This Wreckage

Latest Episodes:

PREVIEW - History is a Weapon 11: The Sorrows of Empire w/ Matt Christman Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Matt and Sean have returned to talk about the disastrous defeat of the United States in Afghanistan:

How did this happen and how does it implicate the American Imperial project? Why was the War on Terror? How is Biden's withdrawal linked to broader strategic interests (Cold War with China)? Whither American capitalist hegemony in the 21st century? And how will the citizens of this cursed country reconcile themselves to imperial decline? (Not well.)

Become at patron at www.patreon.com/theantifada for access to this premium content, other bonus episodes and access to our Discord server.

Ep 156: The Pig Majority w/ Geo Maher Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Jamie is joined by Geo Maher to discuss his new book, "A World Without Police: How Strong Communities Make Cops Obsolete." They discuss the origins of mass incarceration, the debate around "non-reformist" reforms, and alternative models of community safety. Also, the million dollar question: how do abolitionist politics fit into the over-arching project of building communism?

W/ bonus questions on the communes of Venezuela and the Zbellion!

Buy the book:

https://www.versobooks.com/books/3783-a-world-without-police

Andy's essay criticizing the politics of safety:

https://illwill.com/gimme-danger

Outro: Noname - Song 33

Support the show at patreon.com/theantifada

BONUS: No, Tanks w/ Michael Heinrich (PREVIEW) Aug 20, 2021

Show notes

In this very special bonus, Michael Heinrich addresses his detractors and fleshes out the political implications of his reading of Marx's mature work:

Is Michael's reading of Marx as having a monetary theory of value a concession to neoliberalism? What was Marx trying to get at with the Tendency of the Law of the Rate of Profit to Fall? What remains of Marx's crisis theory if we admit he gave up on TRoPF? Is the empirical work of 'Marxist Economics' worth a damn? And, of course, what does all this have to do with the production of communism?

Long-time listeners of the show are not going to want to miss this one, it's a banger!

Intro: LCD Soundstystem - Dance Yrself Clean

SUBSCRIBE NOW AT PATREON.COM/THEANTIFADA TO GET THE FULL VERSION & TONS OF OTHER BONUS CONTENT & OUR AWESOME DISCORD COMMUNITY!

Ep 155: Marx Against Marxism w/ Michael Heinrich Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

Sean and Jamie are excited to be joined by Michael Heinrich, German scholar and author of a series of books popularizing and clarifying Marx's value theory and contextualizing the life and times of old Karl. We discuss the core of Marx's project, what distinguished him from the economists of his day, and what political orientations might follow from a precise understanding of his critique of political economy. Importantly, Michael has a powerful critique of vulgar Marxism and the orthodoxies of the 19th and 20th centuries. Nerds, you're not going to want to miss this one!

Stick around for an excellent bonus episode by becoming a patron at patreon.com/theantifada for this, access to our Discord server and more!

Works by Michael Heinrich:

"An Introduction to the Three Volumes of Marx's Capital" https://monthlyreview.org/product/an_introduction_to_the_three_volumes_of_karl_marxs_capital/

"Karl Marx and the Birth of Modern Society" https://nyupress.org/9781583677353/karl-marx-and-the-birth-of-modern-society/

"How to Read Marx's Capital" (Out soon) https://nyupress.org/9781583678947/how-to-read-marxs-capital/

"The Science of Value" (Out next year)

Intro: Kenny Dorham - Maxology

Outro: Atari Teenage Riot - Destroy 2000 Years of Culture

Ep 154: Anti-Anti Populism w Anton Jaeger Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

Sean, Jamie and Andy are joined by Anton Jaeger (@antonjagermm), Marxist researcher of populism, to discuss the history, present and future of populism whether in the left or right mold.

Several years ago it seemed as though left populism - exemplified by practitioners such as Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders - had a decent shot at upending the Washington Consensus on austerity, markets and foreign policy. With the failure and retreat of these candidates and others, what is left of this project? Why does right populism seem everywhere ascendant? What do these movements say about the economy and the political order? How can we understand the populist mode of politics in relation to the fight to abolish capital?

