Politics Theory Other Politics Theory Other

Paul Rogers returns to PTO to talk about Iran's attack on Israel on the 13th of April - the first such direct operation carried out by Iran. We discussed whether the operation was a failure or a qualified success, and the role of the United States, Britain, France, and Jordan in the downing of Iranian missiles and drones. We also talked about the progress of Iran's programme and how the attacks on the 13th may have distracted attention from the IDF's failure to defeat Hamas in Gaza.

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Since October 7th Israeli politicians, spokespeople, and Israel's supporters have mobilised feminist narratives in defence of the state's genocidal actions in Gaza and sought to portray Palestinian resistance to Israel as suffused with religiously inspired misogyny. In a recent article in Salvage, Sophie Lewis wrote about the way in which Zionist feminists have worked to defend the settler colonial project and how it places them in a long lineage of self-described feminists who have been enthusiastic supporters and participants in imperial conquest. In our conversation we talked about that history, and whether we're seeing a decline in Zionist feminism that parallels the broader crisis of liberal Zionism.

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In part one of a two-part episode Richard returns to give his thoughts on an apparent turn against Israel on parts of the American right, the significance of the protests against Netanyahu within Israel, the role of students in the Palestine solidarity movement, and his view of post-Marxist thought.

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Yanis Varoufakis joins PTO to discuss his book, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. We discussed why Yanis believes capitalism is no longer the appropriate term to describe contemporary economic and social relations. We also talked about the financial crisis, the Covid19 pandemic, and how central bank responses to both crises served to build the power of the tech giants. Finally, we also briefly discussed the situation in Gaza and why Yanis believes reports of the decline of US global hegemony are, for the moment, exaggerated.

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Richard Seymour returns to discuss the likelihood of Israel launching its assault on Rafah (in the context of Israel's deliberate starvation of the Gazan population). We talked about the position of the United States and its recent resolution at the United Nations security council and the extent to which - if at all - it represents a shift away from unequivocal support for Israel. We also discussed the decline of liberal Zionism, as Israel increasingly becomes a pariah state, and finally we discussed "normie socialist" and post-left perspectives on the history of Israel-Palestine.

The 1970s is often depicted straightforwardly as the moment when the radical movements of the 1960s fractured, failed, and radicalised in ways that were self-destructive. In The Subversive Seventies Michael Hardt argues that not only is that a much too simplistic understanding of the decade, but that it serves to prevent us from drawing important lessons and inspiration from the radical movements of the 1970s. We talked about popular misconceptions about the movements of the 70s, how to understand the turn towards projects characterised by autonomy and in some cases armed struggle. And finally we also talked about why the emergence in the 70s of a multiplicity of struggles can be seen as a source of strength for the left, rather than evidence of irresolvable division.