

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
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 19, 2025 • 21min
Patreon Preview -- A Refutation of All Judgements... (A Discussion of the film by Guy Debord)
So, you think you had some judgments? TOO BAD THEY ARE ALL REFUTED!This week Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's follow up to his Society of the Spectacle film, which is essentially a clapback at his haters. As any good Regrettable discussion goes, the film was the anchor, but the topics ranged far and wide. Enjoy!Refutation of All the Judgements, Pro or Con, Thus Far Rendered on the Film “The Society of the Spectacle" (1975)https://www.ubu.com/film/debord_refutation.html Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Feb 11, 2025 • 1h 17min
In Defense of Proletarian Idealism
This week we read and discussed an article by Richard Seymour that explores Marxism's relationship with materialism and idealism. Seymour argues that the Hegelian inheritance within Marxism forces it in the direction of an idealism which is essential for a successful revolutionary politics.Duel and duality, or, degrowth and dialectics https://www.patreon.com/posts/81735357?pr=true&fbclid=IwAR2ftGQudDJQhykIW4rv_3F34xqP8RGHZdyZyb4JsGQgxzQ7qxvRNI9BP7kSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Feb 6, 2025 • 21min
Patreon Preview -- Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer: Regrettable Book Club (Episode IX)
The gang tackles Chapter 5 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation.Read Along With Us: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauerSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Jan 27, 2025 • 1h 10min
Partisans of a Dying Dream: The Populist Moment and American Socialism
This week we delve into what is sort of a pre-history of the American Socialist movement. Though the populist movement undeniably kept its Jeffersonian character, it was the first (arguably only) significant challenge to the dominance of the two major capitalist parties in the US. Much of the energy and the spirit of American populism flowed into and colored the burgeoning American workers' movement. From Populism to Socialism and Backhttps://jacobin.com/2019/08/populism-socialism-daniel-de-leon-eugene-debs American Populism, 1876-1896https://digital.lib.niu.edu/illinois/gildedage/populism Populist Party Platform July 4, 1892https://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/populist-party-platform-july-4-1892.php Cantrell, Gregg, and D. Scott Barton. “Texas Populists and the Failure of Biracial Politics.” The Journal of Southern History 55, no. 4 (1989): 659–92. https://doi.org/10.2307/2209044.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Jan 22, 2025 • 32min
Patreon Preview -- From Dawn to Decadence (Part III): With Varn Vlog
The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, talking about "Decadence Theory" and how it differs from "crisis theory" and "breakdown theory." We discuss Samir Amin's Third-Worldist (and not very Marxist) take on decadence theory.Revolution or Decadence- Samir Aminhttps://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Jan 16, 2025 • 21min
Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VIII)
The gang tackles Chapter 4 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation...Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Jan 9, 2025 • 1h 9min
Our Regrettable Trash Can of Ideology
This week we entered the archives and poured through the codices and scrolls containing the wisdom of past episodes to give you this curated trash can of Ideology. We highlighted some themes from the past six years of podcasting that we thought were worth underscoring and how our ideas may have changed...Our Underlying Philosophy of Dialectical PessimismS1/Ep5: Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessimism of the WillS1/Ep26: The Proper Amount of Bumming People Out S4/Ep7: Death of The LeftS5/Ep21: Pessimism is an Optimism: Revisiting PessimismMaking Sense of Our PastS1/Ep27: Children of the Counterrevolution S3/Ep12: The Enlightenment is Dead, Long Live the EnlightenmentS3/Ep22: The Unfulfilled Potential of the Republic S4/Ep3: The Tragedy of American Socialism Rethinking What It Means To “Be” RevolutionaryS1/Ep18: The Right to the CityS2/Ep8: We Would Prefer Not ToS5/Ep15: The Legacy of William MorrisS6/Ep15: The Antifascism of FoolsA Willingness to Abandon Our Older TrajectoryS4/Ep20: Labor Theory of ApocalypseS6/Ep5: One Plus One Is ThreeS6/Ep16: The Boys Figure Out Which Marxist Tendency is Correct S6/Ep19: To Front or Not to FrontThe Major Obstacles/Challenges We FaceS3/Ep5: Happiness Industry SocialismS3/Ep17: Everything Is Recuperated S5/Ep9: You're Not Making Liberals Socialist...S5/Ep19: The Dialectic of DegrowthOur Deep Skepticism/Hostility Toward Techno-SolutionsS1/Ep31: The Future Has Been Canceled S2/Ep2: Partially Automated Regular CommunismS2/Ep5: Socialism Without Sacrifice... S4/Ep4: No Ethical Technical Innovation Under CapitalismLooking AheadS4/Ep11: Marxism in Dialogue With ChristianityS5/Ep12: The Dialectic of Apotheosis S5/Ep16: Bathing in the Warm Stream S6/Ep22: Real Grouchy Old Man HoursRegrettable Reading List:The Red Jacobins: Thermidor & The Russian Revolution in 1921Party As Articulator The Tragedy of the WorkerRevolution: An Intellectual HistoryLeft Wing MelancholiaExcremental Happiness: From Neurotic Hedonism to Dialectical PessimismLiquid ModernityThe True and Only Heaven: Progress & Its CriticsThe Twittering MachineHegel & The Hermetic TraditionA Primer on Utopian Philosophy: Marxism & Utopian StruggleSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Jan 2, 2025 • 21min
Patreon Preview -- Film Review: The Society of the Spectacle (w/Grindhaus Podcast)
This is an old episode of our friend Andrew's podcast that was recorded a few years ago. The podcast is now defunct, but we thought y'all deserved to hear it. In this episode Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's 1974 film version of The Society of the Spectacle.Enjoy and Happy New Year.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Dec 26, 2024 • 1h 7min
The Long, Slow Death of the 5th Republic
We are joined again by our official France correspondent, Matthew. Matthew is a veteran of American Trot sectarian organizing and the labor movement who lives in France and is more intimately involved in the happenings than we are. We discuss the failure of the popular front, the ham-fisted triumph of Macron, and the death throes of the French political system. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Dec 19, 2024 • 20min
Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VII)
Soldiering on and finishing Chapter 3 of Bauer's excellent Marxist analysis of the nation.Read along with us:https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauerSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show