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In this episode we tackle Universal Basic Income from a critical leftist perspective. We start by discussing why we’ve reached a point where so many people, on both the Left and Right sides of the political spectrum, are now advocating for basic income, including a critical look at how the internal mechanisms of capitalism produce an increasingly precarious and automated workforce. We then take a look at the progressive dream for basic income and contrast this to the concept’s neoliberal roots. Next, we provide critiques of the reactionary models that are being proposed, and talk about what accepting these models will mean for the system at large and what power workers will have in directing it. We end by talking about whether or not basic income will solve the internal contradictions of capitalism, and whether or not we should support it as leftists concerned with human rights, social justice and welfare.

Sources and Links

* Ceylan Yeginsu, 2018. If Workers Slack Off, the Wristband Will Know. (And Amazon Has a Patent for It.): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/technology/amazon-wristband-tracking-privacy.html* John Clarke, 2017. Basic Income: Progressive Dreams Meet Neoliberal Realities: https://socialistproject.ca/2017/01/b1350/#continue  * Mexie’s video Precarious Work! The Reserve Army of Labour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJlsBCmrUA* Michael Auerback, 2018. Amazon is a a 21st-Century Digital Chain Gang: https://socialistproject.ca/2018/02/amazon-21st-century-digital-chain-gang/#more-13206* Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, 2017. The Neoliberal Danger of Basic Income: https://socialistproject.ca/2017/10/b1494/* Paul Cockshott, 2018. What is Wrong with the Idea of Basic Income: https://paulcockshott.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/what-is-wrong-with-the-idea-of-basic-income/* Yogi Achara and A.J. Withers, 2017. Intentional Neglect or Callous Oversight? How ‘Progressive’ Basic Income Proposals Fail Migrants: https://socialistproject.ca/2017/09/b1489/

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This episode was inspired by a great series of questions from one of our listeners, Julian. Julian asked:

Would you want the domesticated races to simply die out (like, after we have achieved full communism and everybody has gone vegan)? Even horses? How do you feel about humans engaging in a kind of idealized farming? Would you agree with me that in traditional farming animals suffer less than they do in the wild? Would you want family farmers in third world countries or pastoral nomads to give up their lifestyle so as to not exploit animals anymore?

To answer these questions, we start by discussing the history of domestication and how humans formed various ‘symbiotic’ relationships with different species of animals. We then explore what alternative (anti-capitalist and/or anti-statist) relationships to animals might look like, focusing in particular on “hill people”, or forest-dwelling communities in the highland forests of Southeast Asia. In this section we highlight how capitalism mediates our relationship with meat and ‘prey’ animals in the Global North. Next, we discuss how domesticated animals may be necessary for the inputs required for widespread vegetarian or vegan practice. We follow this with a discussion of the domestication of pet animals, and how our understanding of them as dependent and incapable of a ‘real’ life without us can reproduce ablest attitudes, as well as how capitalism imbues our relationships with our pets. We finish by trying to sketch out what an alternative, decommodified, and more ‘symbiotic’ relationship with animals might look like as we learn to envision ourselves as animals, very much a part of the ecosystems we participate in.

Sources and Links:

* Crockford, S (2000). Dogs through Time: An Archaeological Perspective.: https://books.google.ca/books/about/Dogs_Through_Time.html?id=fKMYAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y* Ellis, B (2017). Why vegans should support backyard hens: https://permacultureforthepeople.org/2017/11/13/why-vegans-should-support-backyard-hens/* Larson, G. (2014). “The Evolution of Animal Domestication” (PDF). Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 45: 115–36.* Scott, James (2009). The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300169171/art-not-being-governed* Taylor, Sunaura (2017). Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation. https://thenewpress.com/books/beasts-of-burden* Zeder, M. A. (2012). “The domestication of animals”. Journal of Anthropological Research. 68 (2): 161–190: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.3998/jar.0521004.0068.201

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TimecodeSpeakerDialogue00:00:00:00BEGIN FILETHEME MUSICMARINEWelcome to the Vegan Vanguard.MEXIEA show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women.MARINEI’m Marine.MEXIEAnd I’m Mexie. And today, we’re going to be talking about the domestication of animals, and how we feel about that, as vegans. And to what extent we can consider domesticated animals ...

Rundown

You asked for it, and we delivered! A laminated blueprint on exactly how to end capitalism, and what to build in its place!

Joking aside, in this episode we explain capitalism, socialism, communism, and anarchism as distinct modes of production. We tackle some of the common arguments for capitalism and against alternatives such as communism. We also explain the pernicious politics of ‘aid’ and exploitation in Global North-South relations, underscoring that this needs to be a global project. We finish with some theoretical and practical ideas for building a post-capitalist future, emphasizing the importance of both embracing uncertainty and of understanding that we ourselves are its authors and creators.

