EDITOR—Join us for a new show hosted by Midwestern Marx called The Global Class Struggle. International Affairs analyst and host of The Critical Hour Garland Nixon will break down the latest defeats for U.S. imperialism, from Ukraine to Venezuela.
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THOMAS FAZI—The Wagenknecht phenomenon is fascinating — and unique — for several reasons. Not only has she managed to establish the BSW as one of the country’s major political forces in a matter of months, but she’s also running on a platform that is unique in the Western political panorama, at least among electorally relevant parties. Though Wagenknecht tends to avoid framing her party in tired Left-Right terms, its platform can best be described as left-conservative.
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BRUCE LERRO—What is the place of shock in the arts? Surely one of the callings of the artist is to move a society beyond the comfortable, the taken-for-granted and the obvious. In the early part of the 20th century, Cubists, Dadaists and Surrealists did this as a reaction to the Renaissance and Baroque conventions. Before a society is crumbling this is a very important calling. However once social cracks appear and spread, too much shock from the arts is counter-revolutionary. The Romantic artist imagines that shocking people might propel masses of people into social action. This may be true. But too much shock can result in anesthetizing, not moving people. Past a certain point artists should be creating constructive visions of the future not tripping over themselves about how to outrage a public already frightened by social conditions.
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EDITORS—8/20/2024 Episode 105 of Blowback: Exposing Imperial Decline with special guests Slava and Max Parry.
In-depth discussion of how personal identity, race and culture are exploited by classism, colonialism and imperialism to maintain their hold on power, with a focus on the Ukraine/Russian conflict. PLUS: Cynical efforts by the Dems to split the pro-Palestinian movement using pro-ceasefire protests at Kamala Harris events as an attack on Kamala because she’s “black”. -
CJ HOPKINS—As my regular readers know, for the last two years, I’ve been experiencing the global crackdown on dissent “up close and personal,” and trying to report on it. A lot of my reporting has fallen on deaf ears. Which is understandable, given the nature of what we’re up against, which is (a) formidable, (b) rather challenging to really understand, and (c) virtually unassailable, currently.
People don’t tend to like stories like that. They tend to like stories with “good guys,” and “bad guys,” and identifiable enemies, and simple solutions, even if those stories are, essentially, bullshit.
One of the most prevalent bullshit stories (i.e., theories) about the global crackdown on dissent is the one about how The Big Bad Government Forced the Poor Helpless Global Corporations to Censor Everybody, or at least Conservatives. Americans are particularly fond of this story, especially conservative Americans, as it casts the Big Bad Government as the antagonist, and good, freedom-loving, military-contracting billionaires like Elon Musk as the heroic protagonists.
