From the guest list, the show looked like it was created to have a space where left commentators of various sorts would come on and hash out ideological differences as the US left is in the wilderness post-Bernie. It would be interesting, I thought, to have a show where an ultra like Sean KB from The Antifada could explain Marxist theory on a panel with social democrats and have some kind of discussion.
It turns out that its basically just a radlib version of The Five from Fox News, where they just take turns kicking the tires on the days news.
Does anyone actually want a show like this? It seems like its trying to fill a market that doesn't exist - or maybe existed a few years ago and doesn't today. When I look around, I don't think to myself, "You know who has some understanding of the political struggle we face in this moment? This DSA-backed state legislator from NYC."
Listening to it was deeply unsettling. I don't recommend it.
Whether it's a bit or not is hard to tell with Virgil's dry tone, though it frustrated me quite a bit to hear Virgil talking about Sanders being our "last chance".
Sanders may have been our last chance for making radical change inside the system as it exists today. It was not our last chance for revolution.
Trotsky's idea of a permanent revolution is what has stuck with me more than many other left theories. The revolution is not something that should be considered to have an end date as it doesn't live within one man, it exists within every person who draws breath in defiance of a structure they know can be changed.
Virgil's despair over the Bernie loss, while understandable, is also anti-dialectical and should be avoided.
This is also why no individual has come out of BLM unlike the 60s IMO. This is a sign of progress. It's a movement without a face to kill.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. But shouldn’t their be a leader for being to essentially rally behind? Or is that more in the sense of party forming where we would need that?
is it progress? or are we doomed to repeat occupy and chaz? I think its good that people are showing their discontent but how do we channel that to change instead of slight adaptation
Where the fuck do you see the American people rising up for revolution?
30-40% of this country would lose their effing minds and start killing everyone with green hair or a nose ring if there was a civil war.
Electoralism might be hopeless, but sometimes that is all you got.
Revolution shouldn't be tied inextricably with violent revolt. It's a revolution every day to survive under oppression from a ruling class who wants to grind the human spirit into dust in exchange for short-term and near-sighted gains.
30-40% of voters would react like you said, but that only makes them ~20% of the population. Although I share your feeling, I see far less people able and willing to sustain a violent struggle or do guerrilla tactics for the left as opposed to those on the right. Any revolution here would have to be propped up by the Chinese or Canada/Mexico. How the fuck that shakes out I have no idea.
We are like 110 days of protest into police brutality in one or several cities at a time. And people are getting bolder.
My fear is it becomes the new normal and doesn’t have the same shock as may/june did. fingers crossed but without the material structures needed to support itll be hard
30% of the population stayed loyal to king George during the revolutionary war. Big whoopty do.