For bonus content, access to our Discord and first dibs at calling in for out streams (twitch.tv/theantifada) become a patron today at Patreon.com/theantifada

Works by Anton:

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/01/populism-douglas-hofstadter-donald-trump-democracy

https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii128/articles/anton-jager-rebel-regions

https://www.newstatesman.com/international/2021/02/welfare-without-welfare-state-death-postwar-welfarist-consensus

https://jacobinmag.com/2019/11/we-bet-the-house-on-left-populism-and-lost

https://catalyst-journal.com/2020/03/making-sense-of-populism

https://nonsite.org/back-to-work-review-of-david-graebers-bullshit-jobs/

Intro: Cincinnati's University Singers -The Hand the Holds the Bread https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqiAT6o7Kks

Outro: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - Populism Yea Yea

BONUS: Deep State Lab Leak w/ Julian Feeld Aug 06, 2021

Show notes

Julian Feeld sticks around to smoke a hash joint and discuss the work of the New School alumni graphic designer who began the Deep State Map Project, his contact with aliens for Ashtar, the Q-esque manifesto it inspired, and our opinions on the "lab leak" hypothesis

For the full episode ppplleeeeaaasssseee support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada

Show notes:

Dylan Louis Monroe: Deep State Mapping Project

Interview: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/04/a-fascinating-interview-with-a.html

Nicholas Baker in New York Magazine: Did COVID-19 Escape from a Lab?

Ep 153 - Q Late w/ Julian Feeld Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

We're joined by QAnon Anonymous host Julian Feeld from Paris, giving us an update on all things QAnon, including Ron Watkins' pivot to UFOs, the right and left of the Yellow Vest movement's resistance to Macron's neoliberalism and vaccine passports, if there's any hope in a revolutionary left QAnon movement, and tips on staying sane in the eye of the storm.

Check out QAnon Anyonymous on Patreon and Twitch

Video of fascists getting wrecked at vaccine passport demo in Toulouse

For a bonus episode with Julian, and all other bonus material and access to our discord community, support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada

Music: Q: Into the Storm theme by Brent Knopf

Ep 152 - Anti-Imperialist Birthright w/ Marvin Gonzalez Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

Jamie is joined by Marvin Gonzalez (@Sulliedsubjects), a member of DSA's International Committee Secretariat, to discuss his recent trip to Venezuela as part of DSA's delegation to the Congreso Bicentenario de los Pueblos del Mundo, as well as his experience touring las comunas, a Soviet-like organ of dual power.

Outro song: Lloviznando Cantos - Arriba a la Izquierda

For more, check out the DSA delegation's report back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL2RHFnzpG0

Check out The Partisan, a publication from three of DSA's communist caucuses: partisanmag.com

Become a member at patreon.com/theantifada to unlock tons of bonus content and our Discord community!

PREVIEW - Is China Imperialist? w/ Tony Norfield Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

As promised, here is a continuation of the discussion with Tony Norfield about capitalist imperialism and finance: is China's Belt and Road Initiative an imperialist endeavor? Despite having billionaires and huge corporations, is China even capitalist? What would a new Cold War between America and China look like?

Become a patron at www.patreon.com/theantifada for access to this bonus content and more, plus our Discord server and first in line to call in on our twitch.tv/theantifada

Ep 151 - Invisible Empire w/ Tony Norfield Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

Sean speaks with Tony Norfield (@StubbornFacts) who worked for decades in international banking and has seen first hand the way capital exploits the world, about the intersection of finance and empire. His book, 2016's The City, is more than just an update Lenin and Hilferding's work on imperialism, it provides a crucial Marxist analysis and critique of the capitalist world system, interest-bearing capital, international institutions, and more.

In this interview we discuss the long duree of Brexit, where the British ruling class fits in the hegemonic world order, the connection between market power and state violence, the rise of 'neoliberalism', and critique the idea that capitalism is being replaced by 'neofeudalism' or 'rentier capitalism'.

Bonus episode on the spicy question, 'is China imperialist,' is also available, so become a patron today at www.patreon.com/theantifada for access to this and more!

Buy the book: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2457-the-city

Articles mentioned in the discussion:

https://economicsofimperialism.blogspot.com/2016/07/value-theory-finance-and-imperialism.html

https://anti-imperialist-action-ireland.com/blog/2020/08/01/china-and-us-power-with-tony-norfield/

https://economicsofimperialism.blogspot.com/2014/09/t-shirt-economics-update.html

Outro: Dirtbombs - Living Just Enough for the City (Stevie Wonder)