Cosmopod

Mikael Lyngaas argues that post-work theorists ranging from Bob Black to Srnicek and Williams are utopian socialism for the current era. Sam Wiles reads the article out loud.

Renato Flores argues for self-determination and reparations for Black Americans as a key part of the revolutionary struggle in the USA. Robert Fisher reads the article out loud.

Ian and Donald join William Clare Roberts (@MarxInHell), author of Marx's Inferno for a discussion on the wider themes of his book: republicanism,  non-domination, theories of freedom, the early communist movement, and  how to read capital both politically and scientifically.

Isaac and Rudy join Moshé Machover, one of the four founding members of the Israeli Socialist Organization, better known as Matzpen after the name of their publication for a discussion on the group's  origins, how their anti-zionist consciousness originated and developed,  their marginalization by Israeli society during the 1967 war and how  Arab/Jewish solidarity was built. The conversation then pivots to how  the Israeli Class Structure has changed since its early analysis by Matzpen and what that bodes for the future. They also address the topics  of diasporism and how Israel compares to other settler (and  non-settler) societies in the world. ----- Further resources: Youtube documentary on Matzpen, Anti-Zionist Israelis  Moshé's articles on Belling the Cat, Colonialism and the Natives and Hebrew self-determination . Check out his Weekly Worker archive. Matzpen's archives 

Parker and Alex have a conversation with the editor and translator of Karl Kautsky on Democracy and Republicanism  (Haymarket, 2020) on the legacy of Karl Kautsky before he turned  renegade. They discuss the convergence of various conflicting political views, from 'Leninists' to Social Democrats and Cold War Warriors, into what Ben Lewis calls in his book a "peculiar consensus" that fundamentally misrepresents the historical figure of Kautsky.   Please support Ben Lewis's work Marxism Translated on Patreon as he strives to bring classical texts of German Marxism to an English audience for a first time.

Exploring family abolition and its historical context through the works of Karl Marx and Alexandra Kollontai. Discussing the erosion of traditional family structures, the exclusion of black women from the American ideal of womanhood, and the white supremacist regulation of black reproduction. Examining the destruction of native families in the US and advocating for a transformation of the family structure to promote solidarity and kinship.

Matt and Christian join Zhun Xu, author of From Commune to Capitalism: How China’s Peasants Lost Collective Farming and Gained Urban Poverty for a discussion on China's communes from their construction to their dismantling. They contextualize land reform globally, elaborate on how the Chinese land reform process looked different from the Soviet one, discuss how the  communes looked and functioned, and what services they provided as well  as their achievements and their points of failure. They then take a general look at the cultural revolution, and how it was slowly reversed after Mao's death, why and how the rural communes were targeted first for reform, and they finish by looking at the fate of the urbanized peasantry and why they have not  yet joined the urban struggles in China.

Richard Hunsinger argues that migrant concentration camps represent a descent into fascist barbarism and are related to the inherent tendencies of capitalism. Remi Debs reads the article aloud. -------------------- Find more information about Richard's case in: https://twitter.com/DefendRichard/ , and please donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund

For the latest episode of our series on Actually Existing Socialism, Christian, Rudy, Donald and Connor join forces for a discussion on the Yugoslav self-management in its different iterations. We use Darko Suvin's Splendor, Misery and Possibilities: An X-Ray of Socialist Yugoslavia as a background to outline an exploration of the successive reforms where self-management was first brought in as a response to the failures of the command economy to take advantage of plebian creativity, and how slowly the market and decentralizations became a magic bullet for solving all problems, a fetish which caused the arising of significant inefficiencies, consumerist culture and inequalities both between republics and between workers and managers in the factories. We analyze why successive waves of marketization were supported, and how this led to the formations of new classes that would eventually disintegrate Yugoslavia. Other Sources: Yugoslav Marxists B. Horvat, "Towards a Theory of a Planned Economy" B. Kidric, "Some Theoretical Questions of the New Economic System" E. Kardelj, "Directions of the Development of the Political System of Socialist Self-Administration" Other Marxists E. Mandel, "Self-Management: Dangers and Possibilities" E. Hoxha, "Yugoslav "Self-Administration" - Capitalist Theory and Practice" Academic D. Granick, "Enterprise Guidance in Eastern Europe: A Comparison of Four Socialist Economies" P. H. Patterson, "Bought & Sold: Living and Losing the Good Life in Socialist Yugoslavia"  

Rudy is joined by Jasdeep and Sangeet to talk about the recent farmers protests going on in Northern India, especially around the regions of Punjab and Haryana. They discuss the origins of the movement and of the farmers union, how the movement relates to workers and urban dwellers and how the questions of caste, religion and gender are dealt with. The conversation then examines the total participation of society in the movement and how this was achieved, and what we can learn from it. We finalize by discussing the future of the movement, and what we can do to help it from anywhere. Check out Sangeet's work on women's participation in the ongoing movement and on another historical movement hundred years ago, and how religion plays a role in the culture of defiance.