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Rundown
You asked for it, and we delivered! A laminated blueprint on exactly how to end capitalism, and what to build in its place!
Joking aside, in this episode we explain capitalism, socialism, communism, and anarchism as distinct modes of production. We tackle some of the common arguments for capitalism and against alternatives such as communism. We also explain the pernicious politics of ‘aid’ and exploitation in Global North-South relations, underscoring that this needs to be a global project. We finish with some theoretical and practical ideas for building a post-capitalist future, emphasizing the importance of both embracing uncertainty and of understanding that we ourselves are its authors and creators.
Sources and Links
- Intercepted podcast, Leading Marxist Scholar David Harvey on Trump, Wall Street, and Debt Peonage: https://theintercept.com/2018/01/21/marxist-scholar-david-harvey-on-trump-wall-street-and-debt-peonage/
- David Harvey, Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18579571-seventeen-contradictions-and-the-end-of-capitalism
- Jason Hickel, Aid in reverse: how poor countries develop rich countries: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jan/14/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-countries-develop-rich-countries
- Jason Hickel, Exposing the Great Poverty Reduction Lie: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/08/exposing-great-poverty-reductio-201481211590729809.html
- Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents Revisited: https://www.wwnorton.co.uk/books/9780393355161-globalization-and-its-discontents-revisited
- John Perkins, The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman: https://www.amazon.com/New-Confessions-Economic-Hit-Man/dp/1626566747/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CKCSXDA2X3ZC17BT3SS2
- Revolutionary Left Radio podcast, Red Hangover: Legacies of 20th Century Communism w/ Dr. Kristen R. Ghodsee: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/red-hangover-legacies-of-20th-century-communism-w-dr-kristen-r-ghodsee
- Under the Skin Podcast, Russel Brand and Jason Hickel, Inequality is Killing Us All. Are We Going to Stop It?: https://www.russellbrand.com/podcast/ep-24-inequality-killing-us-going-stop-jason-hickel/
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14 thoughts on “6. A Laminated Blueprint on How to End Capitalism”
Wow, this was probably the most interesting episode so far, well done!
Urgh it’s so relatable, I encounter these myths and pseudo argument literally several times a day. And it’s almost frightening how colonized peoples minds are (just yesterday a person denounced me as a friend after I simply claimed that Gates didn’t just work much harder than everyone else to gain his $93 millions, but that it was unjustly taken as profit from others hard work.)
“We need to be the authors of our future” yes, keep up the fight everyone! <3
Thank you! It’s probably our favourite episode too. Definitely frightening and super frustrating. Nobody “earns” that much money.
Solidarity <3
I find it funny how you guys were talking about adopting nonproductive habits. That’s something I’ve been actually picking up too. Its taken a while (mostly due to uncertainty) but its so lovely. I am listening to your podcast while I crochet myself a little scarf. I’ve gotten into fashion, make up, art, and fiction reading. I wish you guys luck! See you in the next pod-cast!
Power to you!! It’s taken us ages too, but oh so lovely. We truly do see it as a form of resistance. hah
Thank you, and see you in the next episode <3
great podcast mexie and marine. i follow both of your youtube channels and happy that i have some more interesting, thoughtful stuff to listen to while i paint.
i agree with your idea that marxism is a set of principles that have to be tried and adapted to the time and place you find yourself in. as an artist, i find it frustrating how isolated i am from my time and place, however its also quite interesting and offers me a lot to work with from a creative standpoint. we live in fractured times, so we have no choice but to admit our plurality and start our struggle from there.i have a masters but i think i express myself better in images. oh well
Thank you so much! Wonderful that you’re able to express yourself through images/art. We both we had that talent. Is any of your work political? We do live in a fractured time, which is no doubt an impediment to solidarity and resistance. Thanks for your comment and support <3
Oh my God, Marine! I’m literally here because I’ve had the same reasoning and the same goal as you to read more fiction this year, my 2017 reading list was just non-fiction with the exception of a short Thomas Bernhard novel. I started reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Dispossessed” and in part because of it I started doing some research into political economy which I had tragically neglected all my life. (I also strongly neglected reading female authors, it’s seriously pitiful.)
