Gabriel Rockhill, "Western Marxism: From the New Left & Žižek to Stalin, USSR & China"

[@dinnerwithfranklin2451]

I always learn from Prof Rockhill. Thanks

[@bootstraphan6204]

I've learned SO much from Gabriel Rockhill's discussions on KZbin! I strive to learn more about the world through a dialectical materialist lens, and each time Mr. Rockhil releases (or is featured in) a new video I learn SO much! More people should heed his advice and analysis if they want meaningful change in this world. There are far too many court jesters out there that want us to just keep spinningiur wheels. Thank you for having Mr Rock Hill on your show!!! ❤👍👍

[@_tgwilson_]

Great comment. Mr. Rockhill has a very sound analysis and encyclopedic knowledge.

[@georgekostaras]

I greatly enjoy Gabriel’s analysis

[@chagoriver7159]

What you enjoy is dialectical thought

[@georgekostaras]

@@chagoriver7159 Guilty as charged.

[@drispa.6462]

Thank you both for analysing with such great clarity.

[@Muzzlepaint]

Gabriel is absolute 🔥

[@dabadaba5847]

i love how eloquent gabriel's roast of zizek was. i loved the rest of the interview too of course :P

[@dre1426]

I will admit that I let out a hearty laugh when he described Zizek as the “fecal matter” of the imperial superstructure haha

[@endivjakdivjak6451]

Excellent discussion 🙏

[@rwh44222]

That was a good episode! I’ll have to go and read “Class Struggle”

[@jeandere6759]

Thanks!

[@criticaltheoryworkshop5299]

Thank you for the support!!!

[@PermjitBir]

Thanks

[@criticaltheoryworkshop5299]

Your support is greatly appreciated!

[@rbu83145]

Thanks! You are one of the very best channels of the left and as such a great educator!

[@criticaltheoryworkshop5299]

Thanks so much--it's greatly appreciated!

[@AntonStampfl]

Great interview. I am always energised by any discussion involving Gabriel. I have to say that I have become quite a “fan” of his. I certainly will read the English translation of Losurdo’s book, “Western Marxism …” that is edited by Garbriel. I’m currently reading the English translation of Losurdo’s book “Stalin …” by Iskra books. There is a free pdf version of the “Stalin” book that one can download. The “Western Marxism” book has a Kindle ebook version which I am hoping will be easier to read on my phone than the pdf “Stalin” version is. I really do think it important to offer electronic versions of any book at prices that all can afford. There are a couple of comments I have: Jyotishman made a very interesting observation that might be worthy of follow-up. That of the State in India is seen in a positive light. I have worked in Europe, the US, Taiwan and Australia and worked with many hundreds of scientists over the last forty plus years and never have I felt that the State in any of the Western countries I lived in were there a majority of the population that had a positive viewpoint of the State - that there was at best some suspicion towards any Government. Perhaps in the 70’s and 80’s one did have the feeling at least in Australia that a Government job was stable and reliable in terms of income. Today this guaranteed job stability in the academic sector at least has all but disappeared and I think there is real animosity and distrust by those employees in any Australian Government department to their bosses (employers). So it seems that the Indian situation is quite different which I think is really very interesting. I wonder what the Chinese think about their lot working in China or those that are in Vietnam for example. Of course one needs to take a dialectical approach and one cannot seriously reduce it to anecdotal experience like I am doing here. I fully concur just from my experience with Gabriel concerning Western academic elites and how they are cultivated through a type of “exchange value blackmail”. So I’m really interested to hear more from him regarding knowledge and technology transfer and property enclosure. Especially how this might differ in China. I have had quite a lot of interaction with scientists based in China. I actually don’t see a great deal of difference between how they conduct, and are rewarded for their research, than what is done in the West. And yet they are at least ten years ahead of the West I think in many scientific fields now. If you take for example the Nature index of the best 20 performing research organisations in the world for 2023: fifty-five percent are from mainland China (11/20), then a distant second at 20% is the US (4/20), then 10% Germany (2/20), and five percent each for France (1/20), Japan (1/20), and the UK(1/20). Twenty years ago it would be totally unthinkable that China would be in the top 20 of research institutions in the world. What is interesting is China’s ideas on Use value. I really do believe in the West we (as scientists) are predominantly concerned with the Me-(exchange) value only - the actual intellectual worth/use is simply given up to our Capitalist rulers through some magical (it seems to me at least) Intellectual property transfer - be it in the form of patents or other modes of property enclosures. Do they have something similar in China? I strongly suggest you interview Roland Boer as he would also be able to, I am sure discuss intellectual knowledge transfer in China and what the policy of this is. A group discussion between Roland and Gabriel would be truly amazing on the topic of intellectual property and its modes of enclosure in the West and China. Well done again for the excellent discussion and congratulations to you, Gabriel on bringing the English version of Losurdo's book to us.

