Red Flag Radio

The Victorian wing of the Australian Socialist Party are about to make history by running a candidate in every seat in a state election. Jasmine Duff, the VS candidate for Footscray, joins Chloe to talk about the campaign. 

Australian politics are at a turning point. Pauline Hanson's One Nation has broken through the two-party system to become a serious electoral contender, including in the upcoming Victorian elections. We talk about Pauline Hanson's fascistic Press Club speech, the factors in Australian politics that have contributed to her rise, and how the left can understand and fight the far right. 

Further Readings

"One Nation needs to be fought, not just analysed" - Red Flag 

"Hanson’s shadow looms over Victoria: a serious socialist campaign can galvanise a fightback" by Omar Hassan 

Stalinism equates socialism/communism with state-controlled industry and a one party dictatorship. We reckon nothing could be further from genuine socialism and Marxism. Unfortuntely, this zombie idea from the 20th century has risen from the dead in the past few years and is gaining popularity among left wing people. In this ep, we debunk neo-Stalinism's main arguments: that the left needs to support "actually existing socialism", that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and that Western Marxists and even Western workers can't fight for socialism. 

Further reading:

"The Marxist alternative to fake communism" by April Holcombe in Red Flag 

"The Fraud of Stalinism" by D Taylor in Red Flag 

Since Labor's budget dropped we've heard a chorus of whingers and sooks from the business class (though they call themselves 'founders' and 'entrepreneurs') about having a few of their tax dodges taken away. In this episode we explain why they should stfu, why Labor can barely defend their own measures, and how much further socialists want to go in taxing the rich (and expropriating them). 

We also explain the Marxist theory of the middle classes. We thought it'd be pertinent given all this petty bourgeois whining. 

Further reading:

"Business community has a big sook" by Sarah Garnham in Red Flag 

"So much budget bluster" by Tom Bramble in Red Flag 

Chloe and Emma discuss identity politics, the dominant framework on the left for opposing oppression. They debunk ideas like privilege theory, autonomous organising and centreing "lived experience",

Emma and Chloe discuss the appalling US-Israeli war on Iran. They explain why Trump has started this war, the Australian government's response, and the recent sordid history of US imperialism. 

"Why the US is attacking Iran" by Tom Bramble in Red Flag  

Emma and Chloe talk about the meaning of the Epstein files and what they say about the way the rich and powerful rule over us.  

In the main segment we discuss One Nation and the intense Islamophobic atmosphere in Australia right now. We explain the realignment of the Coalition under new Liberal leader Angus Taylor and the concerningly high polls of Hanson's One Nation. 

Chloe and Emma talk about the police riot in Sydney orchestrated by Chris Minns. The NSW government sent 3,500 police to bash, stampede and pepperspray a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration of 20-30,000 people, against the rolling out of the red carpet for a war criminal who should be in the Hague.

We talk about what this event reveals about the police, the Australian Labor Party and the Australian ruling classes' commitment to Israel. 

Emma and Chloe talk about Trump's ICE gestapo terrorising American cities and the inspiring working class resistance to their murderous regime in Minneapolis. 

Also, an update on the continued ruling class campaign to silence pro-Palestine protests in Australia. 

Links:

Marxism Conference!! 

Register to protest Isaac Herzog! 

"Our union leaders are unmoved by genocide and indifferent to pay cuts" by Zak Borzovoy 

"Protest against war criminal Israeli President Isaac Herzog" by Shovan Bhattarai 

"The burgeoning resistance to Trump's deportation regime" by Joe Allen 

Chloe and Emma take down the rightwing, racist campaign against the Palestine movement since the Bondi massacre. 

NB: Since we recorded this episode, the Greens have indicated they will vote down the Hate Speech bill.