WHAT IS POLITICS?

In this episode we read and critique the conclusion of Chapter 2 of Dawn of Everything, “Wicked Liberty: The Indigenous Critique and the Myth of the Noble Savage”, which was previously released in French in 2019 as La Sagesse de Kandiaronk. Given that the conclusion of the chapter is a tirade against the concept of “equality” we first examine what the world equality means in a political context, and what the term “egalitarian society” implies, followed by an examination of the history of the anthropological literature on egalitarian hunter gatherer societies.   We also cover material from Graeber’s Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology and On Kings in order to look at how his treatment of egalitarian societies over his career routinely ignored 50 years of research on extremely egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies, a practice which he and Wengrow continue in this chapter.    all music by *69 PLEASE SHARE THIS SERIES! Bibliography YouTube Channel: live with graphics! Patreon: Help me make this podcast/channel all it can be, and help it be less torture and destructive for my income for me to produce these! They takes 2-6 weeks full time to put together during which time I’m not earning any money, so I need your help to continue! Audio Podcast : click the link on your device to open the audio podcast in your mobile app, or else search for “worbs” on your podcast app.  Full transcripts available on the episode pages.  Audio Podcast RSS Feed   BIBLIOGRAPHY / SUGGESTED READINGS   GRAEBER AND WENGROW Graeber & Wengrow 2021 – The Dawn of Everything Graeber & Wengrow 2019 – La Sagesse de Kandiaronk (deepl or googl translate will give you a decent English translation) Graeber & Wengrow 2015 – Farewell to the Childhood of Man Graeber & Wengrow 2020 – Hiding in Plain Sight, Democracy’s indigenous origins in the Americas. David Graeber 2004 – Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology David Graeber and Marshall Sahlins 2017 – On Kings David Graeber & Andrej Gubačić 2020 – Introduction to Pyotr Kropotkin 1902 – Mutual Aid   CRITIQUES OF GRAEBER AND WENGROW Chris Knight 2021 – Did Communism Make Us Human? The Anthropology of David Graeber  Christ Knight 2021 – The Anthropology of David Graeber (video) Camilla Power 2018 – Gender egalitarianism made us human: A response to David Graeber & David Wengrow’s ‘How to change the course of human history’   GENERAL  Robert Kelly 1995/2014 – The Foraging Spectrum  James Woodburn 1982 – Egalitarian Societies James Woodburn 2005 – Egalitarian Societies Revisited, in Widlock & Gossa (eds) – Property and equality, Volume 1: ritualisation, sharing, egalitarianism Richard Lee 2004 – Power and Property in Twenty-first Century Foragers: A Critical Examination Richard Lee & Irving Devore (Eds.) 1968 – Man the Hunter Richard Lee & Eleanor Leacock (eds) 1983 – Politics and History in Band Societies CENTRAL AFRICAN FORAGERS Jerome Lewis 2017 – Bayaka Elephant Hunting in the Congo Lewis, J., 2014. Egalitarian Social Organization: The Case of the Mbendjele BaYaka Morna Finnegan 2013 – The politics of Eros: ritual dialogue and egalitarianism in three Central African hunter-gatherer societies Hewlett 2017 ed – Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin Colin Turnbull 1961 – The Forest People   KALAHARI BUSH PEOPLE Richard Lee 1969 – Eating Christmas in the Kalahari [“Shaming the meat”] Richard Lee 1979 – The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society   Richard Lee 1982 – Politics, Sexual and Non-Sexual, in an Egalitarian Society Richard Lee 1984/2013 – The Dobe Ju/Hoansi Helga Vierich 2021 – ‘Hunting is boring and unreliable. Let the men do it!’ (video)   HADZA Frank Marlowe 2010 – The Hadza Hunter-Gatherers of Tanzania Frank Marlowe 2004 – Dictators and ultimatums in an egalitarian society of hunter-gatherers, the Hadza Fearless & Far 2021 – Asking Hunter-Gatherers Life’s Toughest Questions (video) Coren Lee Apicella 2018 – High levels of rule-bending in a minimally religious and largely egalitarian forager population   NAYAKA Nurit Bird-David 1990 – The Giving Environment, Another Perspective on the Economic System of Gatherer-Hunters Nurit Bird-David 1999 – “Animism” Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology   BATEK Kirk & Karen Endicott 2008 – The Headman Was a Woman: The Gender Egalitarian Batek of Malaysia   MONTAGNAIS-NASKAPI Eleanor Leacock 1981 – Myths of Male Dominance   CRITIQUES/DEBATES ON FORAGER EGALITARIANISM Alan Barnard 1992 – The Kalahari Debate, a Bibliographical Essay Edwin Wilmsen 1989 – Land Filled With Flies Roy Richard Grinkger 1991 – Houses in the Rainforest Richard Lee & Mathias Guenther 1991 – Oxen or Onions? The Search for Trade (and Truth) in the Kalahari Ted Kaczynski 2008 – The Truth About Primitive Life: A Critique of Anarchoprimitivism   https://archive.org/download/10.1-equality/10.1%20WHAT%20IS%20EQUALITY%2C%20MANG.mp3

