The Working Class Intelligentsia

I wrote an essay on John and Barbara Ehrenreich’s concept of the PMC, and how it relates to Mark Fisher’s concept of the Vampire Castle, which I read in this episode. You’ll hear the full version of the essay, but a shortened version will be included in a book titled Underground Theory, which will be available at Amazon to order a print copy September 4. The link is below. I’m proud to say that this essay will be included with essays by some smart and controversial thinkers including Žižek, Norman Finkelstein, Alenka Zupančič, Todd McGowan, Catherine Liu, Chris Cutrone, Daniel Tutt and Michael Downs of the Dangerous Maybe blog. In my essay I argue Mark Fisher makes the same mistake many Marxists have made. They conflate the petite bourgeoisie with the professional managerial class. This is an understandable mistake, but it is time for Marxists to begin using the Ehrenreich’s definition of the professional managerial class in their class analysis. At another time I will quibble further with the Ehrenreichs. I think they make a few mistakes, but on the whole I think they have brought a tremendous improvement to the discipline of class analysis. The future of the socialist struggle must account for the distinctions between the petite bourgeoisie and the professional managerial class. Underground Theory https://a.co/d/3yPyo6J “PMC Consciousness & Ideology” Theory Underground https://theory-underground.com/courses/pmc/ WAYPOINT: Timenergy, critical media theory, and culture war Theory Pleeb (a.k.a. Dave McKerracher of Theory Underground) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M8QG8B9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZYBSX12JJPFGJP9VETMK Class, an official podcast of the Democratic Socialists of America National Political Education Committee https://education.dsausa.org/class-the-npec-podcast/ Barbara and John Ehrenreich’s PMC part 1 (1977) https://library.brown.edu/pdfs/1125403552886481.pdf Barbara and John Ehrenreich’s PMC part 2 (1977) https://files.libcom.org/files/Rad%20America%20V11%20I3.pdf Barbara and John Ehrenreich’s PMC part 3 (2013) https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/ehrenreich_death_of_a_yuppie_dream90.pdf

Today’s episode is about proletarian discipline, party discipline. DSA has recently had an internal debate about Jamaal Bowman’s refusal to support the Palestinian solidarity movement BDS. GRAMSCI Gramci’s Concept of Subaltern https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaltern_(postcolonialism) DISCIPLINE Jodi Dean’s Article on Discipline https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/11/comrades-political-organizing-discipline-jodi-dean Republican Party Discipline of Liz Cheney https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/15/liz-cheney-wyoming-republican-party-trump DSA’s ban on democratic centralism https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/constitution/#P1N Leninist Discipline https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Party+dicipline Know Your Enemy #36 on Jan 6 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/know-your-enemy/id1462703434?i=1000529390998 ——————— DSA CAUCUSES AND ELECTION SLATES Libertarian Socialist Caucus https://dsa-lsc.org/2021/07/19/lsc-democratic-socialism-a-short-history/ Bread & Roses Caucus https://breadandrosesdsa.org/ https://breadandrosesdsa.org/convention-2021-slate/ The Green New Deal Slate https://keywiki.org/DSA_Green_New_Deal_Slate Socialist Majority https://www.socialistmajority.com/ Renewal Slate https://www.dsarenewal.org/our-npc-slate/ Other DSA Caucasus https://reformandrevolution.org/2021/09/08/whos-who-in-dsa-a-guide-to-dsa-caucuses/ ——————— PALESTINE & BDS History of Palestine https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/throughline/id1451109634?i=1000523361687 Israeli Settlements https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement Natural Resource Extraction during British Mandate https://trafo.hypotheses.org/30714 1936-1939 Arab Revolt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine Palestinians have sovereign authority over their natural resources https://imemc.org/article/wafa-un-general-assembly-passes-vote-affirms-palestinian-sovereignty-over-their-natural-resources/ DSA departed from the Socialist International https://www.leftvoice.org/DSA-Votes-for-BDS-Reparations-and-Out-of-the-Socialist-International/ NY DSA Revolutions Per Minute podcast on the BDS Movement https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revolutions-per-minute-radio-from-new-york-city-democratic/id1450411809?i=1000524165027 J Street’s Rejection of the BDS Movement https://jstreet.org/wrong-way-oppose-bds/#.YcFAIy-cZQI ——————— JAMAAL BOWMAN DSA “Unity For Unity, not Unanimity: Palestine, Jamaal Bowman, and DSA” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d_FBOWt5JqyFvQn5BQuqDBvLe67rLCXKbI0CABhJHx4/edit Jamaal Bowman https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/11/democratic-socialists-j-street-bds-israel-palestine-iron-dome-aoc Jamaal Bowman Tempest Timeline https://www.facebook.com/tempestmag/photos/a.144058903928771/411153303885995/?type=3 DSA Caucus’s Response to Jamaal Bowman https://www.tempestmag.org/2021/12/on-not-expelling-jamaal-bowman/ DSA BDS & Palestine Solidarity WG https://palestine.dsausa.org/bowmans-j-street-zionist-propaganda-trip-to-apartheid-israel-must-not-stand/ DSA Statement https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-the-question-of-expelling-rep-bowman/

