Diving into the Wreckage 7.2: Principles and Heuristics w/ C Derick Varn
Added 2023-02-15 22:29:24 +0000 UTCSean and Varn return with part two of their series on basic principles and methods of communist analysis and organizing. This episode deals with the importance of periodization of capitalist development in formulating praxis, the problem of complexity in global accumulation, and barriers to class knowledge within the social division of labor and more. The conclusion gets us closer to the goal of the series which is to sketch an outline of what a communist organization adequate to the moment would like and how we can all build it together.
Public link to the document we're working with: https://tinyurl.com/muwn3xmy
Comments
"like imagine if rent strikes generalize and the whole economy is knocked off balance" How much of the economy do you think domestic residential rents make up? "suddenly the working class has become the crisis and we’re thrust into a new reality where we hold some cards " What about renting is necessarily working-class action? I mean, it would clearly help working class people to tame it, so no argument that we shouldn't be engaging in it, but how is in inherently a working class project in the way a labor strike is? These are pretty key questions and I would think we would have to answer them for "relevance" to be established. Because, I have heard these tactics for decade now, and yet they don't happen--I am not saying they can't happen, but I am saying they aren't happening on any scale that threatens capital as a whole or even regionally. Sometimes they can discipline individual firms and actors though.
Derick Varn
2023-04-07 07:05:04 +0000 UTClove these convos but i feel like this “the left is not even close to being relevant” attitude is kind of bullshit. like imagine if rent strikes generalize and the whole economy is knocked off balance. suddenly the working class has become the crisis and we’re thrust into a new reality where we hold some cards
waterbird
2023-03-10 18:54:04 +0000 UTCI actually talk about how specialist knowledge has increased but has necessarily become more and more limited. See Tainter for the effects
Derick Varn
2023-02-23 02:49:38 +0000 UTCWhat variety?
Derick Varn
2023-02-23 02:48:18 +0000 UTCI think the generalization that nobody knows how to keep the ship running is true but only because society (very broadly) is so inefficient, redundant, and contains many superfluous pursuits. If you strip away the excess and get more utilitarian then the picture becomes less complex. Also, this may just be the circles I run in, but I think working people have a good grip on the technical aspects of maintaining the technology that we depend on. Ppl are increasingly proficient in more aspects of their niche of production (ppl are more vertically integrated - the machinist does cad and can do the engineering as well) and they are more horizontally integrated due to the internet. Just thoughts I had when listening
Aidan Williamson
2023-02-16 19:03:56 +0000 UTC1:24:00 This point appeals to me as someone who has studied game theory and a basic understanding of history. People in general don't want their lives to fall apart, so the promise of "our socialist organization alone can keep stuff working" immediately brings about ideas of its legitimacy. I think one place to look at would be farmers, since they have both the practical and academic knowledge from midwest land-grant universities to have a food production chain. Furthermore, in this one agronomy class I took last semester, we watched a documentary about these kinds of networks of producers helping each other out, starting to go beyond simple farmer co-ops.
Lauren Cabral
2023-02-16 18:34:35 +0000 UTCThese Principles and Heuristics episodes are my favorite so far of this collaboration. Because the purpose of the conversation is oriented towards actual real world change, a lot of the things talked about are grounded in actual examples I can grasp, whereas sometimes in Diving Into the Wreckage I can get really lost in some language and theory I don’t have deep knowledge of.
Fellow Worker
2023-02-16 16:41:48 +0000 UTCWhat's a good book to start with for Left Com stuff?
Mark Brian Wilson
2023-02-16 16:29:33 +0000 UTCThese pods have been really helpful in making the world a little clearer and what we should be doing a little less hazy
DeliaCore
2023-02-16 15:50:36 +0000 UTCSean and Varn have been blowing my mind with this whole series, but this episode is amazing! Thank you, hermanos!
B. Albini
2023-02-16 03:07:25 +0000 UTCI am predictable
Derick Varn
2023-02-16 02:02:02 +0000 UTClol obviously varn got pissed off listening to Ian Svenonius
DL
2023-02-15 23:25:22 +0000 UTCThat’s a great doc! I like all the points, but as I have been working all day, and am mentally lazy, I lack a critique…
Nate C.
2023-02-15 23:20:00 +0000 UTCYay food
DPtdryste SSC
2023-02-15 22:33:44 +0000 UTC
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