Cosmopod

Chas, James, and Rudy delve into the history of the Polish People's Republic in this episode, focusing on the influential Solidarity movement. They explore communism's roots in Poland from the interwar period to WWII, highlighting the challenges posed by the Soviet invasion. The conversation covers the post-WWII liberation, the establishment of the Polish nation-state, and the diverse governmental shifts leading up to the 1980s. They also discuss how Solidarity emerges from the Workers' Defense Committee, leading to discussions on the events preceding martial law and the eventual decline of communism in 1980s Poland. They conclude by examining Solidarity's post-communist path and comparing the varied trajectories of the People's Republics. References: F. Bartel - The Triumph of Broken Promises: The End of the Cold War and the Rise of Neoliberalism J. M. Bloom - Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution: Solidarity and the Struggle Against Communism in Poland F. Fejtö - A history of the people's democracies: Eastern Europe since Stalin P. J. Kenney - Rebuilding Poland: Workers and Communists, 1945–1950 D. Ost - Defeat of Solidarity: Anger And Politics In Postcommunist Europe D. Ost - Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics: Opposition and Reform in Poland since 1968 A. J. Prazmowska - Civil War in Poland: 1942-1948 A. Szymanski - Class Struggle in Socialist Poland: With Comparisons to Yugoslavia

Rob, Eric and Rudy continue their discussion of the Algerian revolution from the fall of Ben Bella to the end of the Black Decade (known in the West as the Algerian Civil War). We discuss the starting point of Boumedienne's government, the agrarian reform and the developmentalist program undertaken in industry, as well as the internal divisions of the FLN during this period which led to widespread sabotage of this developmentalist program. We then talk about Boumedienne's death, and the change in the direction of the country taken by his successor Benjadid, and how political liberalization was attempted to counteract decaying life quality. We discuss the underlying events and rifts that led to the start of the Civil War, as well as discuss why scholars question that it was a Civil War at all. We end by shortly discussing the character of the Algerian Government that came out of the Civil War. References: M. Bennoune - The Making of Contemporary Algeria, 1830-1987 J. Mcdougall - A History of Algeria K. Pfeifer - Agrarian Reform Under State Capitalism in Algeria H. Roberts - The Battlefield: Algeria 1988-2002, Studies in a Broken Polity E. Wolf - Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century

Renzo Llorente critically responds to Gil Schaeffer's views on democratic rights and socialism. Read By: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Gus, Donald and Isaac join Esra, author of the webside CR-CPUSA Exposed: Hub for Information and Recovery for a discussion on their experience inside the Committee to Reconstitute the Communist Party of the USA, also known as the Red Guards. We go into a lot of detail on how the CR-CPUSA operated, how it related to its locals and how it was basically centered around the personality of Jared Roark, also knon as Comrade Dallas. We talk about how the CR-CPUSA came to dissolve by a process initiated from its own membership and how that relates to other accounts of leaving cults. We then pivot to the term 'brainwashing', cultic studies and how people on the left can relate to this field. We finish with the often conflictual relationship between the Red Guards and other leftist movements and the role of violence and abusive persolaities in leftist organizations.

Rudy and Christian join Chris Gilbert for a discussion on his new book Commune or Nothing! Venezuela's Communal Movement and its Socialist Project. We cover the history of the Venezuelan communal project, and how it relates to previous attempts of the government to build a socialist economy including the Venezuelan cooperative movement or the drive to build state-run industry. We discuss the ideas of István Mészáros on how the commune centers the communal control of the labor process, and attempts to solve problems found during the socialist transition, before pivoting to ground data on the communes, the economic relationships between them and towards the outside, the issues with voluntarism, the problem of attracting the youth and the structure of the new Communard Union. We finish with an outlook for the future and a discussion on how communes center all around human development and have a more mystical side to them.

Luke joins Gil Shaeffer, a former member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and author of "You Can't Use Weatherman to Show Which Way the Wind Blew" to talk about the SDS, the New Left, and the centrality of democratic republicanism to Marxism. Gil discusses his path to joining SDS in the late 1960s, the impact of figures like C Wright Mills, the little-remembered March on Fort Dix, and the meaning of "participatory democracy." He explains how SDS and the New Left are presented in popular histories (including the work of Kirkpatrick Sale), and the motivation behind writing his history of the period. Gil ends by discussing the present moment and the ongoing struggle for a democratic revolution.

