Swampside Chats

We conclude our discussion of "The Logic of Political Survival" and touch a little bit on current events along the way.

Ezri and Jake revisit the selectorate theory of politics and discuss the first half of "The Logic of Political Survival" by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson, and James D. Morrow.

This episode we are joined again by C Derick Varn for another holiday episode on Jean Baudrillard. With the post-modern fog of war surrounding conflicts like the Ukraine and Syria in mind, we decided to revisit his collection of essays first published in 1991 "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place." And what we found there was maybe less than what we were hoping for.

We are joined by Jamie, a former member of the Canadian section of the IMT (International Marxist Tendency), to discuss the organization and a recent scandal within it, Trotskyism in general, and a few articles by Alan Woods.

"Alan Woods’ new year’s message 2022: I saw it in the movies "

https://www.marxist.com/alan-woods-new-year-s-message-2022-i-saw-it-in-the-movies.htm

"Marxism vs Identity Politics"

https://www.marxist.com/marxist-theory-and-the-struggle-against-alien-class-ideas.htm

"Trotsky’s suppressed letter: an introduction by Alan Woods"

https://www.marxist.com/trotsky-s-suppressed-letter-an-introduction-by-alan-woods.htm

We're joined by Rob Lucas to discuss two of his essays: "Error" and "Feeding the Infant"

https://endnotes.org.uk/articles/error.pdf

Also please consider supporting:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/DNAISNTDESTINY

Accompanied by Arnold from Fight Like an Animal, we head once more Into the Enemy Camp, returning to the work of one Theodore John Kaczynski. This time we examine his guide for revolutionary action: Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How.

We sit down with special guest Viv, to tackle selections from History and Class Consciousness. In the episode, we struggle to get a handle on Lukacs and do justice to the complex (and problematic) theory and legacy of this figure.

We return to the Enemy Camp with Tyler from New Zealand to discuss "The Shadow" by Lionel Terry.

We talk a little bit about Ukraine and then move on to finish our look at Fredrich Engels 1872 pamphlet "The Housing Question."

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/

This episode we sit down to discuss the recent antiwork internet phenomenon, its detachment from its more pointed ideological origins, and the growth of online spaces where people vent their frustrations with the nature of contemporary work. This discussion was spurred by a recent appearance by an r/antiwork moderator on Fox News, that lead to a viral backlash against it that, by the time you're hearing this you may well have forgotten about. Joining us are a few ex-mods from the anti-work discord.