#1243 The story of Socialism in America (Repost)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2019
⏱️ 78 minutes
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Summary
Air Date 1/22/2019
Today we take a look at socialism in America from our often violent response to the concept in the wake of the Russian Revolution through the recent revival in interest, driven primarily by the younger generation today
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Red Dawn Americans and the Bolshevik Revolution - @BackStory - Air Date 11-9-17
One hundred years ago, Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik Party seized power in a revolution that would change the world. Today we explore how that distant revolution had an immediate impact in the United States.
Ch. 2: What the Russian Revolution Proved Possible - Empire Files - Air Date 12-18-17
To understand the context of this first socialist experiment, how it happened and what caused the many problems it faced, Abby Martin sits down with Brian Becker, a long-time socialist organizer.
Ch. 3: America’s Unofficial Religion - The War On An Idea Part 1 - Empire Files - Air Date 11-27-17
Everyone in the United States knows that “socialist” or “communist” is considered a bad word. How did things get that way? Abby Martin explores the history of anti-communism in America and the heavy repression of an idea that became an unofficial religion
Ch. 4: "Socialism" in the Air - On the Media - Air Date 7-27-18
The word "socialism" has been trending, appearing on op-ed pages, FOX News, ABC's The View and beyond. In this word watch, Bob speaks with another self-described socialist, Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson
Ch. 5: Americans are ready for socialism - @ThisIsHellRadio - Air Date 3-13-18
Columnist Elizabeth Bruenig looks beyond the failures of liberalism, to the possibilities of socialism. Elizabeth wrote the op-ed “It’s time to give socialism a try” at the Washington Post.
In this interview with Professor of Economics Emeritus (University of Massachusetts), Marxist economist and founder of Democracy at Work, Richard D. Wolff, we talk to him about Capitalism and Socialism.
Ch. 7: Why Are People Talking About Socialism? with Paul Jay - @TheRealNews - Air Date 1-2-19
Explaining why socialisms time may have come - the failures of capitalism
Prof. Richard Wolff explains some tenets of how a modern socialists system could work
Ch. 9: America’s Unofficial Religion The War On An Idea Part 2 - Empire Files - Air Date 11-27-17
Capitalism can no longer compare itself with the dysfunctional Soviet Union but can only be compared to itself and it's failures
Bonus Clips:
Fox & Friends Have TOTAL Meltdown Over Socialism - Majority Report (@MajorityFM) - Air Date 8-6-18
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments wrapping up conservative arguments against socialist programs
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Trois Gnossiennes - Blue Dot Sesisons
- Gondola Blue - Towboat
- Our Fingers Cold - K2
- Tiny Putty - The Cabinetmaker
- Waltz and Fury - Macrame
- The Summit - K2
- The Provisions - K4
- Peacoat - Studio J
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast in which we shall |
| 0:06.8 | learn about the history of socialism in America from our often violent response to the idea |
| 0:12.4 | in the wake of the Russian Revolution through the recent revival in interest today. |
| 0:17.4 | Clips today come from backstory, the Empire Files on the media. |
| 0:21.9 | This is how activism is a Munich and the Real News Network. |
| 0:34.1 | If we step back from the moment and you know with the advantage of hindsight, we can see |
| 0:39.8 | that for much of the 20th century, the Soviet Union was the United States's ideological |
| 0:49.6 | foil. |
| 0:51.6 | Do you think that's something that we can find in 10 days that took the world itself? |
| 0:57.6 | Does reads work foreshadow that? |
| 1:00.8 | What does it tell us about the kind of relationship that will emerge between the United States and |
| 1:06.2 | the Soviet Union? |
| 1:08.8 | I think that he, like Lenin in some ways, in 1917 believed that there could be a good |
| 1:14.4 | relationship between the two. |
| 1:16.7 | He and Lenin talk about this. |
| 1:18.9 | It's not reflected so much in his book, but they talk about how the United States and |
| 1:23.8 | the Soviet Union at that time don't really have direct areas of conflict in the world, |
| 1:29.0 | like trade and other sorts of things. |
| 1:31.0 | And so there's no reason why they can't be friendly even though they appear to be ideologically |
| 1:35.1 | at odds. |
| 1:36.1 | But you have to remember at the time that being a socialist or a communist in the United |
| 1:40.3 | States up until about this moment was not seen as to be a negative thing necessarily. |
... |
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