The Regrettable Century
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you. “The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” -- Antonio Gramsci
Episodes
The boys (featuring the return of Mir) return to the slaughter-bench to finish discussing Terry Pinkard's article "The Spirit of History."
The Spirit of History by Terry Pinkard
https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-history-nobody-gave-a-deeper-answer-than-hegel
Kursk Losses Breakdown, China China China, Israel Executes UN Worker and Paramedics, Ansar Allah Reaps Reaper Drones, Renewed Russian Offensive?
And so on...
The gang tackles Chapter 06 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation.
The Transformation of the Principle of Nationality (pg. 355)
National Autonomy and the Principle of Nationality
The Roots of Capitalist Expansionism
The Working Class and Capitalist Expansionism
Imperialism and the Principle of Nationality
Socialism and the Principle of Nationality
Read along with us:
https://libcom....
Here's a bonus episode for you on what is normally an off week.
Listen now to hear Jason and Chris give an introduction to the introduction of the Unbreakable Union podcast, then listen to the introduction.
Unbreakable Union Podcast
Rare Earths Deal, War Footing in the Pacific, Coalition of the... Willing?, Ceasefire Breaches, Le Pen Convicted, Trump is Pissed off at Putin, NYT Says Ukrainians are Stupid Losers, Russian Offensive Isn't Stalling After All...
This week Chris talks to Jason and Matthew about their new podcast: Unbreakable Union. This ambitious project will span six seasons with roughly one decade being covered per season.
Check out our episode then listen to the podcast below or on your preferred podcatcher. It should be showing up everywhere in the next few days.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2462690
Also, come join our Patreon and get access to our...
Signalgate, Yemen, Ceasefire Failures, Russian Advances, and Ukrainian Flailing.
Ok, finally we get around to answering questions about religion and parenting... also some other stuff. Just go listen.
The boys (featuring the return of Mir) kick back on the slaughter-bench to discuss Hegel's philosophy of history by discussing Terry Pinkard's article "The Spirit of History."
The Spirit of History by Terry Pinkard
https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-history-nobody-gave-a-deeper-answer-than-hegel
Regrettable Geopolitics - 03/23/2025 (Israel Turns the Genocide Machine Back On, Yemen/Iran, Kursk, Other Ukraine Things, and Cease-Fire Talks)
Finally, the long-awaited second Q&A episode. We talk USSR, religion, parenting, and all sort of other stuff... but some of it will have to wait until Q&A #3, which will be soon. Enjoy!
This week Chris and Jason read and discussed a paper Chris wrote for a strategic studies project about neo-Nazi terror networks and their links to far-right militias in Ukraine.
The influx of foreign fighters to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022 has outpaced US intel and law enforcement agencies' ability to monitor potential radicals going to and coming from Ukraine. Far-right extremists have been dra...
Another lightly edited casual conversation about geopolitics. We do a whirlwind summary of the stuff that has happened since last week and land back on the subject of Ukraine for most of the program.
The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, talking about "Decadence Theory" and how it differs from "crisis theory" and "breakdown theory." We discuss Samir Amin's third-worldist (and not very Marxist) take on decadence theory.
Revolution or Decadence- Samir Amin
https://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/
Welcome to a new series that we are trying out for Patrons. This is a lightly edited casual conversation between Jason and Chris about Geopolitics. We aren't really preparing for these by doing a lot of research and we certainly aren't doing much editing. We are going to try to do these semi-regularly and hopefully we can figure out how to do video versions as well.
This week we discussed the thought of one of 20th-century Marxism's socialist opponents, Tomáš Masaryk. Masaryk was reviled by Czech communists until they appropriated him and he was an opponent of capitalism until the champions of capitalism did the same. He was a social democrat with an ethical and Christian-humanist vision of socialism that inspired the Prague Spring but was later coopted by the opponents of the working cla...
So, you think you had some judgments? TOO BAD THEY ARE ALL REFUTED!
This week Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's follow up to his Society of the Spectacle film, which is essentially a clapback at his haters. As any good Regrettable discussion goes, the film was the anchor, but the topics ranged far and wide. Enjoy!
Refutation of All the Judgements, Pro or Con, Thus Far Rendered on the Film “The Society of t...
This week we read and discussed an article by Richard Seymour that explores Marxism's relationship with materialism and idealism. Seymour argues that the Hegelian inheritance within Marxism forces it in the direction of an idealism which is essential for a successful revolutionary politics.
Duel and duality, or, degrowth and dialectics https://www.patreon.com/posts/81735357?pr=true&fbclid=IwAR2ftGQudDJQhykIW4rv_3F34xqP...
The gang tackles Chapter 5 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation.
Read Along With Us:
https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer
This week we delve into what is sort of a pre-history of the American Socialist movement. Though the populist movement undeniably kept its Jeffersonian character, it was the first (arguably only) significant challenge to the dominance of the two major capitalist parties in the US. Much of the energy and the spirit of American populism flowed into and colored the burgeoning American workers' movement.
From Populism to...
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