C Derick Varn is the guest this week. Varn is a reader at Zero Books, a University lecturer and teacher, a poet, and a frequent guest on this podcast and many others. This week we discuss the contradictions in liberalism and debate whether the goal of Marx was to realize or abandon liberal values.

If you’re looking for some books to help you understand the current political crisis we’re in we at Zero Books have just the reading list for you. Edmund Berger’s Uncertain Futures provides a detailed look into the economic and political conditions of the Trump era from a Marxist perspective, Chris Nineham’s How the Establishment Lost Control offers an upbeat explanation for Corbynism and Brexit both, Anselm Jappe’s The Writing on the Wall is a collection of essays that brings an understanding of Marx’s Value Theory to bear on political questions, and Angela Nagle’s Kill All Normies explains how the online culture war added fuel to the fire of right-wing reaction.

If you enjoy the podcast consider joining the Zero Books Club. Zero Books Club members receive access to a Saturday podcast entitled Inside Zero Books which sometimes features the second half of conversations with Zero Squared guests and sometimes features conversations with Zero Books readers about the state of the left. Zero Books Club members are also invited to participate in youtube workshops with Zero Books authors and others.