Pill Pod 114 - POST-MARXISM ft. Diego Ruzzarin (Exclusive)
Added 2023-03-10 21:19:15 +0000 UTCIn the 80s, Laclau and Mouffe decided they wanted to succeed Marxism with discourse stuff and some identity politics thrown in. We read their apologetic for Post-Marxism (attached) and while Post-Marxism is interesting as a direction, this version of it leaves something to be desired.
Comments
Ha I told him something along these lines and he agreed, he's going to come back and we'll try to get the thesis hammered out
Plastic Pills
2023-03-23 13:55:11 +0000 UTCI just cannot take Diego position seriously. I feel his take is trying to be extremly anti-idealistic and ends up oversimplifying the relation between the material conditions and discourse, which at the end is a material operation. Basically Diego take is: "we cannot access the real, we cannot understand the material logic since we cannot access it and discourse/ideas/concepts have no way of changing the material" which would imply that anything that we do, which would neccesarly be informed and influenced by discourse and its meaning; is useless and the material world is already determined. Yet he still advances several prescriptive claims, which is kinda of contradictory to that position. It just seems to me he is forcing Spinoza into a caricature of marxism.
Federico Ivan Compean Revuelta
2023-03-23 01:42:35 +0000 UTCWouldn't any "post marxism" necessarily be post human?
Khemith
2023-03-19 07:01:37 +0000 UTCCan't you say that even fascism is a product of material conditions? That false consciousness in any form is a product of the dominant ideology which itself always reflects material conditions of production?
anacidcommie
2023-03-18 09:10:39 +0000 UTCOne of the best episodes in recent memory! Diego has got to become a regular, great guy. I wonder if he knows he is a Marxist Buddhist 🌚
Myles Jeffers
2023-03-17 23:19:02 +0000 UTCYo, I would be hyped if y'all did some episodes on: Posthuman Feminism by Rosi Braidotti (I'm currently reading it for a grad seminar on feminist ethics/politics) Or Pinocchio: The Adventures of a Puppet, Doubly Commented Upon and Triply Illustrated By Agamben (this one isn't released until next month, but it sounds super fun). Just tossing out ideas for y'all to put in the idea-bank. ;)
DilloBear
2023-03-16 15:04:07 +0000 UTCWe can embody concepts. Like folklore (in which I see a lot of parallels with Baudrillard) magical thought becomes visceral and productive, emotively rewriting of boundaries, eg. Vegans.
Alex B
2023-03-16 07:07:27 +0000 UTCI’m a big fan of Hegemony and Socialist Strategy so, even as a contrarian, I really appreciate the episode. I thought they had a very sharp critique of orthodox Marxism- I also sympathize with the idea of “Democratic agonism” since it maps well onto the available venues of political discussion and policy making. It’s not sufficient, but it’s necessary- and I think the survival of a left populist project in the 21st century owes a great deal to their work (if I’m not mistaken Podemos Unidas, and Melenchon drew inspiration from this form of post Marxism.) Doubtless more needs to be done, and I wouldn’t abandon the idea of an economic base, but I think there’s richness in their critique of essentialism. I’ll add that I think the defense of democratic institutions is reasonable, insofar as they provide a grounds to forward progressive interests. The language we inherit from liberal constitutionalism is limited, and fractured across nation state boundaries- however, it is also meaningfully informed by the gains of previous social movements. As a “citizen” I can forward claims that wouldnt have even been conceivable as a subject (to a liege, monarch, or as an agent of some corporate group.) Unfortunately, this status is always unstable, changing as economic and social conditions do, which makes their formal value contingent. That being said, it’s worth holding on to and using, even within radical or aspiring revolutionary political projects. On a more personal note, I really like Diego’s contribution. I don’t always agree with him, but he teases out really good points that are worth discussing and clarifying. Diego identifies a central weakness of post structuralist political theory (ie if everything is discursive, how do we know or judge causal relations that give rise to it and trammel its activity?) Also, I’d be very interested to hear more of Victor’s thesis about democratic theory!
Isaac Suárez
2023-03-15 02:07:13 +0000 UTCWhy yes, I would enjoy a series on Post-Marxism 🙏 1:19:00 Diego. Damn, direct hit💣🤯 1:28:00 on prescriptive statements, and not knowing how a possible action is interconnected, to be certain of it's outcome, let alone a positive one... Here I prefer stripping away, rather than adding on or remaining entirely immobile/ remaining entirely "canvas waiting to be painted." I think it's relatively easy to strip away, and to know that what is stripped away was non essential, "extra." When troubleshooting/debugging in general, simplicity is key, and it often requires dismantling down to bare essentials.
ageOfBumFires
2023-03-15 01:07:54 +0000 UTCIt's like there's a spectrum of superstructure complexity and the simpler end can demand immediate material sacrifice
Alex B
2023-03-14 13:58:03 +0000 UTCSome people can be immaterially convinced they are desperate, like fascists risking jail to harass refugees. Or convinced they are duty bound, or even heading off to a big celebration, like recruits on each side of the world wars. It is possible for seduction to trump rationality and material conditions.
Alex B
2023-03-14 13:55:40 +0000 UTCAs embarrassing as it is to admit this, I love Felix Guattari
Ichabod
2023-03-13 17:42:46 +0000 UTCHey, is you're going to continue with other kinds of Post Marxism, would be interesting to hear y'all's thoughts on Metamodern politics (Listening Society and Nordic Ideology), even if Pills will hate it.
Austin Krieger
2023-03-12 19:54:16 +0000 UTCMore Diego pls
cigarette_butter
2023-03-11 22:40:37 +0000 UTChe got a full time professorship and moved to the USA ew
Plastic Pills
2023-03-11 21:01:47 +0000 UTCDiego is awesome as always. Btw did I miss something, did McManus leave the pod?
Henry Martyn
2023-03-11 20:55:59 +0000 UTCI really enjoy when Diego is on here. More of this please
john gautreaux
2023-03-11 19:55:14 +0000 UTCThis was great!!
Akepa
2023-03-11 18:51:29 +0000 UTCLoved this, Diego would be such a welcome addition to the Pill Pod fr
anacidcommie
2023-03-11 16:41:22 +0000 UTCI just love diego (haven't even listened to the thing) and I am glad he is back
hoppi
2023-03-10 22:20:04 +0000 UTC
