Marx Engels Lenin Institute

March Q&A Part 1

After giving our assessment of the Will Smith/Chris Rock Slap, we answer questions about declining US hegemony, Marxism-Leninism, and spirituality.

Potential New Series

We've been discussing the possibilities of doing and "ABC's" or Marxism series recently.  What we'd like to know from all of you is if this is something you be interested in us doing? It would be as part of the regular patreon episodes and would be produced once per month.  

Ukraine Update

Alex goes through the latest from the war in Ukraine covering the military aspects before moving onto look at the political and economic aspects.  

The paper by Simon Clarke that is referenced is entitled "Class Struggle and the Global Overaccumulation of Capital"

You can find the thread on the military aspects of the campaign by Scott Ritter he...

Plastic Surgery and the Bottomless Pit of Alienation

In the weekend edition we look at the history of plastic surgery, why it developed, which layers in society have embraced it the most and why it has become ever more popular.  The answer as to why it has become ever more popular are disturbing and afford us an insight into the atomised, alienated and constantly marketised nature of certain areas of life in the western world today. 

Episode Image is from Brazil - Directed by Terry Gilliam (1985) 

"The economics of modern imperialism" by Michael Roberts

We review a recent essay by Michael Roberts who uses empirical methods to unveil the top imperialist powers of the day. We compare his approach to Tony Norfield's (author of The City: London and the Global Power of Finance). We also talk about the deliberate underdevelopment of periphery nations by imperialist powers, and China's position as a climbing imperialist nation.

The essay under discussion is here: 2022-03-24 01:28:59 +0000 UTC View Post

Inflation, Long Depression and P&O Workers Struggle

In this episode we start off by examining the P&O Ferries dispute  before turning to look at the latest on inflation and the idea that we  are in a "long depression" since 2008. You can find out more about the  P&O workers dispute on the link below.       

           https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/pando-cri...

March Q&A!

We'll be doing another Q&A for patrons at the end of March. Leave your questions for us below!

Will the Sanctions on Russia work?

We go through the various sanction applied by the West on Russia to see whether they will work to deter Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The End of the New World Order? with Tara McCormack

s  the "rules based" international order collapsing? Has the Russian  action in Ukraine ended for good the period of the unipolar world? What  are we to make of President Vladimir Putin adopting the rhetoric of  "responsibility to protect" arguments previously so beloved of US and  British politiacal leaders?

All this and much more are subjects of our discussion with Tara  McCormack who is a lecturer in international relations, sovereignty,  security, ...

Reading Group March: Participation and Democratic Theory

Democracy. You've heard of it. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Wars are fought over it. 

But what is democracy anyways?

We are going to reading chapters of Carole Pateman's book which examines the idea of democracy from a liberal point of view, and how to extend this concept to its fullest given the constraints of class society. This reading group should be useful for anyone with an interest on practical applications of "democracy" in our current context (insomuch a...

The Great Imperial Carve Up - Livestream Audio from 02.03.21

This is the audio from a livestream done on March 2nd by Alex covering the implications of the 2007 speech by Putin to the Munich security conference where he outlined his change in Russian foreign policy.  

Imperialism Update? What the Ukraine Invasion Means

We talk about whether Russia's invasion of Ukraine portends an end to US hegemony and a fatal blow to Poulantzas. We also reflect on the near unanimous pro-war stance taken by politicians in Canada, the UK and the USA. This is a long one, sorry!

Propaganda Wars in Ukraine w/ Kit Klarenburg

Early release!

We talk about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with investigative journalist Kit Klarenburg, with an emphasis on the use of the media in shaping the stunning pro-war unanimity. We also touch on the weaponization of propaganda against the Canadian trucker protest movement.

Interview With James Smith - Part 2

In the second part of our interview with James Smith, of The Popular Show, we look at the use and abuses of the term "fascism", the position of the petit bourgeoisie and the usefulness of the "left-right" distinction in today's politics.  

Check out The Popular Show on twitter @thepopularpod 

Interview With James Smith - Part 1

In which we speak to James Smith from @thepopularshow on everything from Covid to the Corbyn period.

This is part one of the interview, part 2 will be out for patrons next week.

Be sure to check out The Popular Show and their work

"As Workers Resist, the Left Recoils" w/ Edwin Aponte

We speak with the founder and editor of The Bellows, Edwin Aponte, about his piece analyzing the Left's failure to support or even commend the worker resistance against Covid vaccine mandates and Covid protocols across the globe.

