Welcome!
This
is where I'll be putting links to audio-visual and other material for
POLS 323 Marxism: Classical and Contemporary during Semester 2, 2023. I
will be adding to, editing, and updating this blog during the course of
the semester. So it is a work in progress.
Some of the av-material and links overlap with POLS 208 Democracy, so check that blog out as well. https://briansroper.blogspot.com/2019/07/pols-208-democracy-videos-and-links-2019.html
The lecture schedule is outlined below.
Lecture
Schedule
Introduction
1. What is Marxism? Is
Marxism Still Relevant? Why Classical and Contemporary Marxism?
Section 1: Laying the Foundations: Karl Marx and Frederick
Engels
2. Karl Marx: Brief Biographical Sketch and ‘Marx in Soho’
3. Karl Marx: Intellectual Significance, Biography and Historical
Context
4. Marx’s General Theory of History: Dialectical and Historical
Materialism
5. Marx’s Critique of Capitalism: Analysing Capitalist Exploitation
6. Marx’s Critique of Capitalism: Analysing Capitalist Economic
Crisis
7. Marx’s Critique of Capitalism: What is Alienation? What’s Wrong
with Liberal Democracy?
8. Frederick
Engels’ Contribution to Establishing Marxism: Biography, Early Development of
Historical Materialism and Marxian Socialism, Dialectics, and Critical Analysis
of Women’s Oppression.
Section 2: Classical Marxism: Overview, Context and Key
Figures
9. German Social Democracy, Classical Marxism and Vladimir Lenin’s
Theory of Revolution
10. Marxist Conceptions of Socialist Organisation from Marx to Lenin
and Beyond
11. Rosa Luxemburg: Reform or Revolution?
12. Rosa Luxemburg: The Mass Strike and Luxemburg’s Critique of the
Bolsheviks
13. Leon Trotsky: The Fight Against Stalinism
14. Antonio Gramsci: Hegemony and Contradictory Consciousness
15. Georg Lukacs: History and Class Consciousness
16. The Classical Marxist Vision of Socialism: Revolution, Socialism
and Participatory Democracy
Section 3: Contemporary Marxism
17. Marxist Educational Sociology: Neoliberalism’s War on Higher
Education
18. Marxist International Relations: Capitalist Imperialism & War
from its Origins to the End of the Cold War
19. Marxist Economics: The Global Financial Crisis and its Aftermath
20. The Political Economy of the Covid 19 Pandemic: Origins, Spread,
Impact, Policy Responses.
21. Marxist International Relations: US Supremacy (1990-2007), the
Rise of China after 1978, and the Decline of US Hegemony (2008-2025)
22. Marxist Ecology: Analysing the Causes of Resource Depletion, Declining
Biodiversity, and Global Warming
23. Socialist and Marxist Feminism: Capitalism, Gender Inequality,
Intersectionality and Women’s Liberation
24. Digital Disconnect: The History and Political Economy of the
Internet and Smart Phones
25. The
Ideological Bias of the Corporate Media: Manufacturing Consent?
Conclusion:
Results and Prospects
26. The
Democratic Socialist Alternative to 21st Century Capitalism.
Videos and Links
Introductions to Marx and Marxism
Marx in Soho performed by Brian Jones
This
play provides both a genuinely amusing and accurate account of Marx's
life and central ideas. Well worth watching. Learn stuff and have a good
laugh while doing so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2baw7stI6U
'Karl Marx' 30 minute humorous introduction to Marx by Marx Steel (in 2003). Unfortunately the only online version I have been able to find is very low definition- but it is still well worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ddGtKZuSU
Marx's Theory of Surplus Value - An Excellent 10 minute Intro.
David Harvey on the Global Financial Crisis and Crises of Capitalism.
Animation of David Harvey providing a 10 minute oral outline of the Marxist analysis of capitalist economic crises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0
Roland Boer, 'In Defence of Engels', published on the Philosophers for Change blog site.
An interesting article by the author of a very good book on Engels: Roland Boer, Criticism of Earth: On Marx, Engels and Theology (Chicago and Leiden: Haymarket and Brill, (2014 [2012]).
Among other things, argues that Engels' "writes of ‘two great discoveries, the materialistic conception of
history and the revelation of the secret of capitalistic production
through surplus-value …. With these discoveries Socialism became a
science’.[31] As ever, Engels attributes these discoveries to Marx, but
they were also very much his achievement."
https://philosophersforchange.org/2014/09/09/in-defence-of-engels/
New Zealand
For New Zealand material, some of which is relevant to this course, go to:
For other useful NZ sources and links go to:
The Russian Revolution
The most accurate short (20 minutes long) video documentary on the Russian Revolution that I have been able to find currently (2016) available on Youtube is: Timeline:
The Russian Revolution - by British socialist John Rees - produced as
part of a historical 'timeline' series of historical documentaries
produced by Islam TV in the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VldXUyCaeQ
Rosa Luxemburg - Then and Now
An excellent slideshow with Alistair Hulett singing the Internationale in the background.
