This Wreckage

As promised, here is a continuation of the discussion with Tony Norfield about capitalist imperialism and finance: is China's Belt and Road Initiative an imperialist endeavor? Despite having billionaires and huge corporations, is China even capitalist? What would a new Cold War between America and China look like?

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Sean speaks with Tony Norfield (@StubbornFacts) who worked for decades in international banking and has seen first hand the way capital exploits the world, about the intersection of finance and empire. His book, 2016's The City, is more than just an update Lenin and Hilferding's work on imperialism, it provides a crucial Marxist analysis and critique of the capitalist world system, interest-bearing capital, international institutions, and more.

In this interview we discuss the long duree of Brexit, where the British ruling class fits in the hegemonic world order, the connection between market power and state violence, the rise of 'neoliberalism', and critique the idea that capitalism is being replaced by 'neofeudalism' or 'rentier capitalism'.

Bonus episode on the spicy question, 'is China imperialist,' is also available, so become a patron today at www.patreon.com/theantifada for access to this and more!

Buy the book: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2457-the-city

Articles mentioned in the discussion:

https://economicsofimperialism.blogspot.com/2016/07/value-theory-finance-and-imperialism.html

https://anti-imperialist-action-ireland.com/blog/2020/08/01/china-and-us-power-with-tony-norfield/

https://economicsofimperialism.blogspot.com/2014/09/t-shirt-economics-update.html

Outro: Dirtbombs - Living Just Enough for the City (Stevie Wonder)

Aaron J Leonard gives us a preview of his next book on folk music, revolutionary politics, and state repression in the '60s. We discuss Dylan going electric, his relationship with the old and new left, the black panthers' obsession with Highway 61 Revisited, and how much revolutionaries should worry about COINTELPRO today

For the full episode please support the show at Patreon.com/TheAntifada

Historian of the radical left and state repression Aaron J. Leonard discusses his book Folk Singers and the Bureau, a chronicle of the relationship between American musicians, the Communist Party, and the FBI. We also talk about state repression today, human evolution, and Eric Adams' history of backing the blue.

For the bonus episode on Dylan, the Panthers, and the '60s please support the show at Patreon.com/TheAntifada

Check out Aaron's twitter or his website

Songs:

Pete Seeger - Song for Bridges

Woody Guthrie - 1913 Massacre

The Weavers and Howard Fast - The Peekskill Story