Sources and Links

* Intercepted podcast, Leading Marxist Scholar David Harvey on Trump, Wall Street, and Debt Peonage: https://theintercept.com/2018/01/21/marxist-scholar-david-harvey-on-trump-wall-street-and-debt-peonage/* David Harvey, Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18579571-seventeen-contradictions-and-the-end-of-capitalism* Jason Hickel, Aid in reverse: how poor countries develop rich countries: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jan/14/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-countries-develop-rich-countries* Jason Hickel, Exposing the Great Poverty Reduction Lie: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/08/exposing-great-poverty-reductio-201481211590729809.html* Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents Revisited: https://www.wwnorton.co.uk/books/9780393355161-globalization-and-its-discontents-revisited* John Perkins, The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman: https://www.amazon.com/New-Confessions-Economic-Hit-Man/dp/1626566747/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CKCSXDA2X3ZC17BT3SS2* Revolutionary Left Radio podcast, Red Hangover: Legacies of 20th Century Communism w/ Dr. Kristen R. Ghodsee: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/red-hangover-legacies-of-20th-century-communism-w-dr-kristen-r-ghodsee* Under the Skin Podcast, Russel Brand and Jason Hickel, Inequality is Killing Us All. Are We Going to Stop It?: https://www.russellbrand.com/podcast/ep-24-inequality-killing-us-going-stop-jason-hickel/

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TimecodeSpeakerDialogue00:00:00:00BEGIN FILE[THEME MUSIC]MEXIEWelcome to the Vegan Vanguard.MARINEA show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women.MEXIEI’m Mexie.MARINEAnd I’m Marine. And in today’s show, we’ll be bringing you a laminated blueprint for how to end capitalism, and what to build in its place. [LAUGHTER] MEXIEYeah. And it’ll be laminated, because this is the only way that it can possibly [be done].

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In this episode we work through issues relating to body image, eating disorders and gendered experiences with food, drawing a lot from our own experiences. The impetus for this episode came from a series of comments that Mexie received on her channel that focused on her appearance. We begin by discussing these, and then move into discussions of our own experiences with eating disorders and gendered experiences with food, including veganism. We then discuss the tropes of the ‘cool girl’ and the ‘natural beauty’, and discuss how these relate to capitalism and patriarchy more broadly. This was a really personal episode for us (and less structured than we’re used to), but we felt that these were important topics to bring up publicly. We hope you enjoy!

Sources and Links

* Maria Del Russo, “I Completely Lost Myself Trying To Be “The Cool Girl”: http://www.refinery29.com/how-to-be-a-cool-girl-dating-myth* Julie DiCaro, “The Dangers of the ‘Cool Girl’ Idea”: https://theestablishment.co/the-dangers-of-the-cool-girl-ideal-76e59cf0f6ec* Marine’s video: My Gendered Relationship With Meat (Pre-Vegan): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqTOvbrWsMs&t=176s

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TimecodeSpeakerDialogue00:00:00:00BEGIN FILETHEME MUSIC00:00:15:00MARINEWelcome to the Vegan Vanguard.MEXIEA show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women.MARINEI’m Marine.MEXIEAnd I’m Mexie. And today, we’re going to be talking about a number of things related to body image and gendered politics of food, and yeah, this myth of women, or I guess any femme-presenting people having to look naturally beautiful. So, we just want to give a little disclaimer to the listeners before we start, that this is really like a processing session for us, where we work through some of these issues around food and body-image, etc., together.  00:00:55:00MEXIEIn our personal lives…so with that, we also just wanted to give a content warning before we start, that we will be talking about dieting…body-image, eating disorders, sizeism, body-shaming, etc. So, yeah, just before we start, we just wanted to let you…know that this will be on the docket for today.MARINEYeah, absolutely. MEXIESo, we want to start—well, first of all, we wanted to announce [LAUGHS] maybe you should announce it.MARINEThat Mexie is a doctor. Woo-woo. And that I have a podcast with a doctor.MEXIE[LAUGHS] Woo-hoo, yeah, so–MARINEAnd I’m so fucking proud of you.MEXIEThank you. Yeah, so I defended my dissertation. Actually, it was a while ago now. It was in December. So, I am doing the revisions, but yeah, I am technically a doc, so…MARINEYeah, and you worked so hard, and…00:01:56:00MARINEFeel like it was a…labor of love and tears.MEXIEMany, yeah, many tears, but [LAUGHS] …MARINELove and mostly tears.MEXIEMostly tears. [LAUGHS] At this point, I hate it, but it’s–MARINEAnd the revisions are just tears—no love.MEXIEExactly. [LAUGHS] But yeah, so yeah, thank you for that announcement. [LAUGHS] MARINEYeah, what did you do your dissertation on? I know, but our viewers might not.MEXIEWell, it’s one of those things where it’s really hard to explain, but… [LAUGHS] I basically looked at neoliberalism and conservation policy. So, I looked at austerity politics and the effects that that would have on the politics of conservation practice. So, I basically looked at controversies around privatizing national-park services,