Gus Breslauer responds to Angry Workers of the World on the issue of Palestine and Zionism. There is no path "around" Intifada, the working class must go in-and-through it. Read by: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Donald, Christian, and Connor sit down to discuss the political economic conditions of the Soviet Union during the period of the New Economic Policy. Over the course of the episode, they cover War Communism, the intellectual currents and debates within the Party, the importance of the peasant question, the geopolitics of isolation, and the NEP's long term viability. References: R. C. Allen - Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution V. Barnett - The Revolutionary Russian Economy, 1890-1940 Ideas, Debates and Alternatives V. Brovkin - Russia After Lenin: Politics, Culture and Society, 1921-1929 E. H. Carr and R. W. Davies – Foundations of a Planned Economy 1926-1929, Volume 1 R. W. Davies - From Tsarism to the New Economic Policy: Continuity and Change in the Economy of the U.S.S.R. R. W. Davies - Soviet Economic Development from Lenin to Khrushchev R. W. Davies - The Socialist Offensive: The Collectivisation of Soviet Agriculture, 1929-1930 R. B. Day - Leon Trotsky and the Politics of Economic Isolation A. Ehrlich – The Soviet Industrialization Debate, 1924-1928 S. Fitzpatrick, A. Rabinowitz and R. Stites (eds.) - Russia in the Era of NEP: Explorations in Soviet Society and Culture P. R. Gregory - Before Command: The Russian Economy from Emancipation to the First Five-Year Plan J. B. Hatch - Labor and Politics in NEP Russia: Workers, Trade Unions, and the Communist Party in Moscow, 1921-1926 M. L. Hilton - Selling to the Masses: Retailing in Russia, 1880-1930 M. Reiman - The Birth of Stalinism: the USSR on The Eve of The Second Revolution S. A. Resnick, R. D. Wolff - Class Theory and History: Capitalism and Communism in the USSR O. Sanchez-Sibony - Red Globalization: The Political Economy of the Soviet Cold War from Stalin to Khrushchev. D. Shearer - Industry, State, and Society in Stalin's Russia, 1926-1934 K. A. S. Siegel - Loans and Legitimacy: The Evolution of Soviet-American Relations, 1919-1933 L. H. Siegelbaum - Soviet State and Society Between Revolutions 1918-1929 D. R. Stone - Hammer and Rifle: The Militarization of the Soviet Union, 1926-1933

Luke joins Douglas Egerton, author of The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era, for a conversation about an epoch-defining period in U.S. history. Drawing from the lives of lesser-known actors, Douglas details attempts to transform the foundation of society following the Civil War and the vociferous resistance to those changes. Douglas provides an overview of Reconstruction, the forces involved, and, crucially, the way in which the period has been memorized and presented in academia and popular culture.

Rudy joins Matteo Capasso, author of Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for a discussion on Libya with a focus on the period from 1969 to 2011. We delves into Matteo's research on Libya, exploring the myths and stories surrounding Libya's history, aiming to dispel the notion of Qaddafi's authoritarianism and the concept of statelessness among the Libyan people. The conversation takes a historical journey, discussing the antecedents of the Libyan revolution, the formation of the "Jamahiriya," and Qaddafi's rise to power. They analyze the authoritarian nature of Qaddafi's rule, Libya's anti-imperialist role in the world, and key events that marked the decline of the revolution. The podcast also examines the role of Saif al-Islam, the framing of opposition in Islamic terms, the economic benefits of the revolution, and the surprising insights gained from conversations with refugees. Finally, the discussion delves into the complexities of the 2011 Libyan revolution and its enduring impact on Libyan politics, especially present with the recent floods.

Rob, Eric and Rudy delve into the Algerian revolution, tracing its roots back to French colonization, through the liberation war, and the Ben Bella period. This first part of the discussion on Algeria explores the 19th-century French settlement of Algeria and the various phases of colonization. It also examines the impact of Algerian labor migration to France and its role in the liberation war. We provide insights into the National Liberation Front (FLN), highlighting its different factions and also discuss key events during the war. We go on to analyze the Ben Bella era, shedding light on the myth of Algerian self-management and its failure to meet expectations. Additionally, the episode covers Ben Bella's economic and internationalist program, discussing both its achievements and shortcomings. We then explore the fault lines within Algerian leadership that ultimately led to Ben Bella's ousting in the 1965 coup d'etat by Boumédiène. In part two we will discuss Algeria through Boumédiène's government, the Civil War and up to the present. References: M. Bennoune - The Making of Contemporary Algeria: 1830-1987 J. J. Byrne - Mecca of Revolution: Algeria, Decolonization, and the Third World Order I. Clegg - Worker's Self Management in Algeria M. H. Davis - Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria A. Horne - A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 E. R. Wolf - Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century