A critical reading of “The Wisdom of Kandiaronk, The Indigenous Critique, the Myth of Progress and the Birth of the Left” from David Graeber & David Wengrow’s upcoming book The Dawn of Everything. In this chapter Graeber & Wengrow argue that: The European Enlightenment was heavily influenced by Native American critiques of European culture. That European intellectuals reacted against this by developing the theory of “stages of human progress” where we went from from egalitarian hunter-gatherers to pastoralists to farmers to market civilization. That Jean-Jacques Rousseau synthesized the Native American critique and the stages of progress theory into a seemingly egalitarian critique of European social hierarchies which resigns us to accept hierarchy as the price of civilization.  That this synthesis was the birth of the “intellectual left”.  That the concept of human equality has no meaning and should be discarded [these guys *really* needed to listen to this podcast before writing this…] TRANSCRIPT BIBLIOGRAPHY: Graeber & Wengrow 2019 – “La Sagesse de Kandiaronk, la critique indigène, la mythe du progrès et la naissance de la gauche“, chapter from The Dawn of Everything (2021), published in French in Journal du MAUSS Sally Roesch Wagner 2015, How Indigenous Women Inspired The Feminist Movement, Bust Magazine PLEASE SHARE THIS SERIES! YouTube Channel: live with graphics! Patreon: Help me make this podcast/channel all it can be, and help it be less torture and destructive for my income for me to produce these! They takes 2-6 weeks full time to put together during which time I’m not earning any money, so I need your help to continue! Audio Podcast : click the link on your device to open the audio podcast in your mobile app, or else search for “worbs” on your podcast app.  Full transcripts available on the episode pages.  Audio Podcast RSS Feed https://archive.org/download/10-kandiaronk/10%20-%20KONDIARONK.mp3

Interview with Arnold Schroeder of Fight Like an Animal, a wonderful and endessly fascinating show that looks through 20 years of experience of hardcore climate activism, at why left political movements are so weak and ineffective and how to change that, and which covers everything from history, to political psychology, to anthropology, psychiatry, animal behaviour, religious cults, and much more.   I highly recommend everyone check out his show, and dig deep into the extensive bibliographies for every episode, which in and of themselves are a gold mine. And look for my interview on Arnolds show in the coming days All music is by me. www.againsttheinternet.com Fight Like an Animal Patreon What is Politics Patreon What Is Politics Video Channel (video version of this interview and all episodes can be found here plus other stuff) https://archive.org/download/arnoldschroeder/INTERVIEW%20WITH%20ARNOLD.mp3

The terms “cancel culture” and “political correctness” are used to delegitimize ideas like gender equality and racial equality by conflating them with toxic dominance behaviour practiced by up-and-coming elites who disguise their power plays in egalitarian social justice language. In this segment, by seeking to properly define these terms, we look at: The Class Filter: how ideas that are a threat to power historically get mutated into tools of power once they pass through elite institutions, in this case Ivy League universities, and corporate HR departments.   The Interloper Left: how elites and aspiring elites (who by definition are right-wing actors) will disguise dominance behaviour in egalitarian language in order to gain legitimacy and prestige in democratic societies. Poison/Sugar Pilling: how elites will de-legitimize popular ideas which are a threat to power by conflating them with unpopular ideas, and how they will convince people to accept things they don’t like by associating them with popular terms. How egalitarian language and ill conceived “anti-racism” trainings like “White Fragility” are being used in the corporate world to divide workers and prevent them from banding together in defence of their rights.  How to spot some of the red flags that distinguish movements rooted in equality and solidarity from toxic “cancel culture” and “political correctness” power plays. FULL TRANSCRIPT   link to share this podcast (opens the audio podcast in your podcast app on your device): http://www.podfollow.com/worbs YouTube Channel Patreon tweeter: @worbsintowords   https://archive.org/download/SPITBALL02/02%20-%20CANCEL%20CULTURE%20IS%20YOUR%20MANAGER.mp3

The foundation of “cancel culture” and “political correctness” is the wage labour employment contract. ARTICLES QUOTED: Corey Robin, Chris Bertram and Alex Gourevitch 2012 – Life at Work, Crooked Timber Amanda Hess 2013 – How Sexy Should A Worker Be? The Plight of the Babe in the American Workplace, Slate Yvonne Abraham 2015 – Tom Brady has more rights than most American workers, Boston Globe link to share this podcast (opens the audio podcast in your podcast app on your device): http://www.podfollow.com/worbs YouTube Channel Patreon tweeter: @worbsintowords https://archive.org/download/SPITBALL01/SPITBALL%2001%20-%20EMPLOYMENT%20CONTRACT.mp3

