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A lecture by Mark Fisher on Nick Land, Jean Francois Lyotard and Anti-vitalism.

Mark Fisher - Anti - Vital

For his lecture “Foucault and Marx: A Disjunctive Synthesis?”, Étienne Balibar discusses connections and disjunctions between Michel Foucault and Karl Marx, using Foucault’s 1972 Collège de France lectures on La société punitive as an alternative lens for the question of “reproduction” and its relationship to class struggles. With Foucault and Marx as a starting point for a new confrontation, he also reconsiders the idea of “communism” today. Response by Judith Butler, Professor of Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley.

Neoliberalism + Biopolitics | Foucault and Marx: A Disjunctive Synthesis | Etienne Balibar | 12/9/14

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/habermas-and-democracy.

Jürgen Habermas is regarded as one of the last great public intellectuals of Europe and a major contributor to the philosophy of democracy. A member of the Frankfurt School, Habermas argues that humans can have rational communication that will lead to the democratization of society and consensus. But should we be so optimistic? Why does Habermas have faith in our ability to establish this so-called rational communication and to reach consensus? And how should we reform our liberal democracies to make them more democratic? John and Ken reach for consensus with Matthew Specter from Central Connecticut State University, author of "Habermas: An Intellectual Biography."

Habermas and Democracy

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/cognitive-bias.

Aristotle thought that rationality was the faculty that distinguished humans from other animals. However, psychological research shows that our judgments are plagued by systematic, irrational, unconscious errors known as ‘cognitive biases.’ In light of this research, can we really be confident in the superiority of human rationality? How much should we trust our own judgments when we are aware of our susceptibility to bias and error? And does our awareness of these biases obligate us to counter them? The Philosophers shed their biases with Brian Nosek from the University of Virginia, co-Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Open Science.

Cognitive Bias

In this episode of the Verso podcast, journalist Antony Loewenstein discusses his book, Disaster Capitalism: Making a Killing Out of Catastrophe.

Loewenstein trav­els across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, the United States, Britain, Greece, and Australia to witness the reality of disaster capitalism. He discovers how companies cash in on 
or­ganized misery in a hidden world of privatized detention centers, militarized private security, aid profiteering, and destructive mining.

What emerges through Loewenstein’s re­porting is a dark history of multinational corpo­rations that, with the aid of media and political elites, have grown more powerful than national governments. In the twenty-first century, the vulnerable have become the world’s most valu­able commodity.

Antony Loewenstein is an independent Australian journalist, documentary maker and blogger who has written for the BBC, the Nation and the Washington Post. He’s a weekly Guardian columnist and the author of three best-selling books, My Israel Question, The Blogging Revolution and Profits of Doom: How Vulture Capitalism is Swallowing the World. He is co-editor of After Zionism and Left Turn and co-writer of For God’s Sake. 

His website can be found at antonyloewenstein.com and Twitter: @antloewenstein.

Interview with Antony Loewenstein, author of Disaster Capitalism

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/post-truth-politics.

You've probably heard about the dangerous effects of fake news, and the spread of sensational and targeted falsities. But what about "legitimate" news, one might still ask? Well, do you want the "liberal truth" or the "conservative truth"? Just stick to the facts? What if my "facts" differ from yours? Listen to science? Those scientists are all in someone's pocket, you know. Can we know anything anymore in this age of epistemic nihilism? Have we entered the "post-truth" era? What does this mean for politics, policy, and accountability? The Philosophers don't fake it with Christopher Meyers from CSU Bakersfield, editor of "A Philosophical Approach to Journalism Ethics."

Post-Truth Politics

Steve Mnuchin reflects on lying to Americans about pushing for a large tax break for the wealthy. Stephanie Kelton (@StephanieKelton), a Professor of economics and public policy at Stoney Brooke University, explains the Bretton Woods system. Why leaving behind the Gold Standard creates policy flexibility. Why did Nixon take America out of the Gold Standard? Why our fiscal policy has not left behind the Gold Standard way of thinking. What is money in modern economics? How does payment work? What actually causes inflation. Why inflation is not the problem right now in global economics. Taxes and how money works in society and the plutocrats who have an interest in perpetuating the debt myth. On The Fun Half: Protestors are removed from the Senate as they fight to protect public healthcare. Bernie Sanders makes more progress in mainstreaming Single Payer healthcare. Sanders schools Graham and Cassidy at the CNN debate. Lindsay Graham tries to attack the health insurance industry while pushing a bill to enrich them. Marxism and identity. Rick Santorum throws a tantrum on CNN over the Graham Cassidy health bill. Louie Gohmert thinks John McCain should be recalled because he has cancer. Sarah Huckabee explains that Trump can do policy and pick fights on Twitter at the same time and your calls and IMs. Check out today’s sponsor! https://www.brooklinen.com use promo code Majority! The Michael Brooks Show is live tonight on the Majority Report Youtube Channel! Become Patreon for all TMBS content here&nbsp;https://www.patreon.com/TMBS