Gil Schaeffer responds to Renzo Llorente's "The Contradictions and Confusions of 'Democratic Socialism" and argues that socialists need to base their politics on a coherent ethical theory of democratic rights. Read by: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Immanuel Ness to discuss his recent work Migration as Economic Imperialism: How International Labour Mobility Undermines Economic Development in Poor Countries. We begin by explaining why migration is economic imperialism and addressing key questions about who migrates, their reasons, and destinations, highlighting evolving migration patterns. We explore how migration patterns are designed to meet labor demands and the role of recruitment agencies. Ness distinguishes between temporary and undocumented migrants, emphasizing the differences and discussing circular migration for highly-skilled individuals. Furthermore, he delves into the impact of skilled vs. unskilled migration on countries and the idea of migration as both individual freedom and national catastrophe. Ness also examines remittances, their framing by organizations like NGOs and the UN, their real-world implications, and how they tie into neoliberal ideology. We then discuss migration in the political realm: immigrant organization, their vulnerabilities, and reliance on personal actions or NGO support, with examples from the US and South Africa.

Hank Kennedy traces the ideological history of Superman, arguing that the populism of the character's early iterations would eventually be shed as a result of commercial interests. Read by: Keir Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins authors Helen Hester and Nick Srnicek to explore their latest book, After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time. The conversation commences with a clear definition of domestic work, setting the stage for the book's unique perspective on this issue in contrast to other theoretical frameworks. The dialogue delves into 20th-century trends in household labor within the global North, with a special focus on Cowan's paradox. Additionally, the episode explores the realm of electronic smart homes and introduces the "maids over machines" principle, highlighting regional variations in caregiving from the global North to the global South. The discussion culminates in an examination of alternative paradigms for addressing household labor, including historical collective infrastructure initiatives from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as contemporary endeavors like those found in Cuba.

Luke Pickrell of Marxist Unity Group emphasizes the centrality of radical democracy to the communist project and reintroduces the construction of the democratic republic as the foundational political goal for socialists today. He emphatically asserts that if socialists are to defeat the tricephalic hydra of capitalist domination, we must aim for the heart – "the source and parent of all the other atrocities" – the US Constitution. Read by: Aliyah Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Amelia joins Amy, Steven, and Greg for a discussion centered around the Marxist Unity Group (MUG) in the aftermath of the recent Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) convention. Amy, who earned a seat on the National Political Committee (NPC) through her election at the convention, as well as the others provide an insider's perspective on the organization of DSA and the significance of the National Convention. The conversation delves into the inner workings of DSA, exploring its structural dynamics, the purpose of the National Convention, and the extent of its influence. Factions within DSA, the culture of open debate, and the underlying divisions within the organization come under scrutiny. The team then dissects the proceedings and outcomes of the convention itself. Shifting the focus to the youth wing of DSA, they talk about Marxist Unity Group's strategic approach here. The episode concludes with an exploration of MUG's immediate and medium-term political aspirations, offering listeners a comprehensive overview of their vision and trajectory.

Chas, Christian, Rudy, and James come together to delve into a comprehensive conversation about the Prague Spring, a significant Czechoslovak reform movement. Their discussion begins by tracing the roots of Czechoslovak communism, recounting the post-World War II Communist ascension to power, and elaborating on the gradual and intricate reform drive that eventually culminated in Dubček's rise to leadership during the Prague Spring of 1968. Subsequently, they explore the ideologies championed by key reformists, analyze the factors that prompted the Soviet Union's intervention, and dissect the shortcomings of the USSR's intervention strategy. Lastly, the conversation concludes by dissecting the reformers' envisioned goals and actual accomplishments. Bibliography: G. Golan - Reform Rule in Czechoslovakia: The Dubcek Era 1968–1969 J. Krejčí - Social Change and Stratification in Postwar Czechoslovakia V. Kusin - The Intellectual Origins of the Prague Spring: The Development of Reformist Ideas in Czechoslovakia, 1956-1967 V. Kusin - From Dubcek to Charter 77: A Study of 'Normalization' in Czechoslovakia, 1968-1978 Z. Mlynář - Nightfrost in Prague: The end of humane socialism O. Šik - Czechoslovakia: The Bureaucratic Economy. I. Svitak - The Czechoslovak Experiment: 1968 - 1969 K. Williams - The Prague Spring and its Aftermath: Czechoslovak Politics, 1968-1970

