Bonus Sample: Graeber vs Bannon, Anarchism vs Leninism (Part 2)

Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Spirituality, Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This bonus episode is Part 2 of Graeber vs Bannon, Anarchism vs Leninism. I start in the 1870s with Marx and Bakunin fighting over the joys and traumas of the Paris Commune. Marx sees it as an imperfect but historic prototype of a workers’ transitional state, cut down before it could consolidate power. Bakunin reads it as a betrayal of anarchist principles — too willing to replicate the machinery it meant to overthrow. Out of that conflict comes a rift that still haunts us: should revolution be disciplined, organized, and strategic, or spontaneous, horizontal, and permanently suspicious of institutions? I explore David Graeber as a hopeful modern anarchist, highlighting his idea of “everyday communism”—the mutual aid and cooperation we already practice—and his vision of Occupy as a revelation of our capacity to act as if we’re free. I contrast this with Marxist-Leninist critiques: the exhaustion of consensus, obstructionism, spectacle without strategy, and the refusal to make demands. A story about my late friend Michael Stone at an Occupy “mic check” shows how openness can invite opportunism. Finally, I contrast No King’s vagueness with MAGA’s fusion of mystical energy and disciplined technocracy—QAnon shamans backed by P2025 architects, vibes condensed to machinery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello Patreon supporters. This bonus episode is part two of Graber versus Bannon, anarchism versus
0:09.6	Leninism, with part one dropping on Saturday, this past Saturday on the main feed. I'm Matthew
0:15.9	Remski. This is Conspiruality, where we investigate the intersection of conspiracy theories and spiritual influence to uncover cults, pseudoscience, and authoritarian extremism.
0:26.7	You can follow me, Derek and Julian on Blue Sky.
0:30.9	The podcast itself is on Instagram and threads.
0:34.2	Please support our Patreon.
0:35.5	If you're listening to this in the bonus sample slot on your
0:39.4	podcast player, you can find the whole episode on Patreon. And you can also find me personally on
0:46.0	YouTube and on TikTok at Antifascist Dad. So to recap, in episode one, I framed a clash of revolutionary imaginations through two
0:58.8	avatars. David Graber, the late anarchist anthropologist of Occupy, and Steve Bannon, the right-wing
1:06.1	tactician of January 6th and Project 2025, who openly borrows from Leninist playbooks.
1:13.3	Both hate the status quo, but from opposite directions.
1:17.6	Graber bet on prefigurative politics, acting as if we're already free through horizontal
1:23.5	consensus-based organizing.
1:26.0	Bannon and his allies, by contrast, pursue disciplined
1:29.3	cadre building and long-march institutional capture. This is a transitional machinery that's designed
1:36.1	to actually seize and hold power. I talked about January 6th, providing Mago with a cautionary tale
1:43.3	about spontaneity without a plan.
1:45.9	This was a riot that blended magical thinking, conspirituality, and grievance with a lot of
1:51.4	fervor and, you know, an absence of planning. People died, many radicalized afterward,
1:59.2	even further towards the right, but on that day, they failed because
2:03.2	emotion is not a substitute for strategy, logistics, or a parallel governing architecture.
	...

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