Lenin - What is Soviet Power?
Five minute speech by Lenin with English subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l53FPENoAU
Another interesting short speech by Lenin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_EcpFLmUaU
Antonio Gramsci - Five Lectures
There
are some interesting, informative and illuminating lectures on Gramsci
available online. Here are the best five (in my view).
1. Peter Thomas – ‘Gramsci and Hegemony’ (37 minutes)
If
you only have time to listen to one of these lectures, then catch the
excellent lecture by Peter D. Thomas – author of the best book on
Gramsci published during the past decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exe5U3kFU5g
2. Alex Callinicos - ‘Gramsci and the Art of Politics’ (66 minutes)
A superb lecture on Gramsci is by Alex Callinicos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bP_IEzHRjM
3. Megan Trudell – ‘The Uses and Abuses of Gramsci’ (65 minutes)
Megan Trudel provide a critique of common misinterpretations and misrepresentations of Gramsci.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNuhNnSoAOQ
4. Paul D’Amato – ‘Life of a Revolutionary’ (69 minutes)
This
lecture provides a superb account of the historical context of
Gramsci’s intellectual and political life from 1914 to 1926.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEXsE-sP2ps
5. Bob Jessop – ‘The Life and Work of Gramsci’ (62 minutes)
This
lecture by Jessop provide a very clear account of key concepts in
Gramsci’s thought, but doesn’t put enough emphasis on the context of
Gramsci’s intellectual and political life, nor duly acknowledge that
Gramsci was a resolutely revolutionary Marxist.
https://bobjessop.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/1-bob-jessop-lectures-on-gramsci.mp3
Key Marxist Websites
and Links The best way to check out the contemporary analysis
and politics of the Marxist tradition is to search the websites of some of the
more significant anti-Stalinist Marxist intellectuals and organisations. These sites have lots of
articles providing useful discussions of a wide range of issues.
Michael Roberts Blog - Blogging from a Marxist Economist https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/
Michael Roberts worked in the City of London as an economist for over 40
years. He has closely observed the machinations of global capitalism
from within the dragon’s den. At the same time, he was a political
activist in the labour movement for decades. Since retiring, he has
written several books. The Great Recession – a Marxist view (2009); The
Long Depression (2016); Marx 200: a review of Marx’s economics (2018):
and jointly with Guglielmo Carchedi as editors of World in Crisis
(2018). He has published numerous papers in various academic economic
journals and articles in leftist publications.
Socialist Alternative: https://redflag.org.au/ and http://marxistleftreview.org/
SA is the largest socialist organisation in Australia.
It is based in the International Socialist tradition but has no formal links to
the organisation that founded this tradition- the British Socialist Workers’
Party (SWP). As well as coverage of international issues such as Brexit, the US
presidential election, the refuge crisis, and global warming, it also provides
socialist analysis of political developments in Australia, such as the racist
politics of Pauline Hanson, the anti-worker policies of the federal Liberal
Government, Australia’s racist immigration and refugee policies, and so forth.
We Are Many: http://wearemany.org/
This site is sponsored by the Center for Economic
Research and Social Change, which also hosts Haymarket Books
and which published the International Socialist Review.
“We are simply trying to offer a small sampling of the best radical audio and
video sources we know of. We know that the internet provides vast opportunities
to share information and ideas, but we do not believe that this can replace the
real actions of real people. We encourage our visitors, friends,
fellow-travellers, and comrades to take inspiration from the people included
here into their own struggles for justice.”
International Socialism Project: https://internationalsocialism.net/
This is a revolutionary socialist organisation based in the international socialist tradition formed by former members of the ISO (US) in the wake of the ISO's disbanding in 2019.
Solidarity:
Against the Current: https://www.solidarity-us.org/atc
Solidarity is a Trotskyist organisation in the U.S.
Its main publication – Against the
Current carries useful articles on a broad range of topics.
Democratic
Socialists of America: https://www.dsausa.org/
The DSA, which now has over 60,000 members, produces
what has become an important Marxist journal: Jacobin. Available at: https://jacobinmag.com/
The ‘About the DSA’ section of the website states: ‘The Democratic
Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United
States. DSA's members are building progressive movements for social change
while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American
communities and politics. At the root
of our socialism is a profound commitment to democracy, as means and end. As
we are unlikely to see an immediate end to capitalism tomorrow, DSA fights for
reforms today that will weaken the power of corporations and increase the power
of working people. For example, we support reforms that: decrease the influence
of money in politics; empower ordinary people in workplaces and the economy; restructure
gender and cultural relationships to be more equitable.
