Diving into the Wreckage: Specters of Left Melancholia w/ C. Derick Varn
🕑 Added 2024-05-29 10:00:04 +0000 UTCIt's been four years since the demise of Sandersism in the United States. It's been two years since the COVID-19 crisis upended society and Russia invaded Ukraine. Socialist politics is, if anything, even more fractured and impotent than it was last decade.
What do we make of the deep melancholy gripping politics today? How have the various political solutions on offer been delegitimated? And why is Sean KB seemingly immune to this melancholy? (Hint: it's the Independent Labor Club.)
Comments
lookylou
Is there a cartoon on this I can watch?
The Inner Moon
Interesting discussion for the most part, although I don't think trying to delineate these various tendencies is all that useful when they consist of a half dozen writers at most, whose actual audience overlaps in many parts. I also think that risks ignoring the actual leftist cultural milieu in favor of their intellectuals, and presumes that it's the latter who are leading. On that note, it was interesting to see you mention Robert Evans for a moment (who I think is less of an 'anarcho state department' guy than the OSS people you mentioned, but I digress), since he's actually coalesced an interesting group of younger anarchist podcasters around himself. Talking to someone like Mia from "It Could Happen Here" would make for a useful discussion in that regard, specifically because you're coming to similar conclusions through different traditions. In general, I like it when you guys pull from different parts of the Left, and this is one corner you haven't really engaged with.
MoldyTolge
Please don’t think for a moment that this is the only thing I took away from this episode which felt like the culmination of many prior discussions over prior years and left me with a hopeful warmth, but at 3:02:28 Varn said “Bequeefing”
MoldyTolge
Varn really can’t help himself, you have to have a search bar open whenever he speaks
MoldyTolge
A video of accompanying slides for context would be an excellent idea.
Baron
Felt like I needed to be looking at a slideshow the whole time I was listening, but I know that says more about me than anything else. Good stuff
DPtdryste SSC
2 hrs and 20 mins in, again, I'm not fond of assuming everyone listening to the Mearsheimer & multi-polarity stuff are "right." There's some pro-peace vibrations in there, granted, Mearsheimer is wrong on China. He thinks US shouldn't dictate to other countries, but then also thinks the US should prevent Chinese growing their sphere of influence in their own region.
DPtdryste SSC
Global left is just waiting for BRICS stuff, Ukraine/Israel overextension and end of dollar as reserve currency for most transactions to sort out at this point. This all takes time.
Joe
"We're not trying to find the right people to do a thing, we're trying to find the pieces of a puzzle to begin a process of self-becoming... of over-coming." 🔥🔥🔥
Cole
listened to 20 odd episodes of this series and it’s still basically impenetrable whenever Varn rattles of a series of names lol. Then again I guess when you’re doing 3 hours on the concept of ideological melancholy it’s not really first time stuff. Good episode per usual.
Adriel Mixon
trans flag femboy communists represent
Trey
Even better the second time. Totally worth clipping imo for propaganda purposes , great job Andy!