Morning Comrades! I am kicking off the summer with a light-hearted drop today and that starts now. I don’t think I need to explain this one and it truly has no deeper meaning other than what the design is implying… In any case, it’s available now in the online shop and all you have to do is click on the above picture. Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any question by all means, ask.
Similar to last Friday, I am not going to include hot shots of the fuckening in this email. I actually enjoyed keeping that off at least one email per week and focus a little more on things that I spent time on. You know, I’ll still be shit posting on IG today but I did enjoy not doing so on here last week. Let’s see how that goes. Let’s kick off with your 3rd installment of your summers reading list.
The Production of Money by Ann Pettifor
In this accessible, brilliantly argued book, leading political economist Ann Pettifor explains in straightforward terms history’s most misunderstood invention: the money system. Pettifor argues that democracies can, and indeed must, reclaim control over money production and restrain the out-of-control finance sector so that it serves the interests of society, as well as the needs of the ecosystem.
Postmodernism by Fredric Jameson
In his most wide-ranging and accessible work, Frederic Jameson argues that postmodernism is the cultural response to the latest systemic change in world capitalism. He seeks here to crystallize a definition of a term which has taken on so many meanings that it has virtually lost all historical significance.
Never-Ending Nightmare by Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval
For Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, neoliberalism is no mere dogma. Supported by powerful oligarchies, it is a veritable politico-institutional system, one capable of perpetuating itself aggressively. Far from representing a break, crisis has become a formidably effective mode of government.
I dropped into a masisve youtube k-hole the other day and I wanted to share and talk about two specific videos - because they’re bloody brilliant and I really cannot recommend them more, both of them are from Contra Points.
Now, if you are new to her work, take a moment. Apart from the brilliant presentation of her points, what takes some time getting used to is her wonderful way of portraying very typical characters within leftist spaces to a point where the parody is so good that for a minute I couldn’t tell if she was taking the piss or not. On the one hand you have her internal monologue displayed via various characters she plays herself and on the other hand you can essentially take said dialogues and mint them on any situation in your own life, especially in her earlier work, which is where these two are from. The first one deals with the grand concept that we all call “The West”. This is more of a history lesson about our own indoctrination than anything else but it is so vitally important for everyone here int he Global North West. Personally, it hit a note only because I started off on Early-Medieval Arab History at Uni, essentially, re-learning the history of Europe that we are taught in school. This episode ties into that, biggest take aways here are: learn about the indoctrination and who it serves, nothing is real and everything is permitted.
The second is sheer brilliance in my opinion. Granted, it obviously doesn’t include the entire spectrum of insanity I have experienced in any leftist reality over the last 30 years but it nails many of them in a wonderful way. Don’t mistake her ( and mine ) criticism of any of these points as hint of a changing ideology, now, often I do laugh at the level of self involvement in said spaces and mental headfuckery and this episode plays into that. One a serious note, if and when you read between the lines of what is being said here they give much and important reason of reflection. This is an absolute must-see this weekend.
One of the primary critiques of capitalism from the Left for well over 150 years is that the capitalist workplace is a dictatorship. The boss or a group of investors owns the workplace and a group of managers or directors set all the rules that govern it. There is no democracy within the company. The workers either accept these rules or they can quit. But quitting generally means seeking employment within another workplace dictatorship.
Some workers are fortunate to have valued, marketable skills that yield highly paid, comfortable jobs where the lack of democracy is not so painful. Others may escape the formal workplace by becoming an independent contractor. A few will start their own business and employ other workers, thus becoming a new dictator. But most workers throughout their working lives move through a series of undemocratic workplaces at the complete whim of their boss’s rules, where they spend about a third of their time for four or five decades. We can see the consequences of this in surveys which show that a majority of people are unhappy at work.
And yet we are constantly told that the capitalist market offers freedom for all. How is it that mainstream discourse won’t recognize the obvious dictatorships that dominate the lives of most people? And how can we organize and fight for real freedom? A really good start is democratizing your workplace. Yes, that is a struggle, yes, it is ugly and yes it only fucking works through solidarity - not the bullshit empty IG Lefty slogan, but the real deal, putting people up when they get evicted, sharing food and healthcare and so. Here is a great clip for you to get into if this interests you, and it should.
I am going to finish todays and this week’s email with three more recommended jams from my youtube k-hole excursion. Again, anything to get you off the mond numbing propaganda that is netflix and co, here we go. Enjoy, have a wonderful few days and I’ll be back on Monday. Much love & smooches. Steven.