We are activists committed to democracy as not simply one of our
political values but our means of restructuring society. Our vision is of a
society in which people have a real voice in the choices and relationships that
affect the entirety of our lives. We
call this vision democratic socialism — a vision of a more free, democratic and
humane society. In this web site you can find out about DSA, its
politics, structure and program
International Socialist Organization
(NZ): https://iso.org.nz/
Established at the University of Otago in 1993, the
ISO now has branches in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin. Although still very
small, it is not as small as the other socialist groups in Aotearoa. Recent
articles on its website have focused on: the TPPA, Gramsci, Brexit, the
struggle for a Living Wage, disability rights, workers’ struggles, ANZAC Day, Maori
struggles, the 2018 and 2020 elections, the climate strike movement, Covid-19
pandemic, and the Ardern Labour-led Government.
Inequality: A New Zealand Conversation: http://www.inequality.org.nz/understand/
This site contains useful and interesting articles on
inequality in New Zealand.
The Standard: https://thestandard.org.nz/
The most
widely read left-of-centre NZ-based source of online news and commentary. Well
worth reading in relation to developments and events within New Zealand.
The About
section of the site states:
“We’re a
cooperative who saw a gap in the New Zealand political blogosphere and
decided that we should have a go at filling it here at The Standard blog
site. We write here in our personal capacities and the opinions that are
expressed on the blog are individual unless expressly stated otherwise (see the
policy). We do
not write on behalf of any organization.”
“We come from a variety of
backgrounds and our political views don’t always match up but it’d be fair to
say that all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that
underpin the broad labour movement and we hope that perspective will come
through strongly as you read the blog.”
Counter-futures:
Left Thought and Practice in Aotearoa: https://counterfutures.nz/
Currently New Zealand’s most important left-wing
academic journal.
RS21: Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st
Century: https://rs21.org.uk/
About: “Revolutionary
Socialism in the 21st Century (rs21) is a news, comment, analysis and
campaigning website run by a group of revolutionary socialists in Britain.”
Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP): https://www.swp.org.uk/.
Publishes Socialist Worker (UK) https://socialistworker.co.uk/ (weekly
socialist newspaper), Socialist Review
http://socialistreview.org.uk/ (monthly
magazine) and International Socialism
http://isj.org.uk/
(quarterly journal of socialist theory and analysis).
Still the largest socialist group in Britain, the SWP
emerged from the most serious crisis in its history in 2013 less than half the
size that it was prior to the crisis. Nonetheless, it has recovered and its
main publications contain useful socialist analysis of developments and issues
taking place internationally and in the UK.
The Fourth International: http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/
This is the main English language publication of the
Fourth International that was established by Trotsky in 1938. The FI is the other
major Trotskyist current with affiliated organisations in many countries. One
of the major issues that divides the ‘orthodox Trotskyists’ of the Fourth
International from the ‘neo-Trotskyists’ in the IS tradition concerns their
different analyses of the rise and international spread of Stalinism. But on
many, if not most, issues there is broad agreement between the member
organisations of the two largest anti-Stalinist socialist currents. Quite apart
from this, International Viewpoint
carries very good socialist analysis of international political developments
and issues.
The Alternative Press Centre: http://www.altpress.org/mod/apc_directory/index.php
As a very large online directory of radical
(anarchist, feminist, environmentalist, and socialist) periodicals, with links.
The Neoliberal Critique of Marxism
•
Milton Friedman - Redistribution of Wealth Chicago and monetarist
economist, Milton Friedman, providing a neoliberal justification of the
unequal distribution of wealth in advanced capitalist societies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJwUaVDIPXg
• Hayek on Socialism Friedrich von Hayek providing a brief critique of socialism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNbYdbf3EEc
Music Videos 2023
323 Videos
The Guardian - "Apple and Disney among companies backing groups against US climate bill"
Lecture 1
• Wet Leg - Chaise Longue
• Curtis Harding - Hopeful
• Courtney Barnett - Depreston
• The Interrupters - Take Back the Power
Lecture 8
• For those I love - You stayed / to live
Lecture 9
Lectures 11-12
• The National - Bloodbuzz (Ohio) • Mazzy Star - Fade into You
Lecture 18 (first after lockdown)
• The Shins - A Comet Appears
• Shapeshifter - Monarch
• Big Thief - Mary
Lecture 20 (first after lockdown)
• Nirvana - Never Mind
• White Stipes - Seventh National Army
Lecture 21
Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
Lecture 22
Curtis Harding - Hopeful
• Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Lecture 23
• Wolf Alice - The Beach II
Lectures 24-26
• The Shins - Pink Bullets
•Radiohead - Creep
• Palma Violets - Best of Friends
Slowdive - When the Sun Hits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5iK_mqtJ04
