Two US veterans, Matthew Hoh and Daniel Sjursen, explain how the war in Afghanistan was lost, Afghans suffered, and military contractors profited -- all while the American public was kept in the dark.

Guests:

Danny Sjursen. Retired US Army officer, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. He served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at West Point. His latest book is "A True History of the United States." 

Matthew Hoh. Former Marine and State Department official who resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan over U.S. policy in September 2009. Now a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. 

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Anti-war veterans explain how US lost Afghanistan while leaders lied, profited

Marxist ideology is one of the most potent weapons the working and oppressed classes have, a weapon that our class can and has used to not only win reforms but to build revolutionary societies where the people, and not profits, are in control. As the PSL identified at our 3rd Party Congress in 2016, one of our primary tasks is to mend the “break in ideological continuity” that emerged after the overthrow of the Soviet Union by reestablishing “the theory of revolutionary Marxism and the entire vision of workers’ power” as a dominant guiding pole in people’s struggles [1].
To correct for the ideological break, it’s helpful to have a concrete understanding of ideology and the different forms it takes. Although the word ideology is used frequently, it’s commonly used in a pejorative sense to refer to something that’s not factual, that’s unscientific, or that’s devoid of substance. It’s also used by those hostile to socialism to present a distorted view of Marxism. What exactly is ideology? What is the difference between bourgeois and Marxist ideology? What significance does this have for organizing today?
To address these questions and help repair the break in the ideological continuity of revolutionary socialism in U.S. social movements, this article outlines Marx’s understanding of ideology. It traces his historical-materialist approach to investigating the relationship between ideas, material reality, and modes of production through several of his works. This allows us to take in the theory’s nuances about life and consciousness, as well as to draw out examples that are still relevant and applicable today. In particular, we focus on the theory of commodity fetishism and the function of the wage in producing the bourgeois ideological conception of the atomized individual. Proposing a move from “true/false” to “correct/incorrect,” the end of the article returns to the importance of popularizing and promoting Marxist ideology to understand and transform the world today, as revolutionaries have done throughout the socialist struggle to break the chains of exploitation and oppression.

Read the full article:
www.liberationschool.org/what-is-ideology

What is ideology? An introduction to the Marxist theory of ideology

On today's episode we discuss the frantic effort by pharmaceutical corporations to keep prescription drug prices -- and their profits -- sky high. As part of the proposed social spending budget, Congress is considering a measure to negotiate hundreds of billions of dollars of savings on prescriptions covered by Medicare. This would fund major expansions to Medicaid and Medicare services, but right-wing Democrats backed by big pharma are doing everything they can to block it.

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com. 

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Seize Big Pharma: Nationalize and Internationalize All Medicine!

As the Biden administration continues to seek the extradition of Julian Assange, new details have emerged about the Trump administration's secret war against Assange and his organization, Wikileaks. Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News discusses his team's explosive reporting on the CIA plot to surveil, kidnap, and even kill Assange -- all overseen by Michael Pompeo. 

Isikoff and Aaron Maté also debate Russia's role in the Assange controversy, particularly the allegation that Russia stole Democratic Party emails in 2016 and gave them to Wikileaks.

Guest: Michael Isikoff, chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News. 

"Kidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks."
https://news.yahoo.com/kidnapping-assassination-and-a-london-shoot-out-inside-the-ci-as-secret-war-plans-against-wiki-leaks-090057786.html

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Inside the CIA plot to kidnap, kill Julian Assange

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!

Brian Becker Seminar #9: Socialism is Possible in the US, Resisting Imperialism, & More (Preview)

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how the battle in Congress over the fate of major social programs to address the needs of the people and the planet continues after the House progressive caucus blocked passage of a physical infrastructure bill to counter efforts by right wing Democrats to kill the much larger budget and social infrastructure bill. Also, they discuss the latest on the pandemic as the U.S. death toll hits 700,000, efforts by the right wing to cement its political power through redistricting, and more.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Wall Street Stooges in Congress

On today's episode Prof. Richard Wolff joins the show to discuss major developments in the labor movement as workers grow increasingly assertive of their rights. Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike that would shut down Hollywood, Kellogg’s factory workers are on strike, and workers at Nabisco recently wrapped up a successful strike action. Will this trend continue?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Labor Movement Surge: Workers Unite Against Inequality

On today's episode Brian and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the Pandora Papers -- the massive leak of financial information exposing how the rich and powerful hide their assets in tax havens around the world. How does this institutionalized system of tax evasion function? What does this tell us about how the capitalist system works?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Secrets of the Ultra-Rich Exposed: Global Network of Tax Havens Cater to the Capitalists

Abby Martin talks to Alan MacLeod of MintPress News about how the Pentagon has written and edited scripts for hundreds of movies and TV shows over the last 20 years.

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How The Pentagon Runs Hollywood

(Patreon-only Rose McGowan interview here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/rose-mcgowan-57953217)
Labor journalists Alex Press (https://twitter.com/alexnpress) & Jonah Furman (https://twitter.com/JonahFurman) discuss the labor movement, strikes, John Deere and what it has to do with Alec Baldwin's deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Alex Press is a writer and editor at Jacobin Magazine, whose latest article is "Halyna Hutchins’s Death on the Set of Rust Was 'Not a Freak Accident'."Jonah Furman is a labor movement organizer and writer for Labor Notes (https://twitter.com/labornotes), the media and organizing project that since 1979 has amplified the voice of workers and labor militants. He is also a frequent contributor to The Intercept.

Alec Baldwin Shooting 'NOT a Freak Accident' With Alex Press & Jonah Furman

The US Navy has poisoned the largest water supply in O'ahu, Hawaii. Nobody knows how long residents have been drinking toxic water, how big the chemical leak is, or how many it will impact. But instead of urgent action to save lives, the Navy is engaging in a cover up. 

For more details on this case listen to our hour-long podcast on this #RedHill disaster here or any streaming platform: https://soundcloud.com/empire-files/redhill

Support our work covering US military pollution at https://earthsgreatestenemy.com

#SHUTDOWNREDHILL

Hawaii Emergency: Navy Poisons Drinking Water

News and views about the world for those who want to change it, with Brian Becker

Brian Becker Seminar #9: Socialism is Possible in the US, Resisting Imperialism, & More (Preview)

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

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