let's talk: sally rooney and marxism

Here, in this badly edited and lighted debut video, I ramble on about Sally Rooney as a Marxist author, examining her most recent novel 'Beautiful World, Where Are You?', but in response to her two previous novels, 'Normal People' and 'Conversations With Friends'. What is it that makes Rooney a Marxist author?
instagram: @lydiathevirgo
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[@norafellas3047]

Lydia!! I love your analysis, especially the points you made about the importance of human connection without commodification in BWWAY, and the codependence in Normal People. I think part of the reason why even progressives are so nervous when they see dependence in a relationship, and jump to use words like "toxic" and "unhealthy," is because dependence is so often associated with financial dependence. And it makes sense that when one party is financially dependent on the other, that could lead to a really unhealthy or unbalanced power dynamic. This line of thinking is especially prominent in feminist circles, for valid reasons, because for so long men have had the capital, so women were financially dependent on them and thus had so little power. But I think that part of what Sally Rooney does in making Marianne the wealthier of the two is explore the intersections of class and gender within their relationship. And also, the type of dependence she is depicting, and that you outlined in your analysis, is more of an emotional/non-commodified dependence that I think is harder to conceptualize because we've been so indoctrinated against valuing things that don't make money or aren't economically productive.

[@jazminestrada4899]

this was so interesting to watch! i’ve been unsure of reading sally rooney but now i’m curious.

[@sbor2020]

Check out Mark Fisher's writing. Sally Rooney is a writer seemingly influenced by Fisher's thinking, especially _Capitalist Realism_ .

[@lillyp.7943]

I think it's more of the other way around :)

[@sbor2020]

@@lillyp.7943 Of course, I corrected it 😃

[@user-wv8ms9xv3q]

Sally Rooney’s Hate Is the New Normal It is not easy to convince the Snapchat generation to read books. To do so, you must be a gifted writer and know which buttons to press in young people’s hearts. Sally Rooney, a young Irish author, is that kind of writer. Her first two books have won multiple awards and she is widely regarded as one of the most prominent voices of millennials. Rooney is also very opinionated. She is a self-proclaimed Marxist and an avid supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS). In line with her views, she has refused to sell translation rights to Israeli publishers. Because of her notoriety, her decision caused quite a stir. The New York Times stated, “Sally Rooney Declines to Sell Translation Rights to Israeli Publisher.” CNN echoed, “Sally Rooney refuses to sell Hebrew rights for latest book to Israeli publisher, citing political objections,” and other prominent news outlets also reported her decision. In response, Israel's two largest bookstore chains announced that they would pull all of Rooney's titles from their shelves. This also caused a stir, though not as much. The BBC reported it, as did The Guardian and other British news outlets. Naturally, the Jewish press was all over the case, as well. I sympathize with the response of the bookstore chains, just as I was in favor of banning other individuals and brands that boycott Israel. At the same time, I understand why they are doing this, and I am glad that it is causing a stir in Israel. We can look the other way for only so long. At some point, we will have to ask ourselves why the world hates us, and it is better if we do it now than later. We need to use such incidents constructively. By "constructively," I mean that we should use them as an impetus to return to the roots of our nation, to our fundamental principles of mutual responsibility and brotherly love. These are the building blocks of our nation, and these are the qualities that we lost long ago and for which we were exiled from Israel. When we were cast as a nation that was to be “a light unto nations,” we were made to reflect the splendor of love of others to the entire world. Long before we gave the world Albert Einstein and Arthur Rubenstein, we gave it “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Granted, we did not quite manage to make it a reality, but the idea itself was, and still is, so novel, so unlike human nature, that to this day it seems undoable. Still, the world will not leave us in peace until we begin to implement this very legacy we had left to humanity. Indeed, it makes perfect sense to demand that the progenitors of this sublime idea be the first to implement it. The more the world becomes divided and hostile, the more it needs its opposite - love of others. The more people hate each other, the more they will demand that we love each other, and they will hate us for not doing so and setting an example for the world to follow. In the near future, numerous celebrities, pundits, and politicians will declare their disapproval of Israel. They will not justify our existence as a sovereign state unless we justify it by setting an example of unity. Nothing else will satisfy them; nothing else will appease their hatred. For more on this, see my publication The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism..