Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

In this episode we welcome Chris Gilbert back to the podcast to discuss his new book, Commune or Nothing! Venezuela's Communal Movement and its Socialist Project. Chris Gilbert is a professor of political studies at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela and creator and co-host of Escuela de Cuadros, a Marxist educational television program and podcast. Gilbert is co-author with Cira Pascual Marquina of Venezuela, The Present as Struggle (Monthly Review, 2020). We've hosted three previous discussions with Chris Gilbert, one related to an essay that is a chapter of this book, which discusses the theoretical work behind seeing communes as building blocks of a socialist metabolism. The two others with Cira Pascual Marquina were on the book they co-authored. I just want to make a note, that we recorded this conversation back in September, prior to October 7th, which would've definitely warranted some attention in the conversation particularly as Gilbert talked about sanctions as total war and viewing Venezuela as a concentration camp, remarks that resonate with the Palestinian experience currently. This was also recorded prior to some of the recent developments in Venezuela including - among many other things - the Essequibo referendum, Biden threatening harsher sanctions against Venezuela, and the arrest of 32 people in alleged assassination plots. The best place as always to stay abreast of developments in Venezuela is to follow and support the work of venezuelanalysis.com. We talk about many things in this conversation, but a few I will highlight are Gilbert's theoretical work, building on the work of feminist social reproduction theory, Marx's theory of value, to put forth the concept of directly social labor as a key to the emancipatory possibilities of the commune. Gilbert also shares some of the contributions of African Maroon communities and indigenous communal practices to the development of Venezuela's socialist vision. We also talk about why for Gilbert the commune represents a recovery of Marx, in particular the romantic Marx who saw revolutionary potential among the Iroquois Confederacy, Algerian peasants and Russian peasant communes. Along the way we talk about a commune that is geographically the size of Manhattan and discuss currency experiments, communal banking efforts, and the process of "de-alienation" that Gilbert sees in the commune. The book is out now from Monthly Review press, I highly recommend it, it was one of our favorite books that we read in 2023. And if you like what we do please support us at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. We do have a study group that starts for patrons tomorrow night at 7:30 PM ET on February 8th studying the counterinsurgency manual, so this is a final call for anyone interested in joining us for that. Links: Purchase the book from Monthly Review Press. Previous conversation on a chapter in this book Part 1 & Part 2 of our discussion with Chris and Cira Aidan Elias co-produced this episode.

Haydar of The Resistance Report discusses the work of Al Falasteniyeh Media Network, their analysis of the resistance's position, and the genocidal depravity of the Zionist occupation in Palestine. They also talk about the suppression faced by AFMN, highlight the life and contributions of Bassel al-Araj to the Palestinian Resistance, and share his eight rules for guerrilla warfare. The chapter emphasizes the need to humanize Palestinians, counter propaganda, and support Palestinian liberation.

Leila Shomali and Lara Kilani discuss anti-zionism and decolonization, covering settler colonialism, Oslo Accords, human rights discourse, and the role of indigenous communities. They tackle defunding racism, challenging political parties, and the importance of a unified movement for Palestine. The chapter descriptions delve into the distortions of anti-zionism, limitations of decolonization discourse, and the need for honest conversations.

Paul Le Blanc, an activist and historian, discusses Lenin's flexibility, his belief in Marxism as a guide to action, the concept of the United Front, Lenin's analysis of imperialism and authoritarianism, and his insights on bringing about change in today's world.

In this podcast, they discuss the shift in politics during the 1970s and how movements responded to it. They explore the debate between violence and nonviolence, analyze the Black Panther Party and Fatsa Commune, and discuss the concept of political multiplicities. They also talk about the need for revolutionary thinking and the relevance of past struggles to contemporary movements.

