Awaarelaal Philosophy Shehzor

Friedrich Nietzsche is a philosopher put to many uses by groups of reactionary and institutional interests. His larger philosophical project, however, has always been about sense and subtleties and experiment, and for that reason, it is important to never read any quote or aphorism on its own, but engage with his texts in their complete depth.
In this episode, Shehzor gives you an overview of the book On the Genealogy of  Morals, and Michel Foucault's essay "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History". This covers important concepts such as "good and evil", "good and bad", "slave morality", "master morality", "ressentiment", "guilt", "bad conscience", "forgetfulness", "memory and responsibility", "origins and purposes", and "the ascetic ideal". The impact of these concepts and discoveries has been felt across disciplines, and will greatly aid our future discussions on themes like poststructuralism, affect theory, autonomism, and gender studies.

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Further reading and resources:

Gregory B Sadler on Genealogy of Morals (3 part series): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlojPJr4-Vo&ab_channel=GregoryB.Sadler

Then & Now on Genealogy of Morals (2 parts): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5vxabBmyyw&ab_channel=Then%26Now

Then & Now on Nietzsche, Genealogy, History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyigP8oxP9I&ab_channel=Then%26Now

There are other videos on Foucault on Then & Now's channel, which are well researched and edited, make sure to check them out too.

Plastic Pills on Deleuze on Nietzsche: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxZhCCSaY9I&ab_channel=PlasticPills



Basic Writings of Nietzsche edited by Walter Kaufmann. Modern Library.

Essential Works of Foucault Volume 2 edited by James D Faubion. The New Press

In this Shehzor takes you through some of aer recent work and happenings in aer life. Ae talk at length about their thesis at college, and other questions that have been taking up aer time. This is a very rough and unedited recording that Shehzor made past midnight, and is nothing like the other episodes of Awaarelaal Philosophy.

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We often wonder how people who are obviously such horrible leaders can stay in power so well. In the pandemic we have seen the disastrous policies of right-wing parties, that have caused the deaths of millions. And yet, many people from all walks of life stay devoted to these parties and leaders and keep them in power. How do systems like capitalism that constantly run into crisis keep seeming like the most "realistic"? What allows this toxic culture of overwork, exploitation, and burnout to survive in spite of everyone hating it? What will it take to break this cultural fixation and allow us to imagine new futures?

Marxists are generally well regarded for their strong analysis of economic conditions and crises. But for questions of culture, many relegate them to the "superstructure", and argue that the economic "base" must be dealt with first, and the cultural problems will fall apart on their own. For a long time, the trend of "economism" in Marxism has held back the full potential of the revolutionary ideology.

Antonio Gramsci was one of the most important thinkers to challenge this fixation. He introduced the concepts of "cultural hegemony" and "historical bloc" that prioritised revolutionary consciousness and people's engagement with conditions, rather than an abstract obsession with conditions and crises themselves. In this episode of Awaarelaal Philosophy, we explore the life of this revolutionary thinker, a brief history of Italy, and some of the most important concepts in his thought. We also engage with some of the ways in which society has changed since Gramsci's time, and the implications that it has for us today.

Topics discussed:

1) Brief cultural history of Italy

2) Gramsci's early life

3) Russian Revolution or "The Revolution Against Marx"

4) Discipline

5) Education

6) Bordiga and Gramsci

7) Gramsci and Ambedkar on Social Contradictions and Revolution

8) Fascism

9) Hegemony

10) Historical bloc

11) War of Position and War of Manoeuvre

12) Machiavelli's Prince

13) Fordism and Post-Fordism

14) Intellectual

15) Gramsci's Death and the Fall of Fascism

16) The Rise of Fascism and Challenges Today



Gramsci's Writings Online:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/



Recommended Books:

The Antonio Gramsci Reader, edited by David Forgacs (Each chapter deals with a specific topic, like education, or hegemony, and you need can go jump into any section you are interested in the most)

Prison Notebooks, in 3 volumes, published by Columbia University Press

The Political Philosophies of Antonio Gramsci and B.R. Ambedkar, edited by Cosimo Zene

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Happy Pride!

