Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode, or listen to a preview. Citizens can get the entire second part here. On Peter Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread (1892), discussed by Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. If we want an egalitarian society, do we need the state to accomplish this? Kropotkin says no, that in fact the state inevitably serves the interests of the few, and that if Continue Reading …
Ep. 256: Kropotkin’s Anarchist Communism (Part Two for Supporters)
Continuing on Peter Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread (1892). Start with Part One. If Kropotkin is right that mutual aid is a natural tendency and so communism is very much feasible, why hasn't it happened already? This is the question that he starts off with in his Preface (added in 1913), and we go through this and many other specific points and passages from the text. Continue Reading …
Ep. 256: Kropotkin’s Anarchist Communism (Part One for Supporters)
On Peter Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread (1892), discussed by Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. If we want an egalitarian society, do we need the state to accomplish this? Kropotkin says no, that in fact the state inevitably serves the interests of the few, and that if we got rid of it, our natural tendencies to cooperate would allow us through voluntary organizations to keep Continue Reading …
Parables as a Guide to Jesus the Philosopher, Part 11: Poverty
Some of Jesus’s teachings go beyond the virtue of nonpossessiveness and become notably specific about what to do with wealth once you have detached yourself from it: give it away to the poor (Hill, 63). But was Jesus espousing a political philosophy or merely a private morality? Was Jesus a communist? And if Jesus valued being poor, did he do so as a means to an end, or as Continue Reading …
Not School: Marx’s “Communist Manifesto”
Featuring Andy Langley and Glen Stratton. Recorded November 16, 2013. Here's the Marxism group. Continue Reading …
Episode 70: Marx on the Human Condition (Citizens Only)
On Karl Marx's The German Ideology, Part I, an early, unpublished work from 1846. What is human nature? What drives history? How can we improve our situation? Marx thought that fundamentally, you are what you do: you are your job, your means of subsistence. All the rest, this culture, this religion, this philosophy, is just a thin layer over our basic situation. Ideas are Continue Reading …
Are The Smurfs Based on Plato’s Republic?
Apparently The Smurfs have been accused of being anti-semitic communists living in a totalitarian utopia. It bears mentioning -- since we're reading Plato's Republic for the next podcast -- that each Smurf is named for what they do best. -- Wes Continue Reading …