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This episode explores (and critiques) the infiltration of white nationalist, racist rhetoric into the vegan movement, as well as the growing trend for the alt-right to consider veganism as foundational to their ideology. We start by outlining some of the ways in which white nationalism has been seeping into the online vegan community. We follow that with a discussion of how vegetarianism has been intertwined with Nazi ideology historically, which continues to the present day. Next we provide an analysis of how fascism is capitalism in decay, and how it’s a lack of understanding of political economy that allows people to be swayed by racist populist rhetoric. And finally we wrap it up with a condemnation of anti-semitism in leftist spheres as well, explaining why certain anti-capitalist groups are falling prey to the ‘Jew-as-greedy-banker’ conspiracy theory. As vegans and(/or) leftists looking to build allyship and grow our movements, we must wholeheartedly denounce fascism, white nationalism, and racism in all forms.

Sources and Links

* Bite Size Vegan’s video ‘Was Hitler A Vegetarian?’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhsQuUL2jd4* VICE’s ‘Why so many white supremacists are into veganism?’: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evb4zw/why-so-many-white-supremacists-are-into-veganism* Marine’s video with Laura Schleifer on Israel and Palestine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAhcgrtlKwQ* YouTube video by Yaron Brook (a right-wing Jewish man who believes anti-capitalism is inherently anti-semitic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFXUJHWlo1A&t=2799s* Anti-semitism in Art: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernard-starr/five-stages-of-anti-semit_b_6707728.html* Further reading (books): Anti-semitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution, and Saracens, Demons, and Jews: Making Monsters in Medieval Art* ARZone Total Liberation Interview 8- Svetlana Chibireva and Laura Schlieffer on Holocaust memes: http://www.arzonepodcasts.com/2017/12/arzone-total-liberation-interview-8.html

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TimecodeSpeakerDialogue00:00:00:00BEGIN FILE[THEME MUSIC]MEXIEWelcome to the Vegan Vanguard.MARINEA show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women.MEXIEI’m Mexie.MARINEAnd I’m Marine. And today, we’ll be talking about antisemitism in the vegan movement, and antisemitism more generally in the…sort of alt-right, radical, ethnocentric political climate that we’re living in. [LAUGHTER] And how veganism is becoming part of their agenda to push this ideology. And before we jump in, we just wanted to make a quick disclaimer that neither of us are Jewish, so that neither of us have actually experienced antisemitism.00:01:04:00MARINEAnd that’s just important, because obviously, we’ll be talking about an oppression and a systemic discrimination, from the point-of-view of people who just haven’t experienced it. So, do stick around until the later half of the podcast, if you would like to hear a lot of names of Jewish people who actually talk about antisemitism, and advocate for global liberation, and anti-capitalism, etc. I just wanted to acknowledge that we’re talking from the point-of-view of allies who oppose antisemitism. But also,

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In this episode we break down the Law of Attraction and “positivity culture,” and critique how they’ve been employed in the support of capital and other oppressive structures. In the second half of the episode, we temper this with a discussion around how we personally (or Mexie more specifically) reconcile our spirituality with anti-capitalist theory and praxis, acknowledging that these are loaded topics and that there will never be a one-size-fits-all answer for everyone.

Sources and Links

* Rhonda Byrne, “The Secret”: https://www.thesecret.tv/* Rhonda Byrne, “The Power: https://www.amazon.ca/Power-Rhonda-Byrne/dp/1439181780* Barbara Ehrenreich, “Smile or Die”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJGMFu74a70&t=0s* Vegan Warrior Princesses Attack!, “Be Grateful! Be Positive! Fuck that Ablest Bullshit”: http://veganwarriorprincessesattack.com/092-be-grateful-be-positive-fuck-that-ableist-bullshit/* Russel Brand podcast with Rupert Sheldrake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAS-QzWvj8g&t=0s* Marine’s video on the Law of Attraction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyJ-Fr-7OkI* Mexie’s video on Precarious Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJlsBCmrUA* Thich Nhat Hanh, “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767903692/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0767903692&linkCode=as2&tag=theenthubud04-20&linkId=NQ452AG5P4UJNNT3 * Buddhadasa Bikkhu, “Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree”: https://www.amazon.com/Heartwood-Bodhi-Tree-Teaching-Voidness/dp/1614291527/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513195486&sr=1-2&refinements=p_27%3ABuddhadasa+Bhikkhu* Buddhadasa Bikkhu Books: https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ABuddhadasa%20Bhikkhu* Walpola Rahula, “What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802130313/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802130313&linkCode=as2&tag=theenthubud04-20&linkId=C6RVTSYAWHXV6OMW

