Aufhebunga Bunga

On reviews of our book, The End of the End of History   [Patreon Exclusive]   A year since the book came out, and two years since we finished writing it, we take a look at published reviews the book has received and respond to them.   Questions addressed include: have we overstated our case? Do we ignore the importance of the 1970s in favour of the 1990s? Might war matter more than class struggle? Is it useful to understood History in the metaphysical/Hegelian sense? Should we be less modernist and dispense with the politics inherited from 1848-1980s? And are we too critical of left-populism?   Reviews War at the End of History, Adam Tooze, Chartbook 109 The End of the End of the End, Sam Kriss, First Things Book Review: The End of the End of History, Jason C. Mueller, Critical Sociology How long is the end of history?, Connor Harney, Platypus Beginning of the End, or End of the Beginning?, Park McDougald, American Affairs Book Review: The End of the End of History, Dan Taylor, Marx & Ph

[Patreon Exclusive] On your questions & criticisms. We discuss the link between Covid and war in Ukraine and return to the question of who exactly is the ruling class. Plus: inflation, what actually happened in the 1990s, contemporary art, and the politics of abortion.  

On abortion. After the US Supreme Court ruling, where does this leave women in the US? Political theorist Alex Gourevitch joins us to discuss Roe v Wade, and how the fact it rooted abortion in a right to privacy was problematic. How can we ground the right to abortion in an argument for freedom in general? And is the US really faced with a rising tide of reaction, as liberals claim? Are same-sex marriage and contraception imperilled by the decision. Reading: Wrong Life and Abortion, Ethan Linehan, Sublation The Left killed the pro-choice coalition, Kat Rosenfield, Unherd A Defence of Abortion, Judith Jarvis Johnson   How to Win the Abortion Argument, Helen Lewis, The Atlantic

On the endgame to war in Ukraine.   Eminent Russian expert, Putin and Gorbachev biographer and ex-Sovietologist, Prof Richard Sakwa, joins us in advance of his imminent retirement from the University of Kent. We talk about the geopolitics of NATO expansion and the dynamics of the Ukraine war reaching back to 2014. How high is the risk of nuclear war now, and how might the Ukraine war play out? Readings: Whisper it, but Putin has a point in Ukraine, Richard Sakwa, The Spectator The Dual State in Russia, Richard Sakwa, Post-Soviet Affairs A Review of 'Frontline Ukraine' by Richard Sakwa, Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday Putin Redux: Continuity and change, Richard Sakwa, openDemocracy

[Patreon Exclusive]   On the whatever decade.   People are turning back to reinterpret the 1990s. Clearly, they were peak End of History years. But does that mean that no politics actually happened? If it's the period of the cultural turn, does that mean we should seek to understand that decade culturally?   And what are the political consequences of how we interpret the 1990s?   Readings: The 1990s: An age without qualities, Gavin Jacobson, New Statesman (attached) Were the 1990s Really Devoid of Politics?, Ryan Zickgraf, Jacobin The ‘90s: The decade that never ended, Jason Farago, BBC

If the End of History was characterised by post-politics, and the 'populist decade' of the 2010s dominated by anti-politics, then how should we understand more recent phenomena? Are the following of a qualitatively different nature to anti-politics, namely: the intensification of culture wars, growing polarisation that does not always align neatly with class, of increasingly hysterical and personalised politics, and of the competition between escalating emergency politics?  To commemorate the publication of the German edition of The End of the End of History, co-author Alex Hochuli was in conversation with historian of political thought, Anton Jäger at the Monacensia in Munich.

To commemorate the publication of the German edition of The End of the End of History, co-author Alex Hochuli was in conversation with David Broder, Europe editor of Jacobin Magazine at Spike Magazine, Berlin.   The crumbling of the liberal, technocratic order over the past decade has led to a variety of hysterical reactions from the establishment. Faced with new challenges to their authority, they have reacted by calling their opponents "fascist", blaming misinformation or adopting conspiracy theories of their own. How are we to understand these reactions and the apparent conflict between neoliberal technocracy and "populism"?    

