Cosmopod

Amelia, Jake, Steve and Rudy sit down for a discussion of what experiences in organizing brought them to be interested in Cybernetics and Beer's viable system model, and how they try to think through the structures of the organizations they currently are members of in Beerian terms. They discuss the dichotomies of centralization/de-centralization and here/now vs then/there, and how to balance them as well as the need for regulation in organization in the shape of arbitration and policies.

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Stafford Beer's Designing Freedom Massey Lectures and his Falcondale Lectures are good places to begin with his work. A 10-min explanation is also provided by Auxiliary Statements.

The General Intellect Unit podcast also features prominently in our discussion as a resource.

Cliff Connolly critiques CounterPower's vision of the "party of autonomy" and offers an alternative vision of the mass party. Cliff reads his article aloud.

Lydia, Isaac and Rudy join Emmanuel Farjoun from Matzpen for a discussion on his 1983 piece Class divisions in Israeli society and how the divisions have changed in the present day. We discuss the changing strength of the Palestinians inside Israel and how that is reflected in their changing political aims, the differences between whiteness in the US and the construction of race in Israel, and the BDS movement internationally.

Matt Strupp reads aloud the a reprint of the mission statement of Marxist Unity Slate, a set of proposals for the 2021 DSA convention with the aim of fostering democratic discipline and principled election campaigns, as well as uniting Marxists in DSA around a vision of a mass socialist party. The proposals can be read and signed here, 100 signatures are needed to bring these to the convention.

Most of the participants in Marxist Unity Slate are associated with Cosmonaut Magazine, either as contributors or board members. However, this should not be seen as an effort by Cosmonaut itself, but rather an attempt by like-minded comrades active in DSA to advocate for a specific direction. Cosmonaut hosts a diversity of views and Marxist Unity Slate is one of a number of personal initiatives of individuals associated with Cosmonaut.

Donald and Rudy sit down with Wayne Au, author of A Marxist Education. They discuss his experiences on providing a critical education, how education in the US currently stands and how Covid has just brought to the forefront issues faced by students. They discuss the Au's work on Paulo Freire and Lev Vygotsky, and end up envisioning how a socialist school could look like.

Mikael Lyngaas argues that post-work theorists ranging from Bob Black to Srnicek and Williams are utopian socialism for the current era. Sam Wiles reads the article out loud.

Renato Flores argues for self-determination and reparations for Black Americans as a key part of the revolutionary struggle in the USA. Robert Fisher reads the article out loud.

Ian and Donald join William Clare Roberts (@MarxInHell), author of Marx's Inferno for a discussion on the wider themes of his book: republicanism, non-domination, theories of freedom, the early communist movement, and how to read capital both politically and scientifically.

Isaac and Rudy join Moshé Machover, one of the four founding members of the Israeli Socialist Organization, better known as Matzpen after the name of their publication for a discussion on the group's origins, how their anti-zionist consciousness originated and developed, their marginalization by Israeli society during the 1967 war and how Arab/Jewish solidarity was built. The conversation then pivots to how the Israeli Class Structure has changed since its early analysis by Matzpen and what that bodes for the future. They also address the topics of diasporism and how Israel compares to other settler (and non-settler) societies in the world.

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Further resources:

Youtube documentary on Matzpen, Anti-Zionist Israelis

Moshé's articles on Belling the Cat, Colonialism and the Natives and Hebrew self-determination . Check out his Weekly Worker archive.

Matzpen's archives