Doomscroll: Vivek Chibber

Welcome to Doomscroll. My guest is Vivek Chibber, a professor of sociology at New York University. He is the author of several books including; Confronting Capitalism published by Verso Books in 2022, The Class Matrix: Social Theory After the Cultural Turn published by Harvard University Press in 2022 and Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital from Verso Books in 2013. Vivek Chibber is the editor of Catalyst Journal, founded in 2017 and published by Jacobin magazine. He is the host of the Confronting Capitalism podcast.

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Vivek Chibber joins me to explore the cultural turn, the rise of identity politics and the unfolding crisis of academia. We discuss:

• The rise of illiberal ideas on the left. How have NGOs and academic professionalism shaped today’s movements?

• “Political tourism” and the psychology of the middle class activist. Might some people prefer to lose?

• Marxism and liberalism as a moral vs. political philosophy. In an era of sweeping ideological transformations, what actually stands behind an idea?

• The Democratic party, third parties and electoral politics. Where does it succeed and where might it go wrong?

In this episode, we address some of the most difficult yet pressing issues on the left. If we are unable to discuss these topics, we can know for certain that our political opponents will. Donald Trump is now president, for a second time, after winning the popular vote as a Republican — an outcome that hasn’t otherwise happened for 20 years. Aside from upper-middle class white Baby Boomers, we have seen a resounding and historic defeat of neoliberal progressivism among all demographics. These realities should be taken seriously during this time of reflection and reformulation.

As we explore in today’s episode, change will not come from the elite academy. Chibber argues:

In my opinion, if radical scholarship, anti-capitalist scholarship and intellectual engagement is going to come back again, it's not going to be in the academy. The academy is dead. Academics will be involved. Individuals who are professors will be involved, but they're going to have to go to these new venues that are coming up. Social media is going to be a part of it. Serious intellectual debate and discussion is not going to happen in the academy for the foreseeable future. It's going to happen in places like Jacobin podcasts or YouTube channels, like this one, or elsewhere because there is no reason for academics ever to come back to not just socialism, but even old style liberalism.

The full episode is out today on YouTube:

Vivek Chibber: How the Left Got Lost | Doomscroll

Our conversation continues behind the paywall in Part 2 with Vivek Chibber. Subscribers will also get access to the full catalog of Doomscroll:

Doomscroll: Vivek Chibber II

Doomscroll: Andrew Callaghan II

Doomscroll: Ezra Klein II