[@ModArch]

I'm also reading Losurdo's book on Stalin right now and it is such an illuminating analysis. With rigorous logic he disproves so many of the claims that are presented to you as fact when you grow up in the western world, e.g. Germany. I'm glad I stumbled upon Iskra Books and their catalog.

[@leon3589]

A Gabriel Rockhill Roland Boer collab would be amazing.

[@leon3589]

I knew from the intro this was going to be good. A true scholar; how we need someone like Rockhill these days.

[@ThatisFever]

👏👌👏

[@KP-uc1ez]

To be fair, though, It was Zizek's humiliation of Peterson that introduced me to "marxism" for the 1st time. I feel very fortunate to have been at the point where I was becoming serious in my appraisal of political/philosophical scholarship - while also disconnecting myself from the deradicalizing media algorithms. I was in the perfect spot to break from the customary, reactionary ideologies I was raised under, while avoiding falling into fanaticism throughout my exploration of competing narratives and analyses. Zizek never impressed me. But I owe him my thanks for slapping me out of my blind adoration of charlatans. Lol i mean if ZIZEK can denigrate your understanding of marxism.......

[@ronaldoferreira594]

#LONGLIVERESISTANCE

[@PermjitBir]

Hi Jyotishan Thank you for this great discussion. I believe the indian majority do look to the indian state to help them out. But sadly the indian state is too chained to the US/UK, canada, Australia New Zealand and thinks it can better India through the remittances these diaspora send back to their kith and kin to improve India's economy, this can Never be enough, its just another thick chain to imperialism. India needs to pull itself together and put in place a programme of education which is not Nationalistic but values everyones contribution good or bad, and then asserts itself to use India's resources to take care of its natural world and therefore its people. Indians have aways been good 👍 at taking care of their natural world they need to do that now a hundred fold. And they can😂, do it. The Indian state has to stop training/educating and then sending their most valuable people abroad where they become slaves to the rentier classes ( even the royal family live off rent!). Stop using people as fodder, let them live😊, let them repair India, give them a helping hand.😅 Thank you for letting me get this off my chest😊

[@anhumblemessengerofthelawo3858]

_"Moreover, there exist probability/possibility vortices which spiral towards your bellicose actions. Many of these vortices are not of the nuclear war but of the less annihilatory but more lengthy so-called “conventional” war. This situation, if formed in your illusion, would offer many opportunities for seeking and for service._ Questioner: How would conventional warfare offer the opportunities for seeking and service? _Ra: I am Ra. The possibility/probabilities exist for situations in which great portions of your continent and the globe in general might be involved in the type of warfare which you might liken to guerrilla warfare._ _The ideal of freedom from the so-called invading force of either the controlled fascism or the equally controlled social common ownership of all things would stimulate great quantities of contemplation upon the great polarization implicit in the contrast between freedom and control._ _In this scenario which is being considered at this time/space nexus the idea of obliterating valuable sites and personnel would not be considered an useful one. Other weapons would be used which do not destroy as your nuclear arms would._ _In this ongoing struggle the light of freedom would burn within the mind/body/spirit complexes capable of such polarization._ _Lacking the opportunity for overt expression of the love of freedom, the seeking for inner knowledge would take root aided by those of the Brothers and Sisters of Sorrow which remember their calling upon this sphere._ Questioner: Are you saying then that this possible condition of war would be much more greatly spread across the surface of the globe than anything we have experienced in the past and therefore touch a larger percentage of the population in this form of catalyst? _Ra: I am Ra. This is correct. There are those now experimenting with one of the major weapons of this scenario, that is the so-called psychotronic group of devices which are being experimentally used to cause such alterations in wind and weather as will result in eventual famine. If this program is not countered and proves experimentally satisfactory, the methods in this scenario would be made public._ _There would then be what those whom you call Russians hope to be a bloodless invasion of their personnel in this [USA] and every land deemed valuable. However, the peoples of your culture have little propensity for bloodless surrender."_ Ra Material (1981)