This is part 1 of a 2-part conversation on Michael Hardt's recent book The Subversive Seventies. Michael Hardt teaches political theory in the Literature Program at Duke University. He is co-author, with Antonio Negri, of the Empire trilogy and, most recently, Assembly. He is co-director with Sandro Mezzadra of The Social Movements Lab. A couple of things I need to say up front. This conversation was recorded in September and initially would have been released in October, but obviously our programming took a quick turn to solidarity work on the Palestinian struggle in light of those events. As I mentioned in the intro to our most recent episode we will continue to do that solidarity work primarily though not exclusively through our YouTube page for a while just so that we can get some of these other conversations out on the podcast feed. Nonetheless, this conversation and the book and the problems it poses I think are as interesting and relevant today as they were in September. I mostly note it's recording date for two reasons, one it will be glaring that we don't talk at all about events in Palestine in the conversation. The second reason I mention the date is that in the intervening months Michael Hardt's long-time collaborator Antonio Negri passed away. Negri was of course a very serious and renowned political philosopher, militant organizer, and a political prisoner, coming out of some of the very movements that Michael Hardt discusses in this book. May he rest in peace and our condolences to Michael for the loss of his friend and collaborator. This discussion is about Michael Hardt's book The Subversive Seventies which was one of the more interesting books we read last year on the podcast. And we would definitely recommend it both for its value as a historical text as well as for the theoretical work Hardt is engaged in in the text. As is laid out quite well I think on the publisher's website, it is a book that attempts to reconstruct the history of revolutionary politics in the 1970's, to systematically approach political movements of the seventies within a global framework of analysis, and to bring together a wide range of political movements from the decade highlighting the ways movements in different countries resonated with and were inspired by one another. Part 2 of the conversation will be released this coming week. I would also be remiss if I didn't say rest in power to Sekou Odinga who passed away earlier this week. We hope to be able to do more in honor of him and as a tribute to his legacy in the coming weeks and years. If you appreciate the work we do, our work is only possible through the support of our patrons. You can support our show for as little as $1 a month or $10.80 per year at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

In this podcast, guest Steven Salaita, an educator and author, discusses topics such as the Palestinian resistance, Israel's genocidal retaliation, settler colonization theory, the complex nature of Hamas, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, understanding settler colonialism, the nuclear threat of Israel, strategies for protests and resistance movements, and the significance of cultural and intellectual work.

Boots Riley, film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist, discusses labor upsurge and strikes in the US, limitations of protests, CIA's influence on art, challenges for artists supporting resistance, potential for collective organizing in the arts, and future plans including 'I'm a Virgo' season two.

In this episode Steven Osuna returns to the podcast. Steven Osuna is an associate professor of Sociology at CSU Long Beach. He has written extensively on street organizations, policing, the so-called war on drugs, and the ravages of capitalism and neoliberalism. He also has experience organizing in the Philippine solidarity movement and other struggles. Shout-out and solidarity to all of the Cal State University faculty as I know have been on rolling strikes and are negotiating their new contracts currently. In this conversation Osuna talks to us about Mao's speech & essay "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People." This is a part of our series of episodes with guests where they pick a piece of communist, socialist or other radical thought and we read it as well and we come together and we talk about it. This conversation was recorded back in August, so you won't hear references to the current struggle in Palestine or other current events, but this discussion is relevant as always to organizing among the people and so it is relevant to today nonetheless. Thanks again to Steven Osuna for this conversation. We'll include links in the show notes to the Philippine solidarity campaigns he uplifted as well as the Foreign Languages Press website and their journal new Material. Also once again we do have a Sylvia Wynter study group coming up. That is for patrons or YouTube members only. It will be Wednesdays at 7:30 PM ET during the month of January. You can become a patron of the show for as little as $1 a month and support our work at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism Philipine Human Rights Act International Coalition for Human Rights in the Phillippines Foreign Languages Press & their new journal "Material" ;

Abdaljawad Omar, a podcast guest, discusses various topics in this episode. Some of the most interesting topics include labor organizing, strike waves, solidarity with Palestine, and getting anticapitalist art through Hollywood. The conversation also delves into resistance, mourning and melancholy in the Palestinian context, and the power and impact of resistance in the struggle for Palestinian liberation. Other topics covered include prisoner exchanges, the experiences of Palestinians in 48, and settler responses to immigrants.