On "techno-feudalism".
In the Bungacast Reading Club for patrons, we've been discussing various works on "neo-feudalism" - a thesis that tries to explain capitalist stagnation and inequality by arguing that we are moving beyond capitalism – toward something worse.
In this free episode, we discuss one of the most thoroughgoing critiques of this thesis: Evgeny Morozov's "Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason".
Why has this thesis becomes so popular today, across the political spectrum? What is the economic and political logic of feudalism, and how do current trends supposedly indicate a resurgence of these logics? Why have Marxists, who draw such a clear line between feudalism and capitalism, believe that politically-driven expropriation is replacing exploitation?
And how do Big Tech companies make money - purely through rent, or do they produce commodities?
To join the Reading Club, sign up for $10 at patreon.com/bungacast
Readings:
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A special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.
Previously released in 2021 only to subscribers at patreon.com/bungacast, a year on we're releasing the whole series to everyone.
- Part 1: (00:00:00)
- Part 2: (00:38:11)
- Part 3: (01:07:54)
- Part 4: (02:50:32)
- Part 5: (03:59:24)
Part 1:
We look at the current, vexed discourse around generations, and analyse competing theories on how to understand generational cleavages.
Guests include:
- Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin
- Jennie Bristow, sociologist at Canterbury Christ Church University
- Joshua Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow
Part 2:
We look at the emergence of ‘youth’ as political concept in the age following the French Revolution, and its shifting meanings. How important was generational consciousness in the Young Italy movement and its imitators in the 19th century, and how should we understand the so-called ‘Lost Generation’ of 1914?
Guests include:
- Niall Whelahan, Chancellor’s Fellow in History, Strathclyde University
Part 3:
We examine the Baby Boomers – myth and reality. The revolt of the ’60s has been misunderstood in many dimensions. Was it betrayed or did it always express capitalist ideology? Were the Boomers the ones who really did the 1960s anyway? And what world have the Boomers created as they passed through life – and institutions?
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Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University
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Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative
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Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of
HiLoBrow
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Jeffrey Alexander, professor of sociology at Yale University
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Holger Nehring, chair in contemporary European history at the University of Stirling
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Kristin Ross, professor emeritus of comparative literature at New York University
Part 4:
We examine Generation X – the generation of the End of History. How was this generation overshadowed by the Boomer’s failures? In the Eastern Bloc, the fall of Soviet regimes was a traumatic moment – how did this shape consciousness? And how did the Iranian Revolution – and subsequent war – shape the political perspectives of Iranians?
Part 5:
We examine the Millennials and Generation Z. Uniquely, generation war today seems to be a conflict over resources more than over values. Is there any basis for this, and what do Millennials actually want? With generational and class conflict seemingly bound together today, we analyse ‘Generation Left’ and ‘Millennial Socialism’. And we ask what the effect of the pandemic may be on the creation of a Gen Z consciousness.
Guests include:
- Paul Taylor, former director, Pew Research
- Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University
- Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative
- Clive Martin, journalist who has written for VICE Magazine
- Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow
- Jennifer Silva, assistant professor in sociologist, Indiana University
Original music by: Jonny Mundey
Additional music:
Other Clips:
- Black 47 Trailer © 2018 – WildCard Distribution
- Arracht Trailer © 2019 – Break Out Pictures
- The Sun Also Rises © 2019 – 20th Century Fox
- Mr Lloyd George Speaks To The Nation (1931) British Pathé
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American Pastoral Trailer © 2016 – Lionsgate
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Mai 1968 © France 3 Paris Ile-de-France
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Imitation de Daniel Cohn-Bendit © C’est Canteloup
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Baader Meinhof Complex © 2008
On Joel Kotkin's The Coming of Neo-Feudalism
We start off by discussing your points on the last RC, on conspiracy theory.
Then we delve into Kotkin's book, asking whether he has an adequate understanding of feudalism, and whether this is the right lens to understand transformations underway now. Is 'techno-feudalism' not just a downturn in 'systemic cycles of accumulation', related to the decline of the US empire? And what are Kotkin's politics and how do they relate to his analysis?
Thanks for all the questions received on this one, we discussed them as we went through the episode.
Reading:
Next month: Inhuman Power: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Capitalism, Nick Dyer-Witheford, Atle Mikkola Kjøsen and James Steinhoff, Pluto Books
On nuclear exterminism.
To commemorate our 300th episode, we discuss how the world is closer to a nuclear conflict than at any point since the Cold War. After decades of inconsequential 'permawar' (at least inside the Western bubble), the proxy war in Ukraine between NATO and Russia is suddenly very consequential indeed.
How does our situation differ from that of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis? Why might it be more unpredictable? Does today's very different ideological configuration make war more or less likely?
Before that, we reflect on five and half years of Bungacast, how the world has changed over the period, and pick out some of our favourite episode from the past half-decade.
The main discussion begins at 23mins.
Readings:
On shared-labour socialism.
Political theorist Alex Gourevitch talks to us about his critique of post-work thought, and how it presupposes the very labour it seeks to free us from. We start of by distinguishing post-work socialism (e.g. Fully Automated Luxury Communism) from various propositions for a Universal Basic Income, and discuss why these ideas are popular today.
We then dedicate much of the time to debating Gourevitch's alternative proposal for "shared-labour socialism". What counts as necessary labour – and who is going to do it? How has globalisation changed people's perspectives on what necessary labour is? And will we be producing more under socialism?
Part 2 is here: patreon.com/posts/73765804
Readings:
Listenings:
On Brazil's containment of the crisis.
We talk to members of the Unbridled Possibility Collective (Fabio Luis B. Santos | Thais Pavez | Daniel Cunha) about their intervention, trying to look beyond this week's election in Brazil.
What does establishment support for Lula this time round represent? Is Lula guilty of "unrealistic pragmatism"? How will Brazil react to a potential coup attempt by Bolsonaro?
And we look at the deeper social and structural context: what are the features of the Brazilian "war of all against all"? How does Bolsonaro accelerate these tendencies?
We conclude by looking at the possibility of a new 'Pink Wave' in Latin America and examining the state of the Brazilian left.
Readings:
