Victor's Children

Germany 1923: A New Perspective on a Failed Revolution (& a Poem for Palestine) One hundred years ago, a socialist revolution came close to happening in Germany. This episode is an interview with Sean Larson, who has written an article that draws on original research to illuminate what happened and why: https://spectrejournal.com/germany-1923/ For further reading: On the revolution of 1918: https://jacobin.com/2018/11/german-revolution-centennial-rosa-luxemburg-social-democrats On Germany 1918-1933: Germany’s Counterrevolution Paved the Way for the Rise of Nazism https://jacobin.com/2022/02/german-revolution-november-weimar-republic-luxemburg-nazis On an important German marxist: Ernst Meyer, Theorist of Revolutionary Realpolitik https://jacobin.com/2019/09/ernst-meyer-germany-weimar-republic-communism-realpolitik-rosa-luxemberg On the history of the global workers’ movement: https://salvage.zone/what-happened-to-the-workers-movement/ ***Israel's war on Gaza is on our minds and I hope listeners are involved in Palestine solidarity activity wherever you are.*** At this time, I recommend reading the classic document by Palestinian marxist Jabra Nicola: Theses on the revolution in the Arab East https://matzpen.org/english/1972-09-14/theses-on-the-revolution-in-the-arab-east-a-said-jabra-nicola/ While obviously over-optimistic, and much has changed in the half-century since it was written, Nicola's analysis helps us understand the impasse into which the PLO led the Palestinian struggle, which allowed Hamas's rise to begin, and why ultimately, because of the specific character of Israeli settler-colonialism, the possibility of radical change within Israel depends on the struggles of the masses in the region, outside as well as inside its borders.

Episode 33: Chinese Imperialism Episode 31 of this podcast looked at the imperialism of the US, which despite its relative decline is still the most powerful component of global capitalism. In this episode Kevin Lin and Ashley Smith look at the rise of China and US-China rivalry. Suggestions for Reading: Ashley Smith, "As US-China Tensions Mount, We Must Resist the Push Toward Interimperialist War" https://truthout.org/articles/as-us-china-tensions-mount-we-must-resist-the-push-toward-interimperialist-war/ Todd Gordon and Jeff Webber, "Complex Stratification in the World System: Capitalist Totality and Geopolitical Fragmentation" in the academic journal, Science and Society(unfortunately paywalled but the file may be findable elsewhere online), isn't an easy read but suggests a better way of understanding imperialism today than the more influential frameworks. https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/siso.2020.84.1.95 Is BRICS+ an Anti-Colonial Formation Worth Cheering From the Left? Far From It. https://truthout.org/articles/is-brics-an-anti-colonial-formation-worth-cheering-from-the-left-far-from-it/ Taiwan Shouldn't Be Used As A Geopolitical Pawn https://jacobin.com/2022/11/taiwan-geopolitical-pawn-china-us-international-relations-cold-war-history Lausan Collective https://lausancollective.com New Bloom Magazine -- Radical Perspectives On Taiwan And The Asia Pacific https://newbloommag.net

The War in Ukraine Drags On: A Conversation with a Russian and a Ukrainian Socialist A year and a half after Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, the war goes on and unfortunately the war is still not well understood by much of the left outside of those countries. Hanna Perekhoda and Ilya Matveev discuss Putin's war, some common political ideas about it on the Western left, the situation in Ukraine and Russia today, and what people on the left elsewhere can do to help socialists in Ukraine and Russia. Hanna and Perekhoda and Ilya Matveev will be participating in a speakers' tour in several US cities in September 2023 sponsored by the Ukraine Solidarity Network. For details see https://linktr.ee/ukrainesolidaritynetwork For a list of groups in Ukraine to support, see: https://www.midnightsunmag.ca/support-the-left-in-ukraine-and solidarity-with-the-peoples-of-turkey-kurdistan-and-syria/ Posle, a site of the Russian anti-war left with some content in English: https://posle.media/language/en/about/ On the arrest of Russian socialist Boris Kagarlitsky: https://newpol.org/im-a-ukrainian-leftist-this-is-why-i-support-boris-kagarlitsky/ A July 2023 article by Gilbert Achcar worth reading: https://newpol.org/ukraine-and-the-abstraction-of-violence-my-reply-to-tom-dale/

Episode 31: U.S. Imperialism Today Although no longer the world's unchallenged dominant power, the U.S. remains the most powerful state in the economic and political system of global capitalism. Ashley Smith discusses U.S. imperialism from the end of the Cold War to today. Articles by Ashley Smith: After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine https://againstthecurrent.org/atc219/after-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ Biden’s Chip War With China Is an Imperial Struggle for High-Tech Supremacy https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-chip-war-with-china-is-an-imperial-struggle-for-high-tech-supremacy/ Biden’s National Security Strategy Is a Defense of US Domination, Not Democracy https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-national-security-strategy-is-a-defense-of-us-domination-not-democracy/

