Ep 174 - War Is A Defeat For All Of Us w/ Alex Gendler
Added 2022-03-02 11:00:06 +0000 UTCFriend of the show and Ukrainian immigrant Alex Gendler (@achilleselbow) discusses the Russian invasion of Ukraine, situating it in its proper historical context before discussing more recent events. He also takes some time to debunk galaxy brain takes from dumb dumb anti-imperialists who think a "multipolar" world — with neoliberal, authoritarian Russia as one of the poles — will somehow bring us closer to communism.
Song: Blind Boy Grunt - John Brown
Links:
https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-19/the-intellectual-situation/ukraine-putin-and-the-west/
https://crimethinc.com/2022/02/15/war-and-anarchists-anti-authoritarian-perspectives-in-ukraine
https://www.nihilist.li/2017/11/19/confession-of-the-ukrainian-marxist-soldier/
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/a-letter-to-the-western-left-from-kyiv
https://illwill.com/the-kazakh-insurrection
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https://operation-solidarity.org/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-ukraines-media-going
https://redcross.org.ua/en/donate/
Comments
amazing episode
Josiah Ackerman
2022-03-05 12:35:22 +0000 UTCOnly really strange moment here was the suggestion that "tankies" are invested somehow turning the Squad into an anti-imperialist bloc lmao
Matt Pierce
2022-03-04 11:40:35 +0000 UTCNATO sucks, the Russians suck, the only people I dont actively hate here are the Ukrainians. The best outcome would be for the war to stop. It wont. I dont think there is a communist take here, its just pointless imperial violence. I guess a humanist take makes sense to point out that average prole Russians/Ukrainians/Nato citizens shouldn't want to fight and kill each other ever. Closest analog I see is WW1.
Bilbo
2022-03-03 17:39:26 +0000 UTCNot all straight edgers!
Luke Cragg
2022-03-03 12:59:44 +0000 UTCYeah, anyone hooting and hollering over weapons being distributed to the Ukrainian people has lost the plot. This is a BAD THING! These are western weapons being poured into Ukraine! It just makes the line between civilian and combatant murkier. And ultimately it just makes it easier for Ukrainian folk to kill eachother. It's awful and not good!
GolfBaller
2022-03-03 06:45:46 +0000 UTCGreat episode this is the kind of deep theory that makes your show great . Love this type of episode. Helps us to understand wtf is going on
dillards dept.
2022-03-03 01:19:14 +0000 UTCI feel torn on the whole Ukranians taking arms up againsr Russia thing. Not because it is not just or even unexpected for them to do that. A foreign invader invades your country...yeah ofc you're going to want to resist and no one would blame you for it. What other choice do you have in that situation? But also at the same time - it's incredibly fucking dangerous how many arms we're pouring into that place. It's like we're watching Afghanistan and Iraq all over again. All of those arms proliferating are going to turn the country into a permanent warzone of urban guerilla warfare, should the US have it's way right now and Ukraine becomes a quagmire for Russia. I also don't think it's controversial to point out that having everyoned armed to teeth makes it harder to build basic social trust between strangers either - everyone becomes a potential threat, and it's so much easier to organize factions and paramilitaries. Also I'm sure so many Ukranians are going to be radicalized towards nationalism and fascism because of this invasion. It's a wildly depressing and scary situation. I think you can state that, while also stating it's hard to imagine people rising up against a government without arms. But I'll be honest idk how to reconcile these two ideas, I feel like you can't.
James Murray
2022-03-03 00:46:46 +0000 UTCFantastic episode. By the way Sean, there’s no conflict between being an anarchist and communist. Most anarchists in history have been communists!
Matt Crossin
2022-03-02 23:57:56 +0000 UTCgood epi, bandera was murdered by kgb after war in 50s, briefly worked for mI6 and cia
Adam
2022-03-02 19:00:18 +0000 UTCTwo important point were brought up: should Ukrainian socialists fight the Russians and how responsible is NATO for Russian aggression. These were dropped almost as soon as they were brought up. The obvious minimal left take would seem to be that every second this war goes on is terrible for the Ukrainian people and dangerous for the world. NATO should call for a ceasefire immediately and offer a solution that guarantees Russian security and Ukrainian neutrality. Furthermore, this conflict shows the dangers of nuclear weapons and so a move towards total disarmament must be pushed. It's hard to imagine, especially in the light of the last week, any hope for a socialist world so long as nukes exist.
PrinceVocalFry
2022-03-02 16:08:21 +0000 UTCWas anything actually posited here? It just seems like a lot of critique of bad takes made by a very nebulous "them." We have very prominent voices in the American media and mainstream policy centers advocating direct military confrontation against Russian and we need to be on our guard against, what, online tankies? Was anything said in this episode substantially different from cold war left liberal consensus?
PrinceVocalFry
2022-03-02 16:03:46 +0000 UTCInternet is absolute poison . I truly think we should abandon almost all social media use as communists . Posion!!!
dillards dept.
2022-03-02 14:32:28 +0000 UTC