Find the article here: https://www.thebellows.org/as-workers-resist-the-left-recoils/ 

*Reading Group* Stalin: Critique of a Black Legend

Was Stalin good or bad? Yes.

We'll be reviewing portions of Domenico Losurdo's book, Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend. The book is written in a rather non-linear fashion, so just crack open the book to any number of places or read the whole thing. 

Book is available here: 2022-02-13 22:04:42 +0000 UTC View Post

Canadian Border Blockade

We talk through some initial musings about the quickly-developing situation at the US-Canadian border with respect to the anti-mandate activists blockading the Ambassador Bridge, a key border crossing.

Spectres of Fascism - Part 2

In the next part of our exploration of the conjuring up of the fascist spectre by bourgeois politicians we ask, who are the real fascists and which class produces them?

Spectres of Fascism - Part 1

With Justin Trudeau claiming that the truckers protest represented "unacceptable views" and the term "fascism" being we look at why so many bourgeois political figures are using this rhetoric.  From Corbyn supporters to pro-Brexit voters, Trump die-hards to the Gilet Jaune, the fascist spectre has been conjured up in relation to all of them, so why is this?  We dive into the history to try and understand the evolution of this tactic. 

A Honking Good Time! w/ Gord Magill

We have Canadian trucker and political commentator Gord Magill on to discuss the ongoing trucker protest in Canada. Check out Gord' latest piece in Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/elites-are-smearing-truckers-because-were-doing-their-job-representing-people-opinion-1675022

The Origins of Complicity w/ Denis Rancourt

We speak with Canadian physicist and social theorist Denis Rancourt about the lack of critical thinking in the general population, what's up with COVID "modelling" and more!

You can find Denis Rancourt's writing and research here: https://denisrancourt.ca/

Ukraine & The Fall of NATO

In this episode we reflect on the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis.  To understand things further we look back over the period since the collapse of the USSR taking in the Kosovo war, the fall of Milosevic, the war on terror, the role of Yeltsin, the rise of Putin and why the US trying to make this into Cold War Part 2 is doomed to failure.  

*Early Release* Russia Invades Ukraine? w/ Scott Ritter

Early release for Patrons!

We sit with military analyst Scott Ritter to understand the whys and hows of a possible Russian offensive into Ukraine, and to understand the role of US and NATO in this quickly-escalating situation. 

The Party is Over?

Is Boris Johnson finished? Has anyone in the British government been sober since 2019? Will Canada's supply chains or housing market collapse first? Is it a constitutional requirement for Supreme Court Justices to posses functioning brains? 

All of this and much more will be discussed as we stride forward into 2022 and Season 3 of Red Star Radio.  

*Reading Group* Plutocrats

Happy new year! For January's Reading Group, we are going to reviewing Canada's Finance Minister (and deputy Prime Minister) Chrystia Freeland's book "Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else"

We'll be reading the following chapters:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 5
• Conclusion

PDF available here: http://digamo....

*Reading Group* The Great Reset

Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret have been accused of being globalists and supervillians . We investigate the charge by carefully reviewing their book "COVID-19: The Great Reset" (i.e. Exhibit A)

The truth will shock you...

End of Year Q&A Part 3

In this the final installment of our end of year, Q&A spectacular we tackle more controversial subjects than ever before! The great reset, Stalin, Trotsky, State Capitalism, Cuba and the union bureaucracy!  What more could you want for an end of year show!  

COVID in Paris w/ Dr. Laurent Mucchielli

We speak with sociologist and research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the largest basic research institute in Europe. Dr. Mucchielli has been critical of France's COVID authoritarianism since the start of the pandemic, and has written and co-signed numerous open letters denouncing the unnecessary and repressive nature of the COVID protocols in France and beyond. He also has co-authored an analysis of deaths as reported by various countries' drug surveil...

End of Year Q&A Part 2

In the second part of our end of year, seasonal spectacular we tackle the next set of listeners questions.  This week we follow up on the discussion over the concept of patriotic socialism with reference to the work of Luxemburg and an examination of the Irish struggle and Sinn Fein's role.  We then look at the SNP and the role of the union bureaucracy with reference to the election of Sharon Graham as the new General Secretary of UNITE.  

The song mentioned at the beginn...