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The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

Brian Becker Seminar #9: Socialism is Possible in the U.S., Organizing Against Imperialist War, and Congress's Dysfunction (Preview)

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

The Socialist Program

Politics, News

4.7587 Ratings

🗓️ 4 October 2021

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this September 2021 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the how socialism can be achieved in the United States and how  revolutions happen, how to organize against imperialist war including from within the ranks of the military, and the internal contradictions of the U.S. government that are preventing Congress from addressing the dire needs of the people. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!


Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to The Socialist Program. This is the audio of our monthly seminar.

0:04.8

Subscribe and support this programming at patreon.com slash the Socialist Program to join live once a month and ask Brian Becker your questions and listen to them as soon as they come out.

0:16.2

Thanks so much for your help in keeping this independent show going. We can make this program with you, but not without you.

0:23.3

We're going to go to the questions, some of which we received ahead of time,

0:28.7

already getting some questions in the chat.

0:31.3

So this is from Laurel Herndon.

0:33.8

I find the logic and morality of moving to a socialist system inescapable.

0:38.3

U.S. billionaires, however, have amassed far too much power.

0:42.3

It will never willingly surrender the means of production, and it seems unlikely at this point that any opposition will be adequate to counter them.

0:49.3

Has the U.S. bourgeois system progressed too far?

0:53.3

Are we beyond the point of being able to access

0:55.7

an off-ramp from capitalism? No, definitely not. In fact, our whole thesis is that socialism

1:04.8

is more likely to be revived here than in many other places in the world, principally because capitalism has

1:15.0

developed the means of production to such a high degree that the problems in society could be

1:20.7

easily solved with socialist planning socialist organization.

1:26.6

But the point there is that are the billionaires,

1:29.6

in a way, is their power too strong, their power to institutionalize so that it can't be

1:35.7

undone? But this comes to the basic issue. Like no ruling class in history has ever given up its privileges without a fight.

1:51.6

Like, the people always want peaceful change. I mean, the last thing people want is violence.

1:59.1

You want to be able to have a way to change society, basically

2:04.2

without revolution. And the reason revolutions happen, it's when the old ruling class

2:11.2

shuts down any possibility for reform or meaningful reform within the system at a time when masses of people have become

...

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