Socialism and Co-operation Published on: October 30, 1916 Published in: L’Alleanza Cooperativa Source: Pre-Prison Writings This podcast exists to strategize how the working class could replace the capitalist class as the hegemonic class. If we are to replicate their strategy we would need a socialist mode of production in place, and in operation, and a working class intelligentsia spreading a vision of a better world. As the working class takes control of the levers of power of the government it will need to scale up a socialist mode of production, a mode of production that aligns with the grand vision of socialism, a mode of production of which Gramsci believes has the potential of being far more productive than capitalism. We’ll discuss some alternatives towards the end, but on October 30, 1916 Gramsci published an article on the Italian Cooperative movement called “Socialism and Cooperation” in which he proposed cooperatives as a prototype of what a socialist mode of production could look like. - [ ] The Italian Cooperative Movement - [ ] Base & Superstructure - [ ] Gramsci’s Article - [ ] Postscript Know Your Enemy: The Windbag City https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/know-your-enemy/id1462703434?i=1000471890262 About Modern Northern Italy’s thriving worker-owned coops https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2016/07/05/the-italian-place-where-co-ops-drive-the-economy-and-most-people-are-members Turin Cooperative Alliance History https://www.fondazionedonguetti.org/wp/the-nature-of-the-cooperative-enterprise/glossary/consumers-cooperative/ Emilia Romagna region coops 10% https://geo.coop/articles/cooperating-we-mean-it-co-operative-movement-northern-italy Social Cooperatives in Italy: Lessons for the UK http://socialeconomyaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SocialCooperativesInItaly.pdf The emergence of social coops for social care: Italy and beyond https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/the-emergence-of-social-coops-for-social-care-italy-and-beyond/2013/07/30?__cf_chl_managed_tk__=pmd_cUemBDzpXCGVzheCxG.XrCCBAxMtPxKUc0HBAGeBOcs-1633440125-0-gqNtZGzNAxCjcnBszRJl Base and Superstructure https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_and_superstructure Microsoft’s Net Income from 2002-2021 https://www.statista.com/statistics/267808/net-income-of-microsoft-since-2002/

How did a kid from a village on the island of Sardinia, far from modern civilization, not only shape Italian history, but also become a groundbreaking philosopher innovating in the domain of cultural theory? The backwards peasant became a famous art critic in Italy’s hippest city. Gramsci developed a refined appreciation of art and literature, while retaining a desire to share his love of high culture with the peasants and factory workers of Italy. He became cultured and the smartest guy in the room without becoming arrogant. How did he do that? That’s what we’re going to discuss today. Published on: January 29, 1916 Published in: Il Grido del Popolo Source: The Antonio Gramsci Reader: Selected Writings 1916-1935, translated by David Forgacs - [ ] Anti-Intellectualism, Today and Italy in 1916 - [ ] Gramsci’s Biography - [ ] Know Thyself & The Enlightenment