On the non-productivity bit: I’m French and I was inspired by people like Albert Cossery and Émile Cioran to be an apolitical idler for many years as a form of resistance against capitalism and political extremism. I’m still an idler now, but I’ve outgrown the apolitical part, I’ve become convinced that it’s more extreme to be apolitical right now. I’m extremely thankful to both of you girls for all of the pointers and myth busting you’ve been doing here. I can’t tell you how helpful and enlightening this is for me.
Oh, there’s something else to you two that is really refreshing for me outside of how well-informed you are. I’ve been arguing with men for so long and just been around men too much, I don’t have any female friends and I feel like there’s a massive difference in the level of discussion here. The aggressive and competitive male ego (which I unfortunately suffer from as well) is not present and it feels regenerative and inspiring to me. Thank you. 🙂
Thanks so much, Etienne! Reading more fiction in 2018 is still proving to be difficult for us both 😅. Ursula Le Guin is a great place to start, and certainly reading more female authors is important. And glad you’ve outgrown the apolitical part, we completely agree that it’s more extreme to be apolitical right now. Only some of us have the privilege of being apolitical at all.
We’re so happy to hear you’ve been liking the pod! And glad to know we aren’t falling into the competitive ego trap hah. <3
I´m just like… I knooow riiiight? Hmmmm,ya…. XD
Keep going guys! Great job.
thank you!
Hey ladies! I really like your podcast so far. I’ve always been anti-capitalist at heart but more recently I’ve been trying to learn about the other modes of production and anything else I can sink my teeth into to help me feel a little less trapped in this system. I find that everything you guys are saying is really informative, educational and important information to get out there but I was hoping that this episode especially would have some concrete steps. I’ve been to several socialist/communist meetings in my city of Vancouver and it’s the same thing- lots of great ideas and great conversations but no actionable steps. I’m just wondering if there’s anything I can do, anything I can support, anything I can rally for that would actually help the cause. What does anti-capilitalist activism really look like? Because I don’t want to talk anymore, it feels imperative to do something. Short of attending protests and the socialist groups on campus I’m at a loss.
Thank you so much for doing this podcast!
Thanks so much, Zara! We recently put out a podcast about pleasure activism and the importance of making connections and building community. We feel the same way, that we would like to start taking steps. Other than organizing and spreading knowledge to get other people on board/awake to this (which is important activism!), there are a lot of organizations working towards prefigurative politics, so organizing mutual aid disaster relief, programs to feed communities outside of capital, building networks of care, etc. We think these steps are important since capitalism is going down the drain (especially with the latest climate change report), and we’re going to need to have solid and organized communities who know how to take care of one another in de-commodified ways to be able to rise up at that point.
Thank you for taking the time to respond!!
Hey, discovered your podcast recently and I’m slowly getting through them. Really enjoying it 🙂
I can’t remember if you said this but it’s worth mentioning, that poverty was a measure made by capitalists to show how well it was doing, and in fact many cultures were thriving in non-capitalist societies. They weren’t in poverty until Western imperialists forced capitalism upon them and essentially forced them into poverty.
I would also like to mention that I disagree with a claim that there has really been any major socialist state. Socialism, as I understand it, is a mode of production in which the people who produce surplus value also appropriate and distribute it (as opposed to capitalism, where those who produce don’t appropriate and distribute, others do). As such, “socialist” states like the USSR, China, Cuba, etc weren’t/aren’t socialist, because the workers were/are not in such a position. Instead, the government/state has taken the place of private capitalists and do the appropriation and distribution of surplus value themselves, and so can be characterised as state capitalist rather than socialist. I think we should move away from calling them socialist/communist, as that strengthens the association of authoritarianism with it, and instead educate on what socialist workplaces might look like, such as worker self-directed enterprises.
Last thing: I think leftists can be too harsh on themselves and others when it comes to action. We can’t all always be out there fighting. Moreover, I think a really important part is learning for yourself, as well as educating others. Elisee Reclus, an anarchist, wrote a very wholesome uplifting letter which I think is worth checking out: http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/reclus/letterdec41901.html
Again, keep doing what you’re doing, it’s great