[@javariyahtayyab4052]

8:00

[@johnkfriday]

This all good stuff but where does the working class fit in? How does a fitter and turner do anything about imperialism? Losurdo seems to think that Marxism happens only at an extremely rarefied level, which is out of the reach of 99% of the working class, which is where actual socialist power comes from.

[@ghosthermes]

They need to read theory and unionize their workplaces, hard, in order to build any functional leverage going forward. That is step 1.

[@stepmaster9988]

Prof Rockhill actually answered this Directly. He stressed the importance of liberatory theory and practice as having significant relevance to the lives of the working masses - not as a celebration of theory

[@SdeTeimanElectric]

Isn't Zizek more of a continental philosopher not like a 'political' scholar?

[@christophereduardo9903]

there is no difference one can be both and much less any difference there that would shield liberal party candidate zizek from being called out as an imperialist tool

[@MalachiSpring-s1t]

Lewis Lisa Lee Angela Miller Joseph

[@Vatoxido]

About the court jester thing... to be really funny you need a working brain. Other than Mr. Rockhill's academic rigurosity, I dont find anything worthy of a smile or even a smirk of him.

[@shtefanru]

Lunatics

[@danieldavidisson9906]

To suggest Stalin led the fight against global fascism, is to assert that Stalian was aware of the threat that fascim represented and he consciously fought a battle to defeat it. This statement stands in direct contradiction to he historical record of Stalin's stategies/policies with Nazi Germany. In the 1933 uprising in Germany, Stalin directed the Commnist Party to fight along side the fascists against the Social Democrats. Trostky of course said the communist should fight with the social democrats against the fascists, and that a victory against fascism would be useful in persauding social democrats to join the Communist Party. No socialist enters into imperialist agreements as Stalin did. Knowing of Germans intentions to attack, a socialist would warn Polish workers, arm and support them and attempt to win them over to the revolution. I saw a film recently that said the Russians were more brutal towards the Poles than the Germans. I do not know if that is he case. The film itself was about WW2 and not anti-soviet propaganda film Stalin's purging of the military leadership does not sound like someone planning to lead a global struggle against fascism. Sounds more like a paraniod psychopath, killing anyone who thought could threaten his power. Even as German forces were building up along the Russian border, he took no notice, including a defector from the German lines who was a communist.There were death squads who would shoot desrters. Soldiers were sent into battle unarmed and told to pick up the weapons of dead comrades. It cost 22 million Russian lives to defeat 3 million invading Germans because he was not prepared.

[@UnstableGenetics-jr9zg]

Oh look, a trot. 🐀

[@sierra1513]

Even if we take the rest of your comment as plausible, you completely discredit yourself by parroting the blatantly a-historical "enemy at the gates" propaganda at the end lmao

[@athoth8920]

Why is he Indian?

[@obsessed2247]

he needs bible study real bad

[@andre-sousa1917]

this guy has no idea what he's talking about

[@christophereduardo9903]

you are speaking about yourself? Gabriel Rockhill studied under Derrida and Badiou for years so he definitely knows what he is talking about when he talks about western intelligentsia

[@mr-iz8cx]

Bot

[@leon3589]

Gotta get those CIA credits

[@DS-tz4lk]

Hay que luchar! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iajCqJ-QfdaBe80si=uN6W35iIry_AU9Dt