Richard Lichtman on alienation, ideology, and so-called false consciousness under capitalism.
Against the Grain
12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays - Wednesdays
Acclaimed program of ideas, in-depth analysis, and commentary on a variety of matters—political, economic, social, and cultural—important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C. S. Soong.
Cheap nature, cheap money, cheap work, cheap care, cheap food, cheap energy, and cheap lives. According to Raj Patel, those seven things are necessary for the survival of capitalism. And, he argues, they are running out. He discusses how the food system illustrates the need for those inputs and why capitalism’s days are numbered. Resources: … Continued
Fund Drive Special: Hope, Heroes, Money, Monogamy
Rebecca Solnit on hope in hard times; David Hawkes on money as symbol; Laura Kipnis on monogamy; and the late, great Eduardo Galeano.
It’s easy to view the last 250 or even 600 years as a relentless period of ascendant capitalism, conquering everything in its wake. But the work of historian Peter Linebaugh reminds us that resistance to capitalism was present at its birth and that working class movements for a better world have profoundly shaped our histories. … Continued
Fund Drive Special: “Disaster Capitalism”
Naomi Klein on what she calls “disaster capitalism,” plus Eric Holt-Giménez on capitalism’s trajectory.
Smartphones have rapidly become a necessity in the U.S., including for the working poor. During Covid, we’re using them more than ever to work — if we’re lucky enough to still have work — or to stay in touch with each other. Sociologist Nicole Aschoff argues that much of the discourse about our personal use … Continued
Blue-Collar Cosmopolitanism
Intellectualism and cosmopolitanism aren’t things typically associated with working-class people and communities. But James Barrett has unearthed and investigated highly literate and often quite radical working-class cultures, cultures in which people read widely, engaged in group discussions, and in some cases traveled a great deal. (Encore presentation.) James Barrett, History from the Bottom Up and … Continued
The global crisis of our times — the climate emergency — has been temporary slowed by another worldwide disaster: the coronavirus pandemic. As industrial production, transport, and consumption have plummeted, so has the demand for fossil fuels. Environmental historian Troy Vettese places the fortunes of fossil fuels within a larger context over time, with an … Continued
Kingian Nonviolence
What does it mean to be committed to nonviolence, in one’s activism and everyday life? Kazu Haga reveals that Kingian Nonviolence is a principled way of life, one that actively confronts violence and injustice, restores relationships, and helps create what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Beloved Community. Kazu Haga, Healing Resistance: A Radically Different … Continued
The coronavirus has laid bare the divisions and inequalities of our society. It’s also exposed the stark differences in possible approaches to the pandemic. Radical scholar Alexis Shotwell argues that we need to frame our fight as one for collective care, rather than containment and control. She discusses solidarity and the lessons of the HIV/AIDS … Continued