Luke and Donald join Alexander Gourevitch, author of From Slavery to Cooperative Commonwealth: Labor and Republican Liberty in the 19th Century, for a wide-ranging discussion about the republican conception of freedom and how republicanism was taken up by workers in the United States. They begin by discussing older conceptions of freedom and slavery and how those ideas evolved. They consider the Workingmen's Parties and the Knights of Labor as examples of 'labor republicans' who saw wage labor as a form of slavery. They discuss Supreme Court rulings that embody the distinction between 'laissez-faire' and 'labor republicanism,' as well as different conceptions of 'civic virtue.' They conclude by exploring the potential for a universal struggle under the banner of freedom from domination and all forms of servitude.

Jackson, Rudy and Steve sit down to talk about political education in the communist movement. They explore their personal experiences with education in both formal and political settings, highlighting the contrasting dynamics. Delving into the models of political education within a party, they emphasize the significance of cultivating a shared language and vision. The trio generously shares practical examples and tips for organizing engaging and diverse reading and study groups, ensuring a captivating learning experience that transcends demographics.

Splits and purges are no solution to the problem of disagreement in the socialist movement. Marisa Miale calls for unity in diversity in the context of the DSA. Read By: LC Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Adela Cedillo, co-editor of Challenging Authoritarianism in Mexico Revolutionary Struggles and the Dirty War, 1964-1982, and author of several studies on the Mexican dirty war such as El Fuego y El Silencio, Historia de las Fuerzas de Liberación Nacional Mexicanas (1969-1974), for a conversation on this period of history. We discuss the mixed legacy of the Mexican revolution, the state of the left after the progressive presidency of Lazaro Cárdenas, the two periods in Mexican insurrectionism: before and after the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre and how the left responded to this event. We continue by discussing the origins of the Frente de Liberación Nacional (FLN), how its strategy evolved, and how it laid the base for the Zapatistas. We finish by briefly discussing how the Zapatistas are different from their predecessors and how the dirty war slowly evolved into the drug war.

Renzo Llorente engages with contemporary advocates of Democratic Socialism and argues that they ultimately fail to demarcate between liberal and socialist visions of democracy, resulting in capitulation to the liberal status quo. Read By: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy and Djamil join Sam Parry, author of The Ugly Economics of the Beautiful Game for a discussion on how capitalism interacts with the sport most of the world knows as football. We talk about the many ways in which capitalism interacts with international football from a world-systems perspective including how the periphery ends up supplying talent to the economic core, the tendencies towards vertical integration, the stickiness of capital, the historic patterns of club ownership, and the recent irruption of oil-money clubs. We also briefly talk about the ways national teams, race and football interact.

Daniel Tutt looks to the philosophy of Georg Lukács and his critique of bourgeois irrationalism to explicate the role of intellectuals and worldviews in the class struggle. Read By: Allen Lanterman Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Combining the insights of previous scholarship with information gathered from Bureau of Investigation (BOI, predecessor of the FBI) surveillance documents, Ian Szabo presents a new angle on the history of the African Blood Brotherhood (ABB), illustrating the organizations' particular synthesis of Black radical politics and Marxism, as well as revealing the racial fantasy through which contemporaneous mainstream U.S. media and the state understood its methods and goals. Read by: Luke Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Luke and Donald join Robert Ovetz, author of We the Elites: Why the Constitution Serves the Few, for a discussion on the Constitution as a potent obstacle to political and social democracy in the United States. They begin with a discussion about the history and context of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the various anxieties the Framers held toward indigenous resistance, slave rebellions, and debtor revolts. They explore the document's inner workings, including the various minoritarian checks scattered throughout. They comment on previous critiques of the Constitution and where those critiques have gone. They conclude by emphasizing why people concerned with any of the numerous problems of contemporary society should position the Constitution at the heart of their attack.

Charlie Frank gives an overview of the forms of social mobilization that developed as a response to the AIDS pandemic as well as what lessons the left can draw from this chapter of history. Read by Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Colin Darch, author of several books on Mozambique and curator of Mozambique History Net for a discussion on Mozambique from the colonial period to the unraveling of the socialist period. We discuss Portuguese colonialism and the economic system the country had, the liberation movement FRELIMO with attention to its origins and its historical leader Eduardo Mondlane, before talking about Samora Machel, the first leader of an independent Mozambique. We discuss the Machel period and its achievements, and also what changes after Machel's death and Joaquim Chissano's take over.

