Cosmopod

Gus, Donald and Isaac join Esra, author of the webside CR-CPUSA Exposed: Hub for Information and Recovery for a discussion on their experience inside the Committee to Reconstitute the Communist Party of the USA, also known as the Red Guards. We go into a lot of detail on how the CR-CPUSA operated, how it related to its locals and how it was basically centered around the personality of Jared Roark, also knon as Comrade Dallas. We talk about how the CR-CPUSA came to dissolve by a process initiated from its own membership and how that relates to other accounts of leaving cults. We then pivot to the term 'brainwashing', cultic studies and how people on the left can relate to this field. We finish with the often conflictual relationship between the Red Guards and other leftist movements and the role of violence and abusive persolaities in leftist organizations.

Rudy and Christian join Chris Gilbert for a discussion on his new book Commune or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and its Socialist Project. We cover the history of the Venezuelan communal project, and how it relates to previous attempts of the government to build a socialist economy including the Venezuelan cooperative movement or the drive to build state-run industry. We discuss the ideas of István Mészáros on how the commune centers the communal control of the labor process, and attempts to solve problems found during the socialist transition, before pivoting to ground data on the communes, the economic relationships between them and towards the outside, the issues with voluntarism, the problem of attracting the youth and the structure of the new Communard Union. We finish with an outlook for the future and a discussion on how communes center all around human development and have a more mystical side to them.

Luke joins Gil Shaeffer, a former member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and author of "You Can’t Use Weatherman to Show Which Way the Wind Blew” to talk about the SDS, the New Left, and the centrality of democratic republicanism to Marxism. Gil discusses his path to joining SDS in the late 1960s, the impact of figures like C Wright Mills, the little-remembered March on Fort Dix, and the meaning of “participatory democracy.” He explains how SDS and the New Left are presented in popular histories (including the work of Kirkpatrick Sale), and the motivation behind writing his history of the period. Gil ends by discussing the present moment and the ongoing struggle for a democratic revolution.

Exploring the significance of the Intifada in Palestine and the distorted analysis by Angry Workers of the World on the issue of Zionism, Revolutionary Defeatism and the Complexities of Settler Colonialism in Palestine, Anatomy of Racial Oppression, Hamas, the Working Class, and the Palestinian Struggle, and The Fight for Workers' Rights and Unity.

Donald, Christian, and Connor sit down to discuss the political economic conditions of the Soviet Union during the period of the New Economic Policy. Over the course of the episode, they cover War Communism, the intellectual currents and debates within the Party, the importance of the peasant question, the geopolitics of isolation, and the NEP’s long term viability. References: R. C. Allen - Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution V. Barnett - The Revolutionary Russian Economy, 1890-1940 Ideas, Debates and Alternatives V. Brovkin - Russia After Lenin: Politics, Culture and Society, 1921-1929 E. H. Carr and R. W. Davies – Foundations of a Planned Economy 1926-1929, Volume 1 R. W. Davies - From Tsarism to the New Economic Policy: Continuity and Change in the Economy of the U.S.S.R. R. W. Davies - Soviet Economic Development from Lenin to Khrushchev R. W. Davies - The Socialist Offensive: The Collectivisation of Soviet Agriculture, 1929-1930 R. B. Day - Leon Trotsky and the Politics of Economic Isolation A. Ehrlich – The Soviet Industrialization Debate, 1924-1928 S. Fitzpatrick, A. Rabinowitz and R. Stites (eds.) - Russia in the Era of NEP: Explorations in Soviet Society and Culture P. R. Gregory - Before Command: The Russian Economy from Emancipation to the First Five-Year Plan J. B. Hatch - Labor and Politics in NEP Russia: Workers, Trade Unions, and the Communist Party in Moscow, 1921-1926 M. L. Hilton - Selling to the Masses: Retailing in Russia, 1880-1930 M. Reiman - The Birth of Stalinism: the USSR on The Eve of The Second Revolution S. A. Resnick, R. D. Wolff - Class Theory and History: Capitalism and Communism in the USSR O. Sanchez-Sibony - Red Globalization: The Political Economy of the Soviet Cold War from Stalin to Khrushchev.  D. Shearer - Industry, State, and Society in Stalin's Russia, 1926-1934 K. A. S. Siegel - Loans and Legitimacy: The Evolution of Soviet-American Relations, 1919-1933 L. H. Siegelbaum - Soviet State and Society Between Revolutions 1918-1929 D. R. Stone - Hammer and Rifle: The Militarization of the Soviet Union, 1926-1933

Luke joins Douglas Egerton, author of The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era, for a conversation about an epoch-defining period in U.S. history. Drawing from the lives of lesser-known actors, Douglas details attempts to transform the foundation of society following the Civil War and the vociferous resistance to those changes. Douglas provides an overview of Reconstruction, the forces involved, and, crucially, the way in which the period has been memorized and presented in academia and popular culture.

Rudy joins Matteo Capasso, author of Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for a discussion on Libya with a focus on the period from 1969 to 2011. We delves into Matteo's  research on Libya, exploring the myths and stories surrounding Libya's history, aiming to dispel the notion of Qaddafi's authoritarianism and the concept of statelessness among the Libyan people. The conversation takes a historical journey, discussing the antecedents of the Libyan revolution, the formation of the "Jamahiriya," and Qaddafi's rise to power. They analyze the authoritarian nature of Qaddafi's rule, Libya's anti-imperialist role in the world, and key events that marked the decline of the revolution. The podcast also examines the role of Saif al-Islam, the framing of opposition in Islamic terms, the economic benefits of the revolution, and the surprising insights gained from conversations with refugees. Finally, the discussion delves into the complexities of the 2011 Libyan revolution and its enduring impact on Libyan politics, especially present with the recent floods.

This podcast delves into the Algerian revolution, tracing its roots back to French colonization and discussing key events during the war. It explores the myth of Algerian self-management and the fault lines within Algerian leadership. The episode also covers Ben Bella's economic and internationalist program. Part two will discuss Algeria through Boumédiène's government and the Civil War.

Gil Schaeffer responds to Renzo Llorente’s “The Contradictions and Confusions of ‘Democratic Socialism” and argues that socialists need to base their politics on a coherent ethical theory of democratic rights. Read by: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Immanuel Ness to discuss his recent work Migration as Economic Imperialism: How International Labour Mobility Undermines Economic Development in Poor Countries. We begin by explaining why migration is economic imperialism and addressing key questions about who migrates, their reasons, and destinations, highlighting evolving migration patterns. We explore how migration patterns are designed to meet labor demands and the role of recruitment agencies. Ness distinguishes between temporary and undocumented migrants, emphasizing the differences and discussing circular migration for highly-skilled individuals. Furthermore, he delves into the impact of skilled vs. unskilled migration on countries and the idea of migration as both individual freedom and national catastrophe. Ness also examines remittances, their framing by organizations like NGOs and the UN, their real-world implications, and how they tie into neoliberal ideology. We then discuss migration in the political realm: immigrant organization, their vulnerabilities, and reliance on personal actions or NGO support, with examples from the US and South Africa.