[Live events in Germany: Berlin / Munich] On emergency politics today. We talk to Geoff Shullenberger about competing emergency politics, left and right. Should politics be enjoyable and provide a frisson of transgression, or not? Is bare life all that's on offer? And is declaring the predominance of 'emergency politics' itself an emergency a problem? Readings: How We Forgot Foucault, American Affairs The Crisis of the Crisis, The New Atlantis

On crumbling state authority.   Benjamin Fogel is back on the podcast to talk us through how South Africa has gone from the hopes of post-apartheid to the Durban riots of 2021. How have corruption, criminal networks, Indian oligarchs, and political forces combined to shatter any sense of a national project? We also discuss the role of xenophobia and particularist and racial politics in today's South Africa.   Readings & Links: /27/ After Zuma ft. Sean Jacobs The insurrection in South Africa is about more than freeing Zuma, Benjamin Fogel, Al Jazeera Dons have KZN in their grip — and Don of Dons Jacob Zuma has the tightest grip, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick No two elephants are alike, Ryan Brunette, Africa Is A Country Rising vigilantism: South Africa is reaping the fruits of misrule, Landau & Misago, The Conversation  

[Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive]   On neoliberalism and biopolitics.   In the fifth session of the "Emergency Politics & Control" theme of the 2022 Reading Club, we take on The Birth of Biopolitics, Michel Foucault's 1978-9 lectures at the College de France (no's 4-6, 9-10).   How does Foucault trace a line between German ordo- and American neo-liberalism to biopolitics? What role does human capital play? Is 'biopolitics' a critique or a manual? And how useful a tool is it to understand the management of the Covid pandemic?

[Patreon Exclusive]   On the economic drivers and political choices of inflation.   In the absence of workers demanding higher wages, where is inflation coming from? Is there more to it than pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and the Ukraine war? How responsible is Biden's spending package? And how can generations who have never known serious inflation respond?   Three Articles: Chartbook #122: What drives inflation?, Adam Tooze, Substack Inflation Is No Accident, Christopher Caldwell, Compact Britain is drifting towards economic oblivion, Ben Marlow, Telegraph

[Patreon Exclusive] On your comments & criticisms. We tackle ideological realignments over the use of history; conspiracy theorising; a game-show called The Last True Marxist; whether we've had any progress over the last 50 years; and much more. 

On liberals' embrace of the past and history wars. We talk to Matthew Karp about his essay, "History As End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past". It seems as if there's an ideological inversion going on, where liberals see history in terms of original sin and cycles of injustice, or at best, want to relitigate the past in order to fight battles of the present. Meanwhile conservatives have abandoned the past. What does this say about current attitudes to capital-h History and making the future? Readings: History As End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past, Matt Karp, Harpers Ends in Sight: Marx/Fukuyama/Hobsbawm/Anderson, Gregory Elliott The End of the End of History, Bungacast

[Patreon Exclusive]   We analyse the French presidential election results, the country's geographical and class divides, and what a second term for Macron means for the EU.   Three Articles: Emmanuel Macron Is Forming a New Right-Wing Bloc, Interview with Bruno Amable, Jacobin Why Macron is invincible, Christopher Caldwell, Unherd Le Pen was doomed from the start, Nathan Pinkoski, Compact Other readings: Waking Up from Anesthesia: Decline and Violence in France, Alexis Moriatis, Brooklyn Rail Macron, Le Pen and France’s long battle between order and dissent, Sudhir Hazareesingh, FT Jean-Luc Mélenchon's new supporters: the young, urban working class, Julie Carriat, Le Monde

[Patreon Tier 2 Exclusive] On Frank Furedi's How Fear Works. Following on from last month's discussion of Corey Robin's Fear, we examine a differing attempt to demystify the politics and culture of fear.  To join a local Reading Club where you are, email info@bungacast.com 

On Marxism & the Left. We talk to Elena & Joshua about their new edited collection, The Conformist Rebellion: Marxist Critiques of the Contemporary Left. Who or what is "the Left" today – merely the left wing of Capital? And what distinguishes a specifically Marxist critique of the Left? How has Marxism and the question of exploitation been sidelined in favour of a libera concern with discrimination? Over on Patreon you can hear the second part of the interview, plus our After Party debating the contemporary Left's connection to Marxism, the history of social democracy, and moral versus materialist critique.  Readings: Counterattack journal Counter Attack telegram  Elena's substack Value without Fetish: Uno Kōzō’s Theory