1684 - The Debt Crisis is a Myth & Modern Monetary Theory w/ Stephanie Kelton

Wolfgang Streeck is sociologist and political economist, whose latest works “Buying Time” (2013) and “How Will Capitalism End” (2016) have made key contributions to the revival of crisis theory. Drawing widely on classics from Schumpeter, Polanyi and Marx, Streeck offers an account of the lineage of democracy, capitalism and the state since the post-war period, identifying the deeply de-democratising and self-destructive trajectory in contemporary capitalist development. Against liberal received wisdom, Streeck argues that democracy and capitalism are anything but natural partners or easy bedfellows, but have in fact been in constant historical tension. The post-war social democratic settlement represents an unusual “fix” to this tension that was relatively favourable to the popular classes, or “wage dependent”, parts of the population. However, this fix unravelled in the 70’s as the capitalist, or “profit-dependent”, class rediscovered its agency and, with neo-liberal globalisation and financialisation, began to shape a world in its interests. 
Streeck argues that these processes are putting in danger not only the existence of democratic politics, which is increasingly circumscribed by the need for states to appease financial markets, but also the future of capitalism itself. Streeck’s vision for what is to come is gloomy. Capitalism continues to erode the social foundations necessary for its own sustenance, as well as the resources needed to collectively construct an alternative order. Institutional and policy fixes to capitalist contradictions are running out. We can expect the result to be the development of an increasingly uncertain and under-institutionalised social order, reminiscent of a Hobbesian state of nature, where individual agency and creativity becomes fundamental to meet basic needs and achieve even minimal goals. Politics offers hope of rupture, but is itself increasingly constrained and defiled by capitalist development and rationality.
In this podcast CURA‘s Adrian Bua talks to Wolfgang about his work on the trajectory of capitalism and democracy. Thank you for your interest.

Wolfgang Streeck - The Future of Capitalism

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/frantz-fanon.

Frantz Fanon is a thinker who has inspired radical liberation movements in places ranging from Palestine to South Africa to the United States. Most famous for his work The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon is often understood as a proponent of revolutionary violence. But is this a fair characterization of Fanon, or is it an oversimplification of a deeper and richer body of work? What exactly is Fanon’s philosophy of violence, and how does it relate to his philosophy and psychology of the colonial subject? How has Fanon shaped how we think of identity politics? The Philosophers welcome Nigel Gibson from Emerson College, author of "Fanon: The Postcolonial Imagination."

Frantz Fanon and the Violence of Colonialism

Josh and Ken welcome back Stanford philosopher Jorah Dannenberg to discuss how the 2017 sequel to one of the most philosophically perfect science fiction films of all time holds up to the original.

Blade Runner vs. Blade Runner 2049

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/culture-industry.

What's your favorite movie? Did you watch that season finale last night? No spoilers! Popular cultures pervades modern life. But what if pop culture was actually more pernicious than we ordinarily think? Could it be systematically deceiving us—eroding our ability to think for ourselves and fight for change? That's what the 20th century German philosopher Theodor Adorno thought. The Philosophers get cultured on Adorno's life and thought with Adrian Daub from Stanford University, co-author of "The James Bond Songs: Pop Anthems of Late Capitalism."

Adorno and the Culture Industry

Adam Tooze joins me to discuss his book 'The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy'. We discussed the entwinement of Nazi ideology and economics, the explanation for the apparent irrationality of German military strategy, the comparative backwardness of the German economy in the pre-war period, and the question of 1930s parallels in the post-financial crash era.

#14 Adam Tooze on Nazi ideology and the German war economy

Adam Tooze joins me for part two of our discussion on his new book, 'Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World'. We spoke about the Brexit vote, Emmanuel Macron's EU reform agenda, the prospects for a radical Labour government, and why it is that Marxists keep claiming Adam (a self-described liberal) for one of their own. 