The Cibcom Collective take aim at domestic realism, arguing that feminist planning of the domestic economy is necessary to the communist project. This is a translation of an article originally published in Jacobin América Latina. Read By: Luke Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Nodrada explores the tensions and resonances between Marxism and Indigenous thought, putting the writings of Native theorists such as Vine Deloria Jr., Luther Standing Bear, Winona LaDuke, and many others in dialogue with those of Marx. Read By: Aliyah Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Victor Petrov, author of Balkan Cyberia: Cold War Computing, Bulgarian Modernization, and the Information Age behind the Iron Curtain for a discussion on The People's Republic of Bulgaria and its computing industry and offshoots. They discuss the history of socialism in Bulgaria, how it changed the country's productive basis from an agricultural nation to one that could produce an all-Bulgarian satellite in 1981 and be a worldwide leader of computing. We talk about how the computing industry took advantage of Comecon and of intelligence services to grow, how Bulgaria related to other countries like Japan and India, Bulgarian modernization and the cultural space the computing industry took including sci-fi and the Bulgarian laws of robotics. We end by talking about how reformers tried to use computers to reform socialism, and industry professionals took a role in the fall of socialism in Bulgaria.

Isaac joins Kei and Leila from Stop Cop City/Defend Atlanta Forest for a discussion on the movement, its strategy and its ultimate goals. They discuss what brought them into the movement, what the Weelaunee coalition and the Atlanta Police Foundation are, how the movement uses three prongs to aim for victory, and how it relates to the political landscape in Atlanta. They also touch on the centrality of care in a movement which has seen someone murdered, as well as the links to contemporary ecosocialism and abolitionism. You can donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund here.

Cibcom Collective's Response to Luke P Read by: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Robert Biel, author of The Entropy of Capitalism, The New Imperialism and Sustainable Food Systems for a discussion on systems approaches to analyzing capitalism. They cover Robert's earlier work on entropy and capitalism, how the capitalist system externalizes disorder on the periphery, the role of China in the world-system, the potentialities of agriculture and much more.

This letter is in response to Conquering Democracy, Abolishing Political Representation by the Cibcom Collective. I appreciated the comrades' thought-provoking work and the opportunity to clarify my ideas in response. I have several peripheral agreements regarding the importance of democracy and the utility of workers' councils, and one fundamental disagreement about the nature of the democratic republic. Read by: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy and Harry join Rodrigo Nunes, author of Neither Vertical nor Horizontal: A Theory of Political Organization for a discussion on Rodrigo's approach to thinking about the problem of organization. We cover the need to move beyond certain dichotomies like vertical and horizontal, self-organized vs organized from the outside, the need for understanding organization ecologically, the problem of organizational fitness, and discuss the potential applications of the ideas in this book.

Annie joins Elisabeth Armstrong, author of Bury the Corpse of Colonialism: The Revolutionary Feminist Conference of 1949 for a discussion of the Beijing conference and the international women's movement of the period. They discuss the composition and politics of the Women's International Democratic Federation, the key figures in the WIDF who played a role in the Asian Women's Conference, the different rhetorical strategies formulated through the conference, including revolutionary motherhood and women's anti-colonialism, as well as the political and interpersonal dynamics between women in the WIDF from the imperial core and women from colonized countries. They then discuss the place of the conference in the broader communist movement, the role of state repression, and how the terrain of feminist politics has changed since the peak of the WIDF, drawing lessons for contemporary feminist and socialist movements.

A recent Jacobin piece by Chris Maisano argues that building "a Left that matters" requires focusing on Democratic Party electoral work, but we must be clear about the consequence of such an orientation: a middle-class Left that remains disconnected from the proletariat and abandons the fundamentals of Marxism. By Jacque Erie. Read By: Keir Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

The Cibcom Collective argues that Communist society will require an overcoming of political representation in favor of forms of direct democracy like sortition and referendum. Read By: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro and George Martin, authors of Urban Food Production for Ecosocialism: Cultivating the City for a discussion on urban agriculture. We talk about the history of food and the city, the ways the Global North/South divide is reflected in food, before focusing on the authors' fieldwork on what the political uses as well as limitations of urban food gardens are. We discuss examples in Ghana, Italy, the US, China and Cuba, and what is done right and wrong in each of these cases.

