Pure Excess: Capitalism, Commodity Fetishism, and the Promise of More

Pure Excess: Capitalism, Commodity Fetishism,...

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Unequal Exchange: The Engine of Modern Imperialism

Torkil Lauesen joins us to discuss his book Unequal Exchange: Past, Present, and Future and the hidden mechanics of modern imperialism. Lauesen returns to the tradition of Arghiri Emmanuel to argue that while the world market tends to equalize prices, wages remain radically unequ ...  Show more

War on the Iranian People and the American Mind (Workers' Lit & Rev Left Collab)

(recorded on 3/1/26) - Breht went on Workers' Lit as a guest! "The American ruling class is at war. Physically, they are at war with Iran, pummeling the country with unrelenting airstrikes, slaughtering civilians, and doing their best to make yet another nation unlivable. But the ...  Show more

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Todd Mcgowan, "Pure Excess: Capitalism and the Commodity" (Columbia UP, 2024)
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Todd McGowan forges a new theory of capitalism as a system based on the production of more than what we need: pure excess. He argues that the promise of more—more wealth, more enjoyment, more opportunity, without requiring any sacrifice—is the essence of capitalism. Previous soci ...  Show more

PREVIEW: Adrian Johnston & The Inhuman Selfishness of Capital
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Alright, we’re back again with ADRIAN JOHNSTON to discuss more of his book INFINITE GREED: THE INHUMAN SELFISHNESS OF CAPITAL. FULL EPISODE ON OUR PATREON HERE! Adrian takes us through some of the shifts in Freud’s positions on Marxism and this insistence on negativity as history ...  Show more

VULTURE CAPITALISM UNVEILED: Grace Blakeley on the Oligarchs' Grip on Our Economy
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In this episode, Max and Nafkote interview Grace Blakeley, an economist and author, about the rise of oligarchy and the relationship between billionaires, corporations, and the state.Grace discusses the close relationship between the American political establishment and the billi ...  Show more

Breaking Up with Capitalism w/ Malaika Jabali
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As socialists in the United States one of our most important tasks—at least under our current material conditions—is to raise class consciousness among the mass of people: the basic work of tuning people in to the existence of structures and systems that defi ...

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