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An invaluable warning against the State as a neutral tool (Beyond Leviathian reviewed by ‘Counterfire’)

February 20, 2024

The state cannot be ‘reformed’ since it is not, despite what liberal theory would insist, a neutral institution. The state historically developed in order to enshrine class power, and so traps us ‘within the paralyzing confines of the hierarchical and antagonistic framework of the political/military domain’. This can only be broken through a ‘radical transformation’ in ‘our social metabolism’, that is in the relations of production of capitalism.

Listen: “Ending the Myth” podcast (Co-author of Dissenting POWs interviewed on ‘Mechanical Freak’)

Listen: “Ending the Myth” podcast (Co-author of Dissenting POWs interviewed on ‘Mechanical Freak’)

February 20, 2024

The podcast Mechanical Freak, recently welcomed esteemed sociologist Jerry Lembcke to talk about how the memory of the Vietnam War was both recreated and used in the 1980s and 1990s to unify public sentiment against the liberatory movements of the 1960s. Lembcke reminded the audience that even in the creation of memory, there is a political struggle for the future that needs to be waged.

Decriminalize the “underclass”

Decriminalize the “underclass”

February 20, 2024

The goal of this event is to emphasize the importance of uniting the working class to fight for equal rights for all in order to raise working and living conditions beyond mere survival. Participants are encouraged to join the discussion and contribute their own experiences in how the declining conditions for workers of all trades have impacted their lives, what they see as the limits of reformism, and how the underclass and super-exploited can play an important role in leading the fight to end exploitation.

“Can We Re-Invent Work?” Work Work Work reviewed in ‘The Bullet’)

“Can We Re-Invent Work?” Work Work Work reviewed in ‘The Bullet’)

February 20, 2024

Most of what Yates writes about in these essays reflects a deep understanding of Marxism and its application to an understanding of working-class strategy and necessary agendas. His critique of social democracy, as practiced both by elements within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the classical so-called Labour parties, is the kind of thinking that is absolutely necessary to help guide a future working-class strategy.

A graphic history of that precursor to the fight against fascism in WWII, the Spanish Civil War (!Brigadistas! reviewed in ‘The Nation’)

A graphic history of that precursor to the fight against fascism in WWII, the Spanish Civil War (!Brigadistas! reviewed in ‘The Nation’)

February 20, 2024

Ferguson deserves to be applauded for incorporating nuance into both the characters and the narrative of ¡Brigadistas! instead of hitting the reader over the head with political messaging. Don’t get me wrong: This is a very political book. But not everything about the characters and how they interact with one another is “politically correct,” making this a far more realistic drama than one might expect.

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