Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber

Grab your coffee and your backpack — it's time for Professor Chibber's Office Hours! On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek answers YOUR questions. We received so many interesting and thoughtful emails from listeners, we decided to dedicate a whole podcast to them. Vivek talks about how socialists should confront discrimination in their organizing, the relevance of the concept of monopoly capitalism, and the class implications of home ownership. The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

In this tumultuous political era, it’s common to hear that the Left needs to rebuild its historic sources of power. But it’s more accurate to say that the Left is essentially in the process of starting over again. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, we share Vivek Chibber’s keynote address at the Jacobin conference, “Socialism in Our Time,” which marked the 15th anniversary of the magazine. He discusses how capitalism has changed since the turn of the century, how the Left has been neoliberalized, and why Zohran Mamdani’s campaign may point in a new direction. The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

It’s well understood that capitalist economies are a recent development in human history. But there is persistent disagreement on the Left over exactly how and where the transition to capitalism occurred, as well as what role colonial plunder played in enriching the West. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber explains the origins of capitalism, what primitive accumulation means, and how colonialism actually affected European development. The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code, CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

Populism is in the air, providing unique opportunities and challenges to the Left. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses how populist sentiment — popular anger at elites and a demand for economic redress — helped socialists reinsert economics back into politics. Recent electoral victories, such as Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City Democratic primary, have shown the success of centering material demands with widespread appeal. While not populist in the classic sense, campaigns like Mamdani’s have been able to harness this broader mood of popular discontent. The strategy is not without its limitations, but it holds important lessons for how the Left can reshape a political environment that has been hostile to workers for decades. The latest issue of Catalyst is out, and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

Utilizing class analysis is the bread and butter of socialist politics. But understanding how classes are shaped and reproduced has changed over time. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber breaks down how the Marxist tradition has theorized class, the difference between a class in itself and a class for itself, and how class analysis is used within political organizing. The latest issue of Catalyst Journal is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code, CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Reach out here: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

The “professional managerial class” has become a staple of political debate on the Left. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber explains why the “PMC” is better understood as a heterogeneous layer within capitalism rather than a distinct class, how and why the middle strata have expanded, and what has pushed so many professionals toward anti-capitalist politics. While skeptical of the PMC as a precise analytical category, Chibber argues that the term still captures something real about one of the most politically influential groups in modern America. The latest issue of Catalyst is out, and you can subscribe for just $20 using the link below: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM

Phillip Rocco, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University, discusses why the Democratic Party struggles to fight effectively against the right. He emphasizes the detrimental effects of abandoning organized labor, leading to a fragmented party that fails to mobilize grassroots support. Rocco critiques the Democrats’ reliance on litigation over mass mobilization, contrasting it with the cohesive strategies of the Republican Party. He calls for a shift toward empowering local organizations and building a compelling political vision to engage disenchanted voters.

US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last month were a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict with Iran. But while a ceasefire has remained in place, there’s good reason to believe that Iranian regime change isn’t off the table just yet. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber looks back on how the US pursued regime change in Iraq and why that disastrous invasion may wind up being the playbook again in Iran.

Much of Trump’s popular appeal was wrapped up in his anti-establishment and anti-war posture on the campaign trail. But in only a few months, Trump’s populist mask has slipped completely and revealed him to be just another neoconservative Republican. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Paul Prescod discuss Trump’s phony right-wing populism, the US involvement in the war with Iran, and how the Republicans are getting away with Medicaid cuts.

The Left often invokes the media’s power of persuasion to explain why people accept their situation within capitalism. But what if instead the system remains stable by “the dull compulsions” of economic life? In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses the difference between consent and coercion, the real role of the media, and the conditions for organized resistance.