Reading twentieth-century 'failures' historically

In this episode, longtime revolutionary activist and author Torkil Lauesen returns to the show. Our conversation revolves around two of his recent works published by Iskra Books: The Long Transition to Socialism and the End of Capitalism and Unequal Exchange: Past, Present, and Future. Drawing on a lifetime of political engagement and his close relationship with theorist Arghiri Emmanuel, Lauesen discusses his motivation for writing these books as a means of passing down hard-won knowledge to a new generation of organizers.

We examine the "long transition" from capitalism to socialism, a process Lauesen frames through the lens of historical materialism. He also explains how the transfer of value from the periphery to the core through unequal exchange created a dynamic center, enabling capitalism to survive the 20th century. Now, with the decline of US economic hegemony and the rise of a multipolar world system centered on a resurgent China, Lauesen argues we are entering a new phase where the conditions for a genuine transition may finally be emerging.

We tackle the critical question of revolutionary method, discussing how to identify the principal contradiction to orient our practice and the difficult strategic choices this framework demands. From the revolutionary history of China to the current geopolitical landscape and the intensifying repression of anti-imperialist movements, Lauesen offers a sobering yet urgent call to organize for the decisive struggles ahead.

One quick note, there is a little conversation about Iran in this discussion. This interview was recorded on February 20th so a little before the current war took shape. While you get a little bit of Torkil Lauesen's perspective on Iran and the question of anti-imperialism today, if you want more complete analysis on the topic, there are ten videos up on our youtube page where we've delved into the current war with guests like Adnan Husain, Abdaljawad Omar, Lara Sheehi, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Sina Rahmani, and Hiram Rivera among others. This week we have discussions coming with Bikrum Gill and Nina Farnia from the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective. So make sure you are subscribed and have turned on notifications on our youtube page if you want that current analysis amid this world historical struggle.

Make sure to head over to Iskra Books to buy copies of these texts we discussed with Torkil Lauesen, and even if you want to check out just remember there are always free PDF copies available on Iskrabooks.org.

And of course if you like what we do become a patron of the show to support our work you can do so for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekilingcapitalism I know these are trying times economically, but also remember that our ability to bring you these conversations is based on your ability as an audience to support the work we do. And a huge thank you to all of you who do support the show.

Previously we interviewed Torkil Lauesen about his book Riding The Wave: Sweden's Integration into the Imperialist World System