:https://unicornriot.ninja/2018/leaked-a-year-inside-the-failed-neo-nazi-traditionalist-worker-party/Article about a alt-righters adopting “anti-capitalism”https://www.thenation.com/article/the-racist-right-looks-left/ Music: Auf, auf zum Kampf by Commandantes off of Lieder Für Die ArbeiterklasseSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 7, 2019 • 42min
EPISODE 0: Capitalist Realism, Our Original First Episode.
Behold, our original intro episode! Jason and Chris talk about their motivations for creating the podcast and dive into Mark Fisher's book "Capitalist Realism." Fisher argues that after 1989 capitalism was able to present itself as the only option and warped our reality to fit that claim. We talk about how he was right. https://www.patreon.com/theregrettablecenturySend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Dec 31, 2018 • 59min
A Situationist New Year's Spectacular: Discussion about Guy Debord, the Situationists, and the Society of the Spectacle
In the years since Guy Debord wrote "The Society of the Spectacle" we have witnessed the utter triumph of said spectacle and have been thoroughly crushed under the jackboot of its mediocrity. We think that some of the ideas of the Situationists are even more relevant now than they were in 68 and are worth having a conservation about, so we did. https://www.patreon.com/theregrettablecenturyA Short List of Some of the Readings For this Episode:Society of the Spectacle (full text)https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm Revenge of the Spectacle http://www.redwedgemagazine.com/online-issue/revenge-of-the-spectacle-this-time-its-personal Bringing Fuel to The Flames: Anselme Jappe's Guy Debord http://www.redwedgemagazine.com/online-issue/bringing-fuelNotes on the Spectacle of Oppositionhttps://www.sayitwithpavingstones.org/news/2018/6/29/some-notes-on-the-spectacle-of-opposition Why Psychogeography?https://www.sayitwithpavingstones.org/news/2018/8/14/derive-0-why-psychogeography Background on 1968https://jacobinmag.com/2018/05/how-beautiful-it-was/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Dec 18, 2018 • 60min
Art, Revolution, and the Popular Avant Garde
In our first ever FEATURE episode, we talk about the Marxist art, its mission, the idea of the Popular Avant Garde, and why transgression is important.https://www.patreon.com/theregrettablecentury Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Dec 14, 2018 • 47min
Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessimism of the Will
This week we discuss our orientation as Revolutionary Pessimists. We believe that humanity is worth saving, but were not so sure that is going to work out. A clear headed, sober, pessimistic orientation is necessary to continue to organize as socialists. We must be ready to salvage the burnt out husk of our planet and build an egalitarian future in the irradiated post apocalyptic deserts. A strategy for ruination is necessary. https://www.patreon.com/theregrettablecenturySalvage Quarterlyhttp://salvage.zone/in-print/salvage-perspectives-1-amid-this-stony-rubbish/For a Marxism Without Guaranteeshttp://www.agpolpsy.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Hall-For-a-Marxism-Without-Guarantees.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2zkfhtBHg_j1-YBQ3eCpPUXCnKeg0FxeEq5Y3KWN4Fqdf5lVCGwhEBsqsSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop


