Consigned to the Jaco-dustbin of History -- Ep. 21

Radio Free Humanity: The Marxist-Humanist Podcast

Owing to the leading role of African-Americans, Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign imploded, and now an uprising for Black lives and against police violence has swept the US and the world. The co-hosts lay out the case that these events have delivered body blows to the theory and strategy of Jacobin magazine and others on the anti-neoliberal “left,” consigning them to the Jaco-dustbin of history. Brendan and Andrew argue that the recent upsurge constitutes mass repudiation of so-called “class-based”—economistic and color-blind––politics. They also argue that Sanders’ campaign imploded, not because of directives issued by Democratic Party bosses, but because voters, led by millions of Black “neoliberal shills,” wanted to end Democratic Party infighting in order to concentrate on removing Trump from office. And they discuss why it is so difficult for the anti-neoliberal “left” to learn from its repeated errors. The discussion refers to works by Raya Dunayevskaya (American Civilization on Trial) (http://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/American-Civilization-on-Trial.pdf), Sydney Ember (New York Times) (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/us/politics/bernie-sanders-protests.html), Dustin Guastella (https://jacobinmag.com/2020/05/we-need-a-class-war-not-a-cultural-war), Tucker Carlson (https://video.foxnews.com/v/6161246981001#sp=show-clips), MHI’s 2018 Perspectives (https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/mhieditorial/resisting-trumpist-reaction-and-left-accommodation-marxist-humanist-initiatives-perspectives-for-2018.html), Zack Beauchamp (Vox) (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/4/10/21214970/bernie-sanders-2020-lost-class-socialism), Nathan J. Robinson (https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/03/what-the-stakes-are), Matt Karp (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/03/bernie-sanders-can-still-win-matt-karp-joe-biden-democrat), Edward-Isaac Dovere (The Atlantic) (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/04/bernie-sanders-thinking-he-will-win-it-all-2020/587326/), Daniel Denvir (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/06/donald-trump-war-american-democracy-riots-coronavirus), and Meagan Day (Vox interview by Sean Illing) (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/16/21165201/bernie-sanders-joe-biden-2020-election-meagan-day). In a related current-events segment, the co-hosts discuss the struggle to remove Confederate monuments and other symbols. Is a struggle over symbols always a merely symbolic struggle? * ~ * ~ * ~ * Radio Free Humanity is a podcast covering news, politics and philosophy from a Marxist-Humanist perspective. It is co-hosted by Brendan Cooney and Andrew Kliman. We intend to release new episodes every two weeks. Radio Free Humanity is sponsored by Marxist-Humanist Initiative (MHI), but the views expressed by the co-hosts and guests of Radio Free Humanity are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of MHI. We welcome and encourage listeners’ comments, posted on this episode’s page of the MHI website. Please visit MHI’s website for information on philosophy & organization, Marxist-Humanist archives, and its online publication, “With Sober Senses”: https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/