Human beings have free will, but our actions are constrained by material realities.  Understanding how material and practical conditions shape human behaviour can make all the difference between success and catastrophic failure when it comes to the whole spectrum of political action, from private sector negotiation, to crafting legislation, to making a revolution. In this episode we look at: The relationship between economic activity and the high status of women in traditional Haudenosaunee / Iroquois society How World War I helped women win the right to vote in Europe and North America  How World War II catalyzed the Black civil rights movement in the United States.   The success, failure, and accidental success of the English Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 The implications of the Anarchist Revolution in Spain in 1936-1939 for the future of industrial civilization.   FULL TRANSCRIPT! Music in this episode is by Tony Ezzy and Cheap Wig link to open the audio podcast in your podcast app on your device: http://www.podfollow.com/worbs Patreon YouTubes tweeter: @worbsintowords rss feed (copy and paste into your podcast app to add it): http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHATISPOLITICS RELATED READINGS: Ember & Ember 1971 – The Conditions Favoring Matrilocal Versus Patrilocal Residence, American Anthropologist, Vol. 73, N° 3  Pasternak 1997 – Family and Household: Who Lives Where, Why Does It Vary, and Why Is It Important? in Ember & Ember (eds.) 1995 – Cross-Cultural Research for Social Science Abigail Higgins 2019 – American Women Fought for Suffrage for 70 Years. It Took WWI to Finally Achieve It, history.com  Sally Roesch Wagner 2015, How Indigenous Women Inspired The Feminist Movement, Bust Magazine Cathleen D. Cahill / Sarah Deer 2020 – In 1920, Native Women Sought the Vote. Here’s What’s Next, New York Times Annette McDermott 2018 – Did World War II Launch the Civil Rights Movement?, history.com Paul Foot 1981 – “This bright day of Summer”: The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381; see also the lively original audio version of this speech Sam Dolgoff 1973 – Anarchist Collectives Thomas Kuhn 1962/2012 – The Structure of Scientific Revolutions https://archive.org/download/08-AGENCY/08%20-%20AGENCY%20AND%20MATERIALISM.mp3

What would happen if you could end sexism overnight by giving everyone a magic pink pill? Why we need to target material and practical conditions if we want to eliminate cultural hierarchies. A thought experiment about political strategy which lays bare the whole class reductionism vs. race reductionism debate, and which is crucial for any kind of effective political strategy on any issue. Backed up by a real “pink pill” example of how post-revolutionary rural China totally failed at fighting patriarchy and male baby preference via education and propaganda campaigns.   PLEASE SHARE THIS VIDEO! Especially on Reddit – most political subs don’t let you post your own material, and I have no other way of getting these out there! FULL TRANSCRIPT AND BIBLIOGRAPHY WHAT IS POLITICS? PATREON Help me make this podcast/channel all it can be, and help it be less torture for me to produce these! WHAT IS POLITICS? VIDEO CHANNEL (video version of this and all episodes available here, plus other stuff) And look for my upcoming interview on the Fight Like an Animal Podcast https://archive.org/download/PINKPILLZ/07.1%20-%20PINK%20PILLZ.mp3

Why are hierarchy and male dominance so prevalent in human societies?  According to anthropologists David Graeber & David Wengrow, it’s because people were “self-consciously experimenting with different social possibilities,” and then we somehow got stuck this way.  Meanwhile according to Jordan Peterson, it’s just human nature.   Thankfully for humanity, both of these views are very, very wrong.   all music by *69 FULL TRANSCRIPT + BIBLIOGRAPHY tweeter: @worbsintowords YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WHATISPOLITICS69 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whatispolitics https://archive.org/download/07-male-dominance/07%20-%20MALE%20DOMINANCE.mp3

Everywhere we look, past and present we see hierarchical societies where some people have more wealth, more power, and more rights than others.  Was this always the state of the human world?  Is hierarchy in our nature?  Are egalitarian societies possible for human beings?  If so, under what conditions?   And is freedom compatible with equality? FULL TRANSCRIPT + BIBLIOGRAPHY tweeter: @worbsintowords YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WHATISPOLITICS69 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whatispolitics https://archive.org/download/06-anthropology-of-equality-hierarchy/06%20-%20ANTHROPOLOGY%20OF%20EQUALITY%20%26%20HIERARCHY.mp3

This episode is for everyone who keeps writing to me to insist that one or the other wrong, incoherent, popular definitions of Left and Right is actually the correct one.   How do we know the left and right refer to equality and hierarchy? To answer this, we look at who was considered as being on the left and on the right in three different time periods:  The early French revolution in 1789, which is what the whole left-right political spectrum is an analogy to. The 3rd republic in France where seating in the National Assembly was first purposefully arranged on a left-right spectrum, analogous to the early French Revolution.    The different branches of late 19th and early 20th Century socialist movement: Anarchism, Revolutionary Party Socialism and Parliamentary Socialism. And we apply all of the junk cold war definitions – the market vs. the state, the individual vs. the collective, big vs. small government, equality vs. liberty – and we watch them all crash and burn, leaving only the equality vs. hierarchy / class conflict paradigm left standing. Apply this exercise on your own to any historical period from 1789 until the rise of the USSR and the cold war, and you get the same results.   Now can everyone accept it and move on? Bonus episode to follow shortly to explain why Fascism is on the far right and Communism is on the far left when Nazi Germany and Stalin’s USSR are both archetypical “totalitarian” societies. FULL TRANSCRIPT tweeter: @worbsintowords YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WHATISPOLITICS69 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whatispolitics https://archive.org/download/05-left-right-history/05%20-%20LEFT-%20RIGHT%20HISTORY.mp3