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TimecodeSpeakerDialogue00:00:00:00BEGIN FILE[THEME MUSIC]MARINEWelcome to the Vegan Vanguard.MEXIEA show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women.MARINEI’m Marine.MEXIEAnd I’m Mexie. And today,

Rundown

In this episode we break down the loaded and pernicious trope of “competition”. We start by discussing our own experiences growing up and being encouraged at an early age to compete, compete, compete! We then discuss how competition relates to other discourses like “liberty,” “freedom,” and equality of opportunity under neoliberalism. We move on to a discussion around how competition can be harmful for industries such as non-profits, health care, and education, and tends to promote a race to the bottom in a global liberalized economy. We finish with a discussion of how co-operation may, in fact, be the rule and not the exception among non-human and human animals alike.

Sources and Links

* Anwar Shaikh’s “Capitalism”: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/capitalism-9780199390632?cc=us&lang=en&* Anwar Shaikh’s Lectures on Competition: 5) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KKg500WPEA&t=0s6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js5jeXQSx-07) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HJUpSlLYxw&t=0s*8) (Perfect Competition) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mULRcWrCe6A&t=0s* A. Cooley and J. Ron “The NGO Scramble: Organizational Insecurity and the Political Economy of Transnational Action”: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/016228802320231217?journalCode=isec* David Harvey’s “A Brief History of Neoliberalism”: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-brief-history-of-neoliberalism-9780199283279?cc=us&lang=en&* Peter Kropotkin’s “Mutual Aid”: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-mutual-aid-a-factor-of-evolution.lt.pdf* Karl Polanyi’s “The Great Transformation”: https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Great_Transformation.html?id=YfpIs1Z6B2sC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false* Marine’s video on the Non-Profit Industrial Complex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyCJ8IsEs18* Mexie’s video on the Tragedy of the Commons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcwXME-PNuE&t=0s* Mexie’s video on Monopoly vs. Competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWrHrgih0pg* Mexie’s video on Equality of Opportunity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEFLlEZW6Lc

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TimecodeSpeakerDialogue00:00:00:00BEGIN FILE[THEME SONG]00:00:19:00MEXIEWelcome to the Vegan Vanguard.MARINEA show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women. MEXIEI’m Mexie.MARINEAnd I’m Marine.

Rundown

In this episode we discuss why leftists should be vegan! We start by defining veganism as a political stance and not a grocery list, so that it’s clear that vegan praxis will look differently for everyone based on their background and privilege. We then consider the theoretical reasons why animal liberation should be a leftist concern, including discussion of anarchist and Marxist theory, and how animal agriculture was pivotal in the spread of colonial-capitalism. We follow this with a discussion of exactly how animals, environments, and people are being exploited by the animal agriculture industry (with lots of handy stats!), and finish by giving our take on whether veganism is “bourgeois.”

We cover some heavy topics but keep it entertaining. We’d love to hear what you think!

Sources and Links

* Anarchopac’s Animal Liberation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvEBa2PgO-w&t=1s* Baby Momma Rachel’s “My Food Stamps Cookbook”: https://myfoodstampscookbook.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders* Cowpiracy Infographic: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/544dc5a1e4b07e8995e3effa/t/54e4d927e4b0aaf066abfcf0/1424283943008/Cowspiracy-Infographic-Metric.png* Dylan Powell Talk: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/which-side-a-vegan-anarchist-podcast/id578833282?mt=2&i=1000364830540* Food Empowerment Project, Slaughterhouse Workers: http://www.foodispower.org/slaughterhouse-workers/* Good and Cheap Cookbook: https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf* Kropotkin, Peter. 1993. Fugitive Writings. Black Rose Books.* Mexie’s Climate Change Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dohwus7rXqY&t=0s* One Green Planet Infographic: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/infographic-veganism-and-the-environment/* Springer, S. 2014. War and pieces. Space and Polity. 18(1): 85-96.* Reclus, Elisée. 2013. Anarchy, Geography, Modernity: Selected Writings of Elisée Reclus. PM Press.* Zurowski, M., Animal Liberation and Marxism: http://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/994/animal-liberation-and-marxism/

We’re featured on Veganliftz Best Vegan Podcasts, thanks for helping us radicalize vegans and turn leftists on to the connections between animal liberation and human liberation: https://veganliftz.com/best-vegan-podcasts/

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Transcript

[MUSIC] Oh, those rich people.  Always flying off somewhere.

MARINE:  Welcome to the Vegan Vanguard.

MEXIE:  A show about all things from the perspective of two revolutionary vegan women.  I’m Mexie.

MARINE:  And I’m Marine.

MEXIE:  This is our very first episode.

MARINE:  Woop!  Woop!  Woop!   It does not work when I do that.  I try.