Abby Martin: Capitalism–America’s Unofficial Religion + Understanding Marxism and Socialism

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally posted Oct. 10, 2015

with Abby Martin

Empire Files on Oct 10, 2015

The Empire has a range of weapons to maintain its power: from its courts to its military. But it also has effective ideological weapons.

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.

Understanding Marxism and Socialism

Originally posted March 18, 2016

teleSUR English on Mar 18, 2016

Despite a concerted effort by the U.S. Empire to snuff out the ideology, a 2016 poll found young Americans have a much more favorable view of socialism than capitalism.

Though he died 133 years ago, the analysis put forward by one of the world’s most influential thinkers, Karl Marx, remains extremely relevant today. The Empire’s recent rigged presidential election has been disrupted by the support of an avowed socialist, Bernie Sanders, by millions of voters.

To find out why Marx’s popularity has stood the test of time, Abby Martin interviews renowned Marxist economist Richard Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Economics at UMass – Amherst, and visiting professor at the New School in New York.

Prof. Wolff gives an introduction suited for both beginners and seasoned Marxists, with comprehensive explanations of key tenets of Marxism including dialectical and historical materialism, surplus value, crises of overproduction, capitalism’s internal contradictions, and more.

Transcript

From the archives:

The Anti-War Speech That Jailed Eugene Debs For 10 Years

Abby Martin: Capitalism Cannot Be Reformed–Seize All the Banks–Dismantle the Empire!

The Wobblies (1979)

Socialism: Our Alternative To The Madness Of The Market by Eric Ruder

What Will A Socialist Society Be Like? by Jessica Hansen-Weaver

Plutocracy I: Political Repression in the U.S.A. + Plutocracy II: Solidarity Forever + Plutocracy III: Class War (must-see)

Socialism: Creating a World to Change Our Lives by Sam Friedman (must-read)

What is Socialism? Parts 1-7

What If Workers Ran Society? by Elizabeth Schulte

The Difference Between Socialism, Communism, and Marxism Explained by a Marxist

The Early Christian Communists by Roman A. Montero

How To Achieve Socialism (repost)

What Might A Cooperative Economy Look Like? by Pete Dolack

What is Socialism? (archive of posts)