The Politics of the Family, w M.E. O'Brien Families are political -- part of how most people survive under capitalism, places of love and support as well as often violence, other forms of oppression, and suffering. ME O'Brien's new book "Family Abolition: Capitalism and the Communizing of Care" is an important radical analysis of families in capitalist society and communist politics of the family from the mid-1800s to today. David thinks it's one of the best books of marxist theory he's read in a while, and this episode is an interview with ME O'Brien about the politics of families and care. Family Abolition Capitalism and the Communizing of Care by M. E. O'Brien https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745343846/family-abolition/

Against the Market, w/ David McNally Even though capitalism's problems are becoming increasingly obvious, commitment to fight for an alternative to capitalism – rather than a regulated capitalism -- is still weak. Part of the problem is the belief that markets are the least-bad way of producing and distributing goods and services. This episode is an interview with David McNally, editor in chief of the journal Spectre, about capitalism, markets and the alternative of democratic planning. 2023 is the 30th anniversary of the publication of his book. Against the Market https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/products/1432-against-the-market

The Right vs Trans People: Understanding the Attacks and Fighting Back in the U.S. and Canada Eric Maroney and Skyler discuss the right-wing forces attacking transgender people in the U.S. and so-called Canada and how to organize to beat back their attacks. To learn more: Understanding the big picture: Misha Falk, “Neither Liberalism Nor Fascism But Trans Liberation and Socialism” https://www.midnightsunmag.ca/neither-liberalism-nor-fascism-but-trans-liberation-and-socialism Eric Maroney, “The Alt-Right Anti-Trans Crusades” https://www.tempestmag.org/2022/10/the-alt-right-anti-trans-crusades/ Episode 12 of Victor’s Children, w/ Jules Joanne Gleason: https://soundcloud.com/user-737267994/episode-12-transgender-liberation-transgender-marxism About organizing and the right in the U.S.: Tempest Magazine coverage of successful drag defence in NYC https://www.tempestmag.org/2023/03/jackson-heights-defends-drag-story-hour-nyc/ A discussion of organizing against the far right in Ohio https://www.tempestmag.org/2023/04/were-all-here-for-the-same-reason/ Fundraiser for drag story hour defender arrested in Akron https://www.gofundme.com/f/rocknroll-humanist-drag-queen-story-hour?utm_campaign=p_cp+share- sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefine d Erin Reed, independent journalist tracking anti-trans legislation https://erininthemorn.substack.com/ Madison Pauly, “Inside the Secret Working Group that Helped Pass Anti-trans Laws Across the Country” https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/anti-trans-transgender-health-care-ban-legislation-bill-minors-children-lgbtq/ A resource: Safety planning for actions https://www.communitysolidarityottawa.ca/safety-plan

About Future on Fire and Victor's Children André Goulet interviews David about his new book "Future On Fire" and the Victor's Children podcast. This episode is a re-post from the Harbinger Society Presents podcast. On April 15, 2023 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time, the online magazine Midnight Sun and Haymarket Books present an online discussion: Fighting Capitalism's Ecological Death Cult. For more information and to RSVP: www.haymarketbooks.org/events/528-fi…al-death-cult Suggestions for episode topics or guests? Feel free to email victorschildren at gmail.com

The Socialism We Need What kind of society is possible and worth fighting for? What would it take to begin a transition to socialism? What should people who yearn for liberation be doing today? James Graham, Saima Desai and John Clarke join David in a multi-generational conversation. A few readings relevant to this episode: A Revolutionary Way of Doing Politics Is Taking Shape in Sudan - New Politics https://newpol.org/issue_post/a-revolutionary-way-of-doing-politics-is-taking-shape-in-sudan/ Revolution Means Smashing The State https://www.tempestmag.org/2023/01/revolution-means-smashing-the-state/ A Letter From Canadian Comrades https://socialistworker.org/2019/03/21/a-letter-from-canadian-comrades

The Most Important Strike in Years: the Education Workers Strike in Ontario The law-defying strike by the 55, 000 workers in CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions in November 2022 was brief but arguably the most important strike in so-called Canada in almost two decades. Peter Hogarth talks about the background to the strike, how it unfolded, why it ended the way it did, and its lessons. Some articles worth reading: Peter Hogarth, "Who Killed Bill 28?" https://springmag.ca/who-killed-bill-28-ontario-workers-and-the-threat-of-a-general-strike Martin Lukacs and Emma Paling, The inside story of how education workers beat back Doug Ford https://breachmedia.ca/the-inside-story-of-how-education-workers-beat-back-doug-ford/ John Clarke, Doug Ford underestimated the power of workers—but so did union leaders https://breachmedia.ca/doug-ford-underestimated-the-power-of-workersbut-so-did-union-leaders/ John Clarke, Beyond the Rituals of Class Compromise https://www.midnightsunmag.ca/beyond-the-rituals-of-class-compromise/