Victor's Children

Todd Gordon and Jeff Webber join David on a deep dive into understanding the far right, including fascism, as a phenomenon of capitalist society. The interview was recorded on April 13, 2025. . In this episode, Todd and Jeff discuss ideas they develop in a book they're writing. If you have access to the print edition or subscriber-only online access to the journal Spectre, you can read their article in issue 8 (2023), “The Authoritarian Disposition: Capitalism, Liberalism, Fascism." If not, they've also published this brief piece: Todd Gordon and Jeffery R. Webber: The Return of Fascism? https://www.focaalblog.com/2024/01/29/todd-gordon-and-jeffery-r-webber-the-return-of-fascism/ . Mentioned in the episode: . Thomas Hummel, "For revolutionaries, the period must be defined by the international fight against the far right" https://tempestmag.org/2025/03/for-revolutionaries-the-period-must-be-defined-by-the-international-fight-against-the-far-right/ . Topics covered (times are approximate): . capitalism and liberalism 0:06:13 . democracy 0:20:24 . the Right 0:35:36 . fascism 0:45:15 . "populism," popular front anti-fascism, and the casualization of "fascism" 1:00:10 . left strategy against the far right 1:09:32 . Brazil and Argentina 1:15:07 . Trump's second administration 1:20:50 . Canada 1:37:01

Workplace Organizing for Radicals . . Why should workplace organizing matter for the radical left? What kind of unionism should radicals try to foster? How should we go about doing it? How should people who want to do workplace organizing think about where to work for pay? An interview with two experienced activists, retired New York transit worker Steve Downs and Ontario public sector worker Katherine Grezjszczak, about these and related questions. . If you listen to the end of the episode, there's a discount code you can use to order David’s book Red Flags anywhere in the world from Fernwood Publishing. The code will be valid until mid-September 2025 . To learn more: . Secrets of a Successful Organizer, from Labor Notes https://labornotes.org/secrets . Tim Goulet, Unions and the rank and file strategy https://tempestmag.org/2023/07/unions-and-the-rank-and-file-strategy/ . Steve Downs, Hell On Wheel Pamphlet https://archive.org/details/hellonwheelpamphlet . Steve Downs, Socialist Strategies in Unions:Twenty Years in Transport Workers Union Local 100 https://solidarity-us.org/transit_working_paper/ . . Follow Victor's Children on Instagram for info on episodes, events, and more

Red Flags: A Reckoning with Communism for the Future of the Left, w/ David Camfield . . . Host as guest! Guest host Saima Desai interviews David about his new book, Red Flags. . . If you listen to the end of the episode, there's a discount code you can use to order the book anywhere in the world from Fernwood Publishing either before or after it's published. The code will be valid until mid-September 2025. . . The book's page on the Fernwood site: Red Flags: A Reckoning with Communism for the Future of the Left https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/red-flags . . People based in the US may wish to order the book from its US distributor, Columbia University Press: Red Flags | Columbia University Press https://cup.columbia.edu/book/red-flags/9781773637327 . . People in the UK and EU countries may wish to order the book from Central Books: https://www.centralbooks.com/red-flags-a-reckoning-with-communism-for-the-future-of-the.html . . David's website is Welcome to Prairie Red - Home https://www.prairiered.ca

Trump's Tariffs: How Should the Left Respond? . . . The threat of sweeping US tariffs has touched off a political crisis in the Canadian state. Todd Gordon and Mostafa Henaway discuss how the left is responding and an alternative approach. . . Suggested Reading: . Todd Gordon https://www.midnightsunmag.ca/we-need-workers-solidarity-not-national-unity-in-response-to-trumps-tariffs/ . Mostafa Henaway https://notesfrombelow.org/article/experiments-in-worker-organising-from-unite-commun

U.S. capitalism vs Chinese capitalism: What do we need to understand? . . . Economic and geopolitical competition between China and the US and other Western powers is important and is only going to become more intense in the years ahead. What do leftists most need to understand about China, and how should we orient to the rivalry between the world's most powerful capitalist societies? An interview with Eli Friedman, one of the co-authors of China in Global Capitalism. . . Recommended reading: . China in Global Capitalism https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2228-china-in-global-capitalism

A Dive into Domenico Losurdo's Western Marxism . . . The recent publication of an English translation of Western Marxism: How it was born, how it died, how it can be reborn by the Italian historian of philosophy Domenico Losurdo has received a lot of attention in parts of the Left. In this episode Joshua Nicholas Pineda joins David to discuss Losurdo and this book. Tune in for a discussion of "Western Marxism", anti-imperialism and socialism today. . . Related resources: . . Book review."Eastern Light on Western Marxism" by David Broder, New Left Review (paywall) https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii107/articles/david-broder-eastern-light-on-western-marxism . . Book. Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anti-Communism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union by Douglas Greene. See the appendix on Losurdo. . . Victor's Children episodes: 3, 6, 8, 11, 31, 33, 36, 40, 41, and 44 . . Preorder David's Upcoming Book, Red Flags: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/red-flags . . Spectre Journal https://spectrejournal.com

Responding to Trump's Return, w David McNally and Natalia Tylim . . . The victory of Trump and his Republican Party is obviously important not just in the USA but internationally. A lot of what's being said about why Trump won and what it means is partially or entirely wrong. This episode is about analyzing their victory and, importantly, what radicals should do in the months ahead. . . Recommended for further listening: . The genocidal returns of lesser-evilism https://tempestmag.org/2024/09/the-genocidal-returns-of-lesser-evilism/ . Democratic Dealignment w/ Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor https://thedigradio.com/podcast/democratic-dealignment-w-keeanga-yamahtta-taylor/ . A Tender Riot https://soundcloud.com/a-tender-riot

Trump vs Harris: How did the USA get here? . . The 2024 US presidential election pits a far right billionaire former president whose supporters have taken control of the Republican Party away from the conservatives whose party it once was against the outgoing Democrat vice-president who champions strengthening US imperialism and many reactionary domestic policies. How did the most powerful society within global capitalism come to be in this situation? David interviews US socialist Aaron Amaral about the history leading up to 2024. . . Recommended readings: . Charlie Post, "The New Deal and the Popular Front" https://isreview.org/issue/108/new-deal-and-popular-front/index.html . Ashley Smith, "Trapped in the Democratic Party" https://tempestmag.org/2023/08/trapped-in-the-democratic-party/ . Sam Farber, "Donald Trump, Lumpen Capitalist" https://jacobin.com/2018/10/donald-trump-lumpen-capitalist-class-elections . Dan Davison and Sacha Marten, "Trump’s danger isn’t that he’s a fascist" https://tempestmag.org/2024/05/trumps-danger-isnt-that-hes-a-fascist/ . Haley Pessin, "Defund The Police" https://tempestmag.org/2021/02/defund-the-police/

Extra: The Ukrainian-Canadian Anti-Stalinist Left in the 1970s and 80s. . . An interview with participants Chrystia Chomiak and John-Paul Himka about the Ukrainian-Canadian anti-Stalinist radical left initiatives that grew out of the radicalization of the late 1960s into the 1970s. . . Related reading: . Marko Bojcun, "Ukrainian Socialists in the Diaspora" https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukrainian-socialists-in-diaspora-lessons-on-cold-war-solidarity/

Loss, Grief and Politics Today, w/ Sarah Jaffe . . How people feel about what's happening in their lives really matters politically. On this episode David interviews Sarah Jaffe, whose new book "From the Ashes" explores grief and its politics in the world today. . . From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sarah-jaffe/from-the-ashes/9781541703490/?lens=bold-type-books . https://sarahljaffe.com