The movement for women's rights has had a long, powerful, and contradictory history, which the Maoist feminist Anuradha Gandhy critically analysed in her book Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement. This episode of Awaarelaal Philosophy is based on this book, going through: 



1) An overview of the Feminist Movement in the West



2) Liberal Feminism



3) Radical Feminism



4) Anarcha-feminism



5) Eco-feminism



6) Socialist Feminism



7) Postmodern Feminism



I have added some small sections from my own research, judging by what is relevant to the audience today too, including critique of some typical masculine and religious oppositions to feminisms, a quick explanation of intersectionality, and some more details on queer experiences and the TERF opposition.



You can listen to an audiobook version of Anuradha Gandhy's book here::



Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement



https://open.spotify.com/episode/2l98qPCYWz8VI2zibBXE2N?si=31420fbfc9b943ba



You can listen to this series (in Urdu) on Youtube by Taimur Rahman, for another good overview of political feminist movements across the world:



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOV7ykEqGK1Ytdb58zcDblzPMgnFp9ybW



Outro Song: Kondu Nadumuku Chuttave Chellamma



Some of the books mentioned in this podcast are:



A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft



Sexual Politics by Kate Millet



Dialectics of Sex by Shulamith Firestone



"The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union" by Heidi Hartmann



Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner



You should be able to find PDFs of these on Google. Or DM me on Instagram for copies of these



Please support me in my fundraiser to build a home studio. It will drastically improve the quality of this podcast. You can give any amount, starting from $5, or you can become a member for as little as $2 a month.

It is imperative for every Indian today to educate themselves about the nature of the crisis we find ourselves in. That can only happen through a materialist diagnosis of the problems, and having a stronger understanding of the overarching system of capitalism itself, which allowed such a pandemic to happen. Learning the fundamentals of Marxism is the best place to start this. In this episode, Shehzor (COM.Ü.L) takes you through the philosophy and political-economy of Marxism, explaining concepts like dialectical materialism and surplus-value in casual Dakhni.

Follow me on Instagram @hemlockhating_goth (I misspelled it in the recording, please ignore that)



Marxist perspective on the Pandemic:: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a33v82h8CyA

https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/fkoxta/coronav%C3%ADrus_making_capitalism_show_its_ugly_face/



Urdu Resources::

More depth on Dialectical Materialism and the Class Struggle by Taimur Rahman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRA4Q52zLy0



Labour Theory of Value vs Supply and Demand by Taimur Rahman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RckdWEkjrZI



Series on Das Kapital by Taimur Rahman: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOV7ykEqGK1YKqo1GQ24Sf9kY4cZ4Slo9



Basic Readings in English::



For dialectical materialism:

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Frederick Engels (excellent overview of dialectical materialism and failures of utopian socialism)

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/index.htm



For Labour Theory and Surplus-Value:

Wage Labour and Capital by Karl Marx (short essay, perfectly distills the meaning of labour-power and surplus value)

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/

Value Price and Profit by Karl Marx (slightly longer piece. together, these two writings give excellent foothold on the ideas dealt with in the much longer Capital)

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1865/value-price-profit/

In the subcontinent, "Liberal" is a word much maligned, for its associations with Westernisation and anti-religious attitudes. However, it is important to gain a firm understanding of the historical conditions in which the philosophy of liberalism came about, and how it fares in today's world, especially in economic analyses and solutions. For all its soft, glowing appeal, does liberalism present an adequate opposition to dogmatic religion and conservatism? In this episode, Shehzor talks about the history and present of liberalism. They contrast its obsession with the "Right to Property" with communist revolutions and experiments across the world, like in USSR, China, and Telangana, which tried to collectivise land and means of production, and were significantly more successful in reducing suffering. We also discuss the question of cultural progress, and how the liberal and communist approaches to questions of queer rights are so different, taking examples of Indian lawyer Arundhati Katju's work and the Stonewall Riots in New York.

The example of land reforms and redressal apparatuses in China and India was taken from an Instagram story on the account of @az.dmanish.admi, who goes by the name of Malek. Follow him for great insights and readings on communist theory, its applications in India, and the convergence of left political thought and Islam.

Follow me on Instagram: @hemlockhating_goth



Outro Music (USSR ANTHEM TRAP REMIX by Yung Aylo):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmerksTdcuU



Taimur Rahman lecture on liberalism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl2tWootv6U



Podcast on Stonewall Riots by Working Class History (two parts):

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0TGBmcgwfHW4vfxZceAT26?si=uvcrVUOJQYmrlnb52Y1XLw

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7xM6G41N5HZEyD7nAyEjCd?si=xf893HURSKyHHwHHL112Xg