The Russians are hoping to encircle Ukraine's defensive lines in the Donbass. If they do, they might be able to declare victory.

The Ukrainians are racing east, not only to defend their territory, but might just also be able to counter-attack.

Let's break it down.

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So much has changed over the past month -- Ukraine is on the offensive. Kyiv is safe. The war moves east. Air superiority actually matters more than ever.

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On this episode, Erik interviews Lindsay Graham of American History Tellers and History Daily. They talk about the similarities and differences between today's political and economic climate and that of the Civil War and the Gilded Age.

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The war should have been short and decisive. And as it drags out, Russia looks ever-more inept. What's wrong with its military? What's wrong with its chain of command? Will its economy collapse?

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While this war is far from over... well, it's far from over! And nobody expected that. In this episode we talk about why Ukraine is winning, what it could mean for Russia and the world if they do win, and how warfare is changing as we watch it unfold.

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Erik explains why Russia is invading Ukraine, what their war aims are, what the West is doing, how geopolitics plays into all of this, and a little bit of what might happen next. Get a little sanity of clarity amidst the livestream chaos.

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"Another cause which kept the plebeians in as state of poverty was the unjust distribution of the public land (ager publicus) which had been acquired in war..."

William C. Morey, Outline of Roman History

The Optimates:

Represented the Elites in the run-up to, and the middle of, the Roman Civil Wars

Believe the mob wasn’t really fit to rule, wanted to rule for them

Also represented special interests who benefited personally from a lot of laws that led to unsustainable economic conditions -- such as the (not) Lex Agraria

(Lex Agraria: redistribution due to the landlessness of soldiers during the Punic Wars)

Who are the Optimates Today?

We might think they’re just the rich, or megacorporations (or sometimes, lobbyists). Those are certainly Optimates, but we forget that those with Special Interests are everywhere.

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Antiwork had a really bad day

Source Article

“Laziness is a virtue in this society” - r/antiwork moderator

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement

“Supporters of the anti-work movement believe people should self-organise and labour only as much as needed, rather than working longer hours to create excess capital or goods.”

USA is a tough crowd for this kind of pitch. See: bad branding.

What does Antiwork stand for?

Many people tried to give Erik the answer… and many were different

-Worker’s rights / labor unions

-Economic inequality

-Surplus Value

-Same standard of living for fewer hours

-4-day week

-Abolishing capitalism

-etc

Antiwork freaks out

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se7b86/how_do_you_fuck_up_this_bad/

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se59eu/can_be_overworked_to_exhaustion_if_you_sleep_on/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se4gfp/based_af/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se418m/i_didnt_think_this_sub_was_literally_antiwork/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se4nf9/mods_are_trash/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se5cit/im_glad_the_21_year_old_mod_has_the_funds_to_be/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se3v15/does_anyone_think_we_would_better_off_with_a/ 

An interesting conversation with my friend Austin

You have to stand for something if you want a movement… not just against

See: Civil Rights

See: Gay Marriage

See: Women’s Suffrage

Other problems:

1. Tea party rise-and-fall
2. Occupy Wall Street
3. BLM

This applies to our Revolutions episode, too -- being against something is only a short-term uniter.

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Today we talk about something I've reconsidered lately: Antiwork

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Erik’s initial take

-labor organization and rights are a great thing

-Not putting up with crappy work conditions, and forcing companies to compete, is a great thing (and this is my opinion as an employer)

-saying “I want stuff - someone has to make it- and I don't want to work in exchange” seems crazy

-”Ending work,” part of the motto, is very explicitly about not working, even though antiworkers will sometimes say they're not actually about that. At the very least it’s terrible marketing.

What do they say the’re about?

"A lot of people mistake antiwork for being lazy, and like nothing has to ever get done," one moderator of the subreddit, who goes by u/rockcellist, told Business Insider. 

"But the truth of the matter about antiwork — and everything surrounding it — is that obviously things have to get done, but the current structure in which things get done and the way that capital flows as they get done is unfair and should be nonexistent." 

Many posts are about pushing back against, or at least calling out, what seem like unfair or ridiculous practices by companies/management…

..but others get really weird. 

#3 post all time is a disgruntled employee, telling one side of the job, who went and deleted thousands of hours of work they did (they happened to still have access).

Erik sees…

Again among some stuff about labor organization, work standards, sharing some amazingly awful stuff that employers and managers have done, sharing pay rates, tips to negotiate, other stuff that actually seems pretty good:

1. The sense that money isn’t earned - it’s just this ritual/token task you have to do to be allowed to live/survive
2. The sense that suckering a company to get paid to do nothing is good
3. 40 hours is way too much work

So this doesn’t fit with my own model or experience or biases.

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