WeAreMany.org: Recently posted audio

The successful October Revolution of 1917 marks the high point of the working class movement. But a few short years later it was hollowed out, and within a decade became a totalitarian regime. This discussion will focus on the material conditions that shaped the decline and counterrevolution in Russia.

Many self-described Marxists and anti-Marxists alike view Marxism as a static dogma that requires careful indoctrination or an intellectual perspective best left to academics. But an examination of the development of Marx's own thought presents a different picture of what it means to become and be a Marxist. That picture shows Marxism as a method of forging ideas, events, and experiences in the world into a force for the revolutionary self-emancipation of the working class, or in Harry Braverman's words, "a theory of revolution and thus a tool of combat.”

The Communist Manifesto describes the materialist conception of history, the class struggle between the working class and capitalism and the relationship of communists to the working class.

In the midst of the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, Western leaders have consigned millions of migrants and refugees to abject misery and even death, while the right is capitalizing on fears of a "Muslim menace" to whip up a new round of anti-immigrant scapegoating. This talk will put forward a Marxist analysis of what's driving the global refugee crisis and the kind of solidarity that can demand justice for immigrants and refugees.

People who want to end exploitation, oppression, poverty, and war are regularly told that fundamental change is impossible because of human nature. Human beings, it is claimed, are naturally selfish, competitive, and aggressive. But is there any evidence that these familiar claims about human nature are actually true?

This talk will discuss the role of women's oppression under capitalism, and explore the role that (typically unpaid) domestic labor, and what Marx called the “reproduction of labor power,” plays in the capitalist economy. This talk will cover basics of the theory of social reproduction, drawing from Lise Vogel, Friedrich Engels, and other current authors.

At a moment when abortion rights are under attack, this talk will explore the history of forced sterilization and restrictions on birth control and abortion as well as a vision for what reproductive justice could look like in a world where all families with children were able to meet their basic needs and beyond.

After Independence: Neocolonialism, State Capitalism, and Resistance in Sub-Saharan Africa

After the worst years of the Great Depression, workers across the US organized and went on strike in unprecedented numbers. The revived labor movement would go on to unionize the citadels of American capitalism, and change the balance of class forces in the US for decades. How did this come about, and why?

For decades after the death of Marx, the socialist parties of the Second International were the living hope of revolutionaries around the world, but this promising movement ended in disastrous support for the Great War and the bloody repression of revolutionary workers' movements. Today socialists have much to learn from this profound historical experience. This talk will pose the question: what is the legacy of the Second International?

The logistics revolution has transformed the way goods and services are manufactured and distributed around the globe. What does this mean for socialist strategy and political practice?

This presentation examines some of the major debates on national liberation between non-Russian Marxists and Bolsheviks in the Tsarist Empire, a multinational state in which dominated nationalities made up a majority of the population, as well as a majority of socialists. Both V. I. Lenin and the political currents to which he belonged were initially less sympathetic to national aspirations than has usually been assumed. Only after years of experience in struggle did the Bolsheviks eventually adopt an effective strategy for national liberation.

Historically, Obama's reputation as a deporter in chief is not surprising given the Democratic Party's historical role in enforcing punitive immigration policy. Yet how did the Democrats move from being the champions of immigration reform in 2006 to mass deportations today? We will discuss the role of US political parties and the politics of immigrant rights movements in the US to understand where we are today.

The work of French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser is undergoing a revival of interest today. This session explains core ideas in Althusser's later writings--including the "aleatory" (meaning "chance" and "contingency"), the "conjuncture," and the "philosophy of the encounter." These notions--as well as aspects of the "postmodern materialism" which they permeate--are then evaluated from the standpoint of revolutionary politics.

It's Not Just Flint: The Political Economy of Water