On this episode of SPS, we discuss HBO's Euphoria, what it says about the emerging "Zoomer" culture, and whether Gen Z's cynicism should be taken for granted. Rose Freeman interviews Peter Tatchell, a human rights advocate and veteran activist of the LGBTQ movement. They discuss his experience on the left and his thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. On the second half of the episode, Pamela Nogales is joined by London Platypus members, Efraim C., Rory H., Dominic J. and fellow traveler, Rebekah P., at the London School of Economics. They discuss the latest on Brexit & the upcoming election, as well as what it means to vote Labour today.
The Platypus International Convention is on April 3-5 in Chicago. The theme is "Socialism in the 21st Century". We welcome ideas for panels! Send us your pitch to shitplatypussays@gmail.com. You can find audio/video record of past conventions on the Platypus website, www.platypus1917.org.
As always send us your questions & criticism, and if you are into the podcast, share it, & hook us up with a review.
Hosted by Pamela C. and Rose Freeman.
Panel discussion on the topic of "Sex and the Left" at the Howard Zinn Book Fair in San Francisco on 8 Dec 2019, hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society.
Moderator: William Lushbough
Featuring:
- Norma Gallegos (Freedom Socialist Party [FSP] and Bay Area Radical Women in SF)
- Lew Finzel (affiliated with News and Letters in Oakland with an interest in Charles Fourier and sexual utopias)
- Audrey Crescenti (Platypus Affiliated Society)
What do we mean by a liberated sexuality? What are the bounds of sexual freedom available to us in capitalism? How do we imagine sexual liberation in socialism? Leftists have variously articulated phenomena such as same-sex marriage, sex work, abortion, gender fluidity and homosexuality as symptoms of economic austerity and/or of class privilege. How does economic life shape our imaginations of sexual freedom?
Why has the state historically intervened in private sexual life under capitalism, and under what circumstances, if any, should the Left support calls for state intervention in sexual life? Both historically and in the present, the Left has sought to lead the struggle for sexual rights within capitalism-- for same-sex marriage, abortion rights, the decriminalization of homosexuality and of sex work, etc.-- in society and/or by legislating via state power. How has the Left failed or succeeded to relate its civil-social and political efforts in the struggle for sexual liberation?
Teach-in by Efraim Carlebach of the Platypus Affiliated Society at the LSE SU Platypus Society on 5 December 2019, on the history of the Labour party and its relationship to the Left, and the December 2019 UK general election.
Teach-in at Aarhus by Platypus member Victor Cova.
Description:
The contemporary left seems weaker than ever. Compared to the uprisings of the 1960s, to say nothing of the world revolution of the 1920s, the events that followed the 2008 crisis (#Occupy, Arab revolutions, Movement of the Squares, Black Lives Matter...) were nothing short of disappointing. Marxism had inspired many of these earlier revolutionary attempts, but now seems hopelessly obscure. Where left-wing movements continue to talk about "capitalism", "class", and "revolution", it is rarely clear what they mean by these words.
What is capitalism? What is capital? Why did Marx write a critique of political economy? How did this contribute to a world revolutionary movement? What has the failure of this world revolution meant for the Left? Is Marxism about revealing relations of domination that are concealed by ideology?
Panelists:
Sarah Henderson - Author of Building Democracy in Contemporary Russia
Adam Lunceford - Heart of the Valley Democratic Socialists of America
GL Morrison - Oregon Communist Party
William Smaldone - Author of European Socialism: A Concise History
Description:
1989 is largely remembered as a decisive close to the Cold War contest between communism and capitalism—with the victory of the latter casting a seemingly damning verdict against Marxism as a form of politics. The planned economies based on collectivized property of these states were indicted as failures, and their totalitarian regimes called into question the very notion of working class rule. The fall of communism thus profoundly affected the Left’s ability to imagine the overcoming of capitalism, and the possibility of a classless society beyond it. But in passing into history, the meaning of 1989 can also be reconsidered. The panel will use this anniversary to reassess the question of how 1989 weighs on the present. What is the significance of 1989 in its historical context, and what is its relevance for Left politics today?
