#1780 Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 March 2026
⏱️ 210 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date: 3/27/2026
Today we examine the relationship between labor education, moral ambition, and the possibility of a better world. We'll hear about IWW members building a "Philosophy 101" for organizers, a historian's argument that humanity is fundamentally cooperative rather than selfish, and why getting labor history into public schools may be one of the most important organizing projects of our time.
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TOP TAKES
KP 1: A Case for Human Decency (by Rutger Bregman) Part 1 - Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso - Air Date 10-25-20
KP 2: 73 Ben Fletcher, Part 1 - Working Class History - Air Date 6-5-23
KP 3: Striking At Kings Part 1 - Labor Heritage Power Hour - Air Date 2-12-26
KP 4: The Unsung Women of the Labor Movement with Jenny Kaplan Part 1 - The Bright Side - Air Date 9-2-24
KP 5: Climate Justice Through Collective Liberation Mikaela Loach Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 8-6-25
KP 6: Are We Trapped In Meaningless Jobs (With Rutger Bregman) Part 1 - Lever Time - Air Date 12-18-25
(00:49:56) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Solidarity Isn't a Feeling — It's a Structure (And Bosses Know It)
DEEPER DIVES
(01:01:40) SECTION A: HISTORY
A1: Restoration, Revolution and English Enlightenment - The History of England - Air Date 11-9-25
A2: 73 Ben Fletcher, Part 1 Part 2 - Working Class History - Air Date 6-5-23
A4: The Unsung Women of the Labor Movement with Jenny Kaplan Part 2 - The Bright Side - Air Date 9-2-24
(01:40:45) SECTION B: ORGANIZING
B1: Eugene Debs' Winning a World Speech, 1904 - Bucckeyye Historin - Air Date 9-28-24
B2: What Does It Mean To Be Member Run Part 1 - One Big Podcast - Air Date 6-6-21
B4: What Does It Mean To Be Member Run Part 2 - One Big Podcast - Air Date 6-6-21
B5: Are We Trapped In Meaningless Jobs (With Rutger Bregman) Part 2 - Lever Time - Air Date 12-18-25
(02:24:47) SECTION C: EDUCATION
C1: IWW Education and Organizing in Higher Ed Part 1 - One Big Podcast - Air Date 1-17-26
C2: Striking At Kings Part 2 - Labor Heritage Power Hour - Air Date 2-12-26
C4: IWW Education and Organizing in Higher Ed Part 2 - One Big Podcast - Air Date 1-17-26
(02:55:10) SECTION D: VISION
D1: A Case for Human Decency (by Rutger Bregman) Part 2 - Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso - Air Date 10-25-20
D3: The Importance Of Revolutionary Optimism - Second Thought - Air Date 10-8-21
D4: Climate Justice Through Collective Liberation Mikaela Loach Part 2 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 8-6-25
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Photo of a worker at a Fight for $15 rally calling into a megaphone while the crowd behind her holds protest signs.
Credit: "Fast food workers on strike for higher minimum wage and better benefits" by Fibonacci Blue, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped
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. Today we examine the relationship between labor education, moral ambition, and the possibility of a better world. We'll hear about IWW members building a philosophy 101 for organizers, a historian's argument that humanity is |
| 0:23.3 | fundamentally cooperative rather than selfish, and why getting labor history into public schools |
| 0:29.1 | may be one of the most important organizing projects of our time. |
| 0:33.7 | For those looking for a quick overview, the source is providing our top takes in about 50 minutes today include Talk Easy with Sam Pryoso, working class history, labor heritage power hour, the bright side, this is hell, and lever time. |
| 0:48.8 | Then, in the additional deeper dives half of the show, there will be more in four sections. |
| 0:52.9 | Section A, history, section |
| 0:54.8 | B, organizing, section C, education, and section D, vision. But first, a reminder to check out |
| 1:02.1 | our new show solved on the best of left YouTube channel. We're really proud of the show we're making |
| 1:06.3 | and think you'll get real value out of it. Plus, you checking it out will help us find new viewers on YouTube. |
| 1:11.9 | So thanks in advance for all of your views, likes, subscribes, and comments. |
| 1:16.1 | That's all on the Best Up Left YouTube channel. |
| 1:18.4 | Link in the show notes. |
| 1:19.5 | And now, on to the show. |
| 1:31.5 | In Rebecca Solnett's book, A Paradise Built in Hell, she wrote, |
| 1:39.4 | My own impression is that the elite panic comes from powerful people who see all humanity in their own image. |
| 1:43.2 | There's a Dutch primatologist. His name is Franz de Waal. |
| 1:47.8 | He's written wonderful books about bonobos and chimpanzees. |
| 1:53.9 | And he has a wonderful term for this. He talks about veneer theory. And veneer theory is the notion that our civilization is only a thin veneer, only a thin layer. And when we apply a little bit of pressure, when something happens that this veneer breaks |
| 2:05.2 | and that people reveal who they really are, which is selfish, which is nasty, you know, |
| 2:09.4 | that we basically are these beasts or even monsters. |
| 2:12.9 | Now, veneer theory is very deeply embedded in Western culture. |
| 2:16.9 | It goes back all the way to the Asian Greeks. |
... |
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