Transcription and commentary by SA Reed. Read by Cliff Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Amelia, RK, Harry and Rudy sit down for a discussion on systems approaches to ecology using as a basis H. T. Odum's Environment, Power, and Society for the Twenty-First Century: The Hierarchy of Energy . We talk about Odum's innovations in the field of ecology, his ideas about the hierarchies of energy and matter, how to use Odum's framework to extend Marxist analysis of society towards constructing an eco-socialist program, and use that to critically evaluate several current political proposals including degrowth, unequal ecological exchange and eco-modernism. Other references: "Limits to growth" in communism? Bonaiuti, M. From bioeconomics to degrowth. London: Routledge, 2011. http://www.georgescuroegen.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/From_Bioeconomics_to_Degrowth_def.pdf Cockshott, Paul. "Calculation in-Natura, from Neurath to Kantorovich." University of Glasgow(2008). https://www.academia.edu/download/68627453/standalonearticle.pdf Foster, J. B., and Holleman, H. "The theory of unequal ecological exchange: a Marx-Odum dialectic." Journal of Peasant Studies41.2 (2014): 199-233. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2014.889687 Kikstra, J. S., Mastrucci, A., Min, J., Riahi, K., & Rao, N. D. (2021). Decent living gaps and energy needs around the world. Environmental Research Letters, 16(9) https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac1c27 O'Neill, John. "Socialist calculation and environmental valuation: money, markets and ecology." Science & Society66.1 (2002): 137-151. https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/pdf/10.1521/siso.66.1.137.21006 Pirgmaier, E. (2018) Value, Capital and Nature. Rethinking the foundations of ecological economics. PhD thesis, University of Leeds. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/22895/

links to read and sign resolutions here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXgSds8qpoyqfwY-wXfs00htSRExsofCdvgLDRN-_Zn82IsQ/viewform https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_9gWNbmroeapzEBICuZotHoLElzUalW_jD84jxqqkVF8L-w/viewform

Gil Schaeffer responds to Ben Grove's "Twelve-Step Program for Democrat Addiction" and its arguments about the need for a mass party, critiquing Mike Macnair, Ben Lewis and Lars Lih's concept of Erfurtian Marxism. Read By: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Shuvu Bhattarai of the Marxist Unity Group outlines an overview of the recent history of DSA and finds a demarcation between pro-party and anti-party tendencies, calling on those sympathetic to the former to join the fight for a mass socialist party in the United States of America. Read by: Aliyah Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment. Part 2 of Shvu's response to Lazare will deal with building a United Front Campaign of the Working Class in time for the 2024 US Presidential Elections. Special thanks to members and sympathizers of the Marxist Unity Group, Reform and Revolution, Tempest, and Socialist Alternative for helping compile some of the information here about the DSA and other socialist groups, as well as providing some resources to help build this article's argument.

Anton joins Robert Knox for a discussion of Marxist approaches to law, with a focus on international law. We discuss critical legal studies, international law and how it compares to other branches of law, its origins and how it has evolved through the years focusing on the cases of Haiti, the USSR and decolonization movement, and law and neocolonialism. We also discuss how Marxists can approach law in general through principled opportunism.

Harry Zehner analyzes the discourse and politics of the YIMBY-NIMBY divide and argues that socialists should reject this binary entirely. Read By: Aliyah Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy, Carson, Eric and Rob sit down to talk about the only socialist state in the Arab peninsula, and arguably in the Arab world: The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, also known as South Yemen. We discuss its origins, the struggles of the left factions to pursue a socialist path, its economic policies and political turns, as well as the factors that led to its demise through reunification with the north. We also briefly talk about the revival of South Yemeni sentiment during the present war. References: Articles: Helen Lackner - Yemen's Socialist Experiment Was a Political Landmark for the Arab World Books: Anne-Linda Amira Augustin - South Yemen's Independence Struggle: Generations of Resistance Noel Brehony - Yemen Divided: The Story of a Failed State in South Arabia Fred Halliday - Revolution and Foreign Policy: The Case of South Yemen, 1967-1987 Joseph Kostiner - The Struggle For South Yemen Joseph Kostiner - South Yemen's Revolutionary Strategy, 1970 1985: From Insurgency To Bloc Politics Helen Lackner, Husayn Abd Allah Amri - P. D. R. Yemen: Outpost Of Socialist Development In Arabia Miriam M. Müller - A Spectre Is Haunting Arabia: How the Germans Brought Their Communism to Yemen

In a comparative study of Austro-Marxism, the French Socialist movement, and Bolshevism, Medway Baker argues for the left to seek unity around a programme of constitutional disloyalty. Read By: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.