Bungacast

On utopia and individualism. Renowned intellectual historian and critic Russell Jacoby joins us to talk about his lifetime of left critique. We discuss his early criticisms of psychology in light of the advance of therapy culture over the past 50 years, before moving on to the question of utopianism. Will the breakdown of the neoliberal era lead to new utopian thinking? Does enthusiasm for a universal basic income signal serious thinking about the nature of work? Or are we still in a world where only dystopian thinking is permitted? The episode concludes by discussing how all the talk of diversity today obscures the reality of increasing homogeneity. What does this say about the individual? Is the way children are brought up today killing the capacity for imagination and making us all conformists? Part two of the interview, and our After Party, is available at patreon.com/bungacast    Selected books by Jacoby: Social Amnesia: A Critique of Contemporary Psychology (Beacon Press, 1975; Transaction, 1997) The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe (Basic Books, 1987; new edition with new Introduction, Basic Books 2000) The End of Utopia: Politics and Culture in the Age of Apathy (Basic Books, 1999) Picture Imperfect: Utopian Thought for an Anti-Utopian Age (Columbia University Press, 2005) On Diversity: The Eclipse of the Individual in a Global Era (Seven Stories Press, 2020) Other recent articles and interviews: D’une pensée critique sous emprise – Un entretien avec Russell Jacoby, Comptoir A Climate of Fear, Russell Jacoby, Harper's The Takeover, Russell Jacoby, Tablet

On Turkey's elections. Alp Kayserilioglu joins us to talk about a crucial election. Erdogan’s rule is seriously threatened for the first time, with high inflation biting into living standards.  Who are the main candidates and do what they propose? Where does AKP draw its support from, and what has sustained its legitimacy? We discuss the supposed supposed culture war between conservative Islamic values and secular liberal ones. And ask how Erdogan has managed the economic crisis of the past few years.  We conclude with Alp trying to place Erdogan in longer historical context: 2023 marks 100 years of the Turkish Republic. Does Erdogan represent a radical break, or nationalist continuity? Readings: Turkey’s Statequake, Alp Kayserilioglu, Sidecar Goodbye Erdoğan?, Alp Kayserilioglu, Sidecar Alp's writing at Jacobin 

On who owns the power. Matt Huber joins us to discuss his article, "Socialist Politics and the Electricity Grid", and how organised labour is central to a politics of plenty. What is the grid and who owns it? What are the limitations of a "100% renewables" approach?  On the politics of energy, the left is divided in a similar way to the ruling class. How do we move from a strategy of 'blocking' (preventing new infrastructure) to one of 'building'? And why does a movement to limit climate change need to focus on production, rather than consumption? We conclude by discussing the conflict between struggles around "the end of the month" (living standards) and those around "the end of the world" (climate change). Readings & Links: Socialist Politics & the Electricity Grid, Matt Huber & Fred Stafford, Catalyst Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet, Matt Huber, Verso On post-neoliberalism: /326/ What Did Capitalism Do Next?, Bungacast On de-growth: /310/ Do You Want to De-Grow?, Bungacast On green activism: /91/ Exhaustion Revealing ft. Leigh Phillips, Bungacast Matt's Twitter thread on Kokei Saito's degrowth communism 

On Nigeria's 'end of the end of history'. Sa'eed Husaini from The Nigerian Scam podcast joins us to reflect on all things Nigeria: oil, debt, corruption and February's election. What was all that hype about the 'outsider' who wasn't much of an outsider? Has the country's populist moment passed? More Nigerians are falling into poverty due to low economic growth, while the state is due to spend 96% of its income on debt service. How is this sustainable? We also talk about oil and corruption: the 'resource curse' and the 'survival of the fattest'. And conclude on China's role in the country and Nigeria as a cultural powerhouse. Links & Readings: Buharism is dead, long live Buharism, Sa’eed Husaini, Africa is a Country /61/ Making Plans for Naija ft. Sa'eed Husaini The Nigerian Scam podcast The Oil Thieves of Nigeria, James Barnett, New Lines Survival of the Fattest, Paulo Collier, The American Interest

On Martin Hägglund's This Life. [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive] We continue on the theme of freedom by discussing Martin Hägglund's case for 'democratic socialism'. Would we actually work under socialism, or do we need the threat of starvation or the promise of profit to motivate us? And what, if anything, is to structure all that free time we would gain? Why is Hägglund's critique of religion – specifically the critique of 'political theology' – so central to his arguments? And how do we avoid the various temptations to retreat from passion, be it therapy-junk, new age buddhism, the goon cave, or post-politics?  For local Reading Clubs, email info@bungacast.com Readings & resources: This Life: Why Mortality Makes Us Free, Martin Hägglund, Profile Books ––Chapter 6 and Conclusion On time, work, freedom and necessity: /298/ Working For Freedom ft. Alex Gourevitch On Hegel and contradiction: /167/ The Kingdom of God Is on Main Street ft. Todd McGowan

On history-ending technology.   [Patreon Exclusive]   The economist Tyler Cowen recently suggested that radical technological change today marks a turning point in history. Is he right, and how would we evaluate such a claim?   Should we be sceptical about these big claims, especially given all the Silicon Valley-driven hype around AI? Or is 'radical agnosticism' the right stance?   And what about calls to rein-in the development of artificial intelligence, especially when these calls come from Silicon Valley itself?   Readings: Existential risk, AI, and the inevitable turn in human history, Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution Is this the end of “The End of History”?, Robert Stark The call for an AI halt disguises the real problems with tech, Jason Walsh, Tech Central /306/ AI Capitalism: Inhuman Power (unlocked Bungacast Reading Club episode)

On the US cultural climate. Renowned/notorious writer Norman Finkelstein joins us to discuss the themes of his latest and last book, I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It! What unites the leading intellectual proponents of wokeness today, people like Ibram X Kendi or Kimberlé Crenshaw? How do they differ from anti-racist and liberationist heroes of the past? What continuities are there between today's cancel culture and the politics of the New Left?  We discuss the definition of wokeness and ask whether we have already reached peak wokeness, and examine the emergence of anti-wokness. Subscribe to the podcast: patreon.com/bungacast Readings: I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It!: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom, Norman Finkelstein, Sublation

On your questions & criticisms. [Patreon Exclusive] Is the Left dead? Did the turn to culture really kill it? Or is the nostalgia for the post-war Left the real problem? We also debate what the function of imperialism in Africa is; the 'pro-worker' conservatives in the US; surveillance of app workers; what economic growth is for; and whether to f**k models. 

On Inhuman Power. [Unlocked episode from Bungacast 'Reading Club', originally released 6 December 2022]  Contemporary capitalism is possessed by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) question – one of the few areas today in which capitalists still seem to have ambition. Why is this so, and is there something about AI that gets to the nub of what capitalism is, as a mode of production? Is capitalism without humanity anything more than a dystopian Skynet nightmare? And would the creation of a surplus humanity still be capitalism? Would it be techno-feudal, or something else? Reading: Inhuman Power: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Capitalism, Nick Dyer-Witheford, Atle Mikkola Kjøsen and James Steinhoff, Pluto Books

On cracked-up capitalism. Historian of ideas Quinn Slobodian joins us again, this time to discuss his latest book, Crack-up Capitalism – the vision of a global capitalism with its constituent nation-states perforated by ‘zones’ shorn of any national oversight or democratic accountability. We talk through these archetypal zones encompassing deregulation, investment and sweatshop labour, ranging from the glittering city scapes of Hong Kong, Singapore and Canary Wharf to forgotten zones such as Ciskei in apartheid South Africa as well as the gated communities of California and bit-coin paradise Honduras. We also talk about archetypal crack-up capitalists such as Peter Thiel, William Rees-Mogg and Milton Friedman’s offspring. How did crack-up capitalism feature in the Tory vision of Brexit? Plus, why is Dominic Cummings the one true Singaporean, and why do crack-up capitalists love medieval LARPing? For part two, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Readings: Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy, Quinn Slobodian The Ciskei experiment: a libertarian fantasy in apartheid South Africa, Quinn Slobodian, The Guardian /115/ Singapore Shangri-La ft. Lee Jones As special enclaves proliferate, what are the consequences for democracy?, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, The Spectator Dominic Cummings understands Singapore. The Tories still don’t, Quinn Slobodian, The Spectator Crack-up Capitalism video trailer, Twitter