We're taking a break here from the Why We're Socialists series to interview Michael Hines, president of UFCW 367, which represents around 8,000 grocery workers in the South Puget Sound area. Cory couldn't make it to record this episode, so it'll just be Isaac asking the questions. The interview covers a lot of ground about the state of the grocery industry during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, and how changes in the industry have affected workers. Next up after this will be an interview with Norah and Billie, two workers from the Cooper Point Starbucks in Westside Olympia who, together with their coworkers, succeeded in winning a union 19-2! We hope you enjoy this episode and we'll try to have that next episode of why we're socialists out soon.
Sources:
Food Retail: Financial Trends, Industry Challenges & Opportunities for Workers: a slideshow that was part of a presentation at the UFCW 367 leadership conference in January 2022
Hungry at the Table, a study conducted by Economic Round Table
DSA Labor: The Rank & File Strategy
Home in Tacoma for All platform
Welcome to the third episode of Why We're Socialists (and not Liberals). In this episode we go discuss ultraleftism, where it came from, and what to do about it. As we will continue to do, we have included our sources so you can read them for yourself.
The Liberal to Ultraleft Pipeline, Patrick Dalton, 2021
Liberalism, Ultraleftism, or Mass Action? Peter Camejo, 1970
Anatomy of the Micro-Sect, Hal Draper, 1973
Left-wing Communism, an Infantile Disorder, Lenin, 1920
Exiting the Vampire Castle, Mark Fisher, 2013
Ultraliberalism: The Dominant Tendency of the American Left, Ramsin Canon, 2022
You Can’t Fake It, by Alex Gourevitch, Current Moment and Jacobin, 2017
1947 Taft-Hartley Substantive Provisions, National Labor Relations Board
Related reading
The Poisoned Chalice of Hashtag Activism, Amber A'lee Frost, Catalyst
NGOism: The Politics of the Third Sector, Benjamin Y. Fong and Melissa Naschek
In this episode cohosts Isaac and Cory, go into the historical development of liberalism and socialism, attempt to explain how each is a product of its respective historical and material circumstances, and how they are, in fact, distinct ideologies. They also included the sources some suggested reading if you want to go further. Listen on Soundcloud here, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher
Sources
- Revolutions podcast, by Mike Duncan
- Episode 1.12b- Supplemental The Diggers, by Mike Duncan
- Episodes 3.1-3.54 on the French Revolution, by Mike Duncan
- Episodes 8.1-8.33 on the 1848 Revolutions, by Mike Duncan
- Episode 10.3 - The Three Pillars of Marxism (as an alternative to the essay by Lenin)
- Liberalism at Large: The World According to The Economist, by Alexander Zevin
- The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, Karl Marx
- ‘“Neoliberalism” isn’t an empty epithet. It’s a real, powerful set of ideas.’ Mike Konczal, writing for Vox.
- The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
- The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism, by V.I. Lenin
- Behind the Bastards podcast, The Non-Nazi Bastards Who Helped Hitler Rise to Power, by Robert Evans.
- The Romance of American Communism, by Vivian Gornick.
- Philosophize This! podcast, by Steven West
- Episode 132: Carl Schmitt on Liberalism, pt. 1
- Episode 133: Carl Schmitt on Liberalism, pt. 2
Suggested reading
- Liberalism: A Counter-History by Domenico Losurdo
- Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Friedrich Engels
- The Principle of Self-Emancipation in Marx and Engels by Hal Draper
- Marxism and Politics by Ralph Miliband
- Mind and Politics: An Approach to the Meaning of Liberal and Socialist Individualism by Ellen Meiksins Wood
- A People’s Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics by Hadas Thier
- Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in America by Barbara and Karen Fields
Episode 4 of Radio Socialist Olympia is out! The official podcast of Olympia DSA. After a long hiatus cohosts Isaac Wagnitz and Cory Miller will finally be putting out content, with a goal of once a month. This is the start of a new series diving into the differences between socialism and liberalism and why we are socialists. We hope you find it educational.
Listen to Why we're socialists (and not liberals): Part 1 by Radio Socialist Olympia on Soundcloud, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher
Radio Socialist Olympia is the podcast of the Olympia Democratic Socialists of America, devoted to socialist perspectives on politics, society, and the economy here in the South Sound.
This is our second regular episode, in which we interview Jazmine Fox-Stern, then outgoing and now former Chair of Olympia DSA's Defund OPD working group. She announced she would not be seeking re-election after we recorded this episode. Published December 15th, 2020.
Radio Socialist Olympia is the podcast of the Olympia Democratic Socialists of America, devoted to socialist perspectives on politics, society, and the economy here in the South Sound.
This episode is a recording of a discussion that took place on October 9th, 2020 on what the US Presidential election means for socialists. We hope you enjoy it.
Radio Socialist Olympia is the podcast of the Olympia Democratic Socialists of America, devoted to socialist perspectives on politics, society, and the economy here in the South Sound.
In our inaugural episode, we interview two OlyDSA-endorsed candidates for the Washington State House of Representatives, Marianna Everson running in Legislative District 19, and Mary Ellen Biggerstaff running in LD22 for the November 2020 election. We discuss their campaigns and running for office as socialists; the COVID pandemic and the need for Medicare for All; and the protests following George Floyd's murder and the growing calls to defund police.
Since this episode was recorded, Mary Ellen Biggerstaff has received the endorsement of the national organization of Democratic Socialists of America.
Episode notes:
In the discussion, there is mention of socialist writings on racism and policing in the US. For those interested, we recommend:
- Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life by Barbara and Karen Fields
- Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump by Asad Haider
- The End of Policing by Alex Vitale