If you enjoy this episode please consider donating via Patreon:

www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

Part one of the interview:

https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/20-adam-tooze-on-crashed-how-a-decade-of-financial-crises-changed-the-world

#23 Adam Tooze on 'Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World' (Part 2)

Would a meritocratic society provide a fair equality of opportunity? Can discrimination based on merit ever be justified, or should we aim to solve social inequality through equality of outcome? 

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British Ghaniain philosopher at Columbia University and author of Cosmopolitanism and The Honor Code. www.iai.tv/podcasts

Against Meritocracy | Kwame Anthony Appiah

Once dismissed as a utopian fantasy, universal income has now hit the mainstream. With new technologies, support from across the political spectrum, and advocates from Stephen Hawking to Mark Zuckerberg, it’s no surprise people have begun to take the idea seriously. In a combative head-to-head debate, author of Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen Guy Standing goes head to head with leading libertarian economist Deirdre McCloskey.

Could the Universal Basic Income work? | Guy Standing vs Deirdre McCloskey

Speaker(s): Professor Robert Eaglestone, Professor Simon Glendinning, Professor Maja Zehfuss | Marx famously wrote of the spectre of communism haunting Europe in the nineteenth century, and the end of the Cold War might be considered to mark its exorcism. But has communism really been laid to rest? Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall, Derrida certainly thought not. He argued that in the ‘new world disorder’, ideologies like neo-liberalism were enmeshed with communism, haunted by the spectre of communisms yet to come. Is Derrida’s analysis still applicable to the post-9/11 world? And have new spectres appeared in our midst? Robert Eaglestone (@BobEaglestone) is Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought at Royal Holloway, University of London. Simon Glendinning(@lonanglo) is Professor of European Philosophy, London School of Economics. Maja Zehfuss is Professor of International Politics, University of Manchester Danielle Sands (@DanielleCSands) is a Fellow at the Forum for Philosophy & Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London. This event is co-organised by the European Institute and the Forum for Philiosophy. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector. The Forum for Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK. Twitter hashtags for this event: #LSEFestival #New WorldDisorders This event is part of the LSE Festival: New World (Dis)Orders running from Monday 25 February to Saturday 2 March 2019, with a series of events exploring how social science can tackle global problems. From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

LSE Festival 2019 | The Haunting of Neo-liberalism [Audio]

For the next 6 weeks, we’re doing something a bit different. We’re telling the story of neoliberalism, from the beginning. We call it A Beginner’s Guide to Neoliberalism.

We first ran the series back in 2015, but it’s as relevant as ever. It’s presented by the journalist Kirsty Styles alongside James Meadway, who at the time was chief economist at the New Economics Foundation.

In part 1, James and Kirsty start with a history of our economic system, the difference between capitalism and neoliberalism, and examine how neoliberalism came to dominate modern day economics.

Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF!

Music by Chris Zabriskie and sanmi used under Creative Commons Licence.

The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Weekly Economics Podcast

A Beginner's Guide to Neoliberalism: 1 – The Basics

Economist James Meadway and journalist Kirsty Styles continue their 6-part miniseries about neoliberalism. In part 2, they tell the story of how the once obscure ideas of theorist Friedrich Hayek moved from the fringe to the mainstream, ushering in the age of neoliberalism.

Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF!

Music by Chris Zabriskie (www.chriszabriskie.com) and sanmi (www.freemusicarchive.org/music/sanmi/) used under Creative Commons Licence.

The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

A Beginner's Guide to Neoliberalism: 2 – The House That Hayek Built

From yoga retreats to mindfulness, meditation is fashionable and now even prescribed by the UK's National Health Service. Yet in some cases it can lead to depression and even psychosis. Is it a mistake to think that self-exploration and being at one with ourselves are necessarily good things? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, The Buddha Pill author Miguel Farias, Buddhist teacher and broadcaster Vishvapani Blomfield, and sociologist of religion Linda Woodhead explore how we can reach peace.

In association with the New College of the Humanities. bit.ly/2FdPgLD

The Cult of Mindfulness | Vishpani Blomfield, Linda Woodhead, Miguel Farias

‘Work and life become inseparable. Capital follows you when you dream. ... As production and distribution are restructured, so are nervous systems.’

This CCW Graduate School Lecture, 'Capitalist Realism – Is There No Alternative? with Mark Fisher, was recorded on 21st March 2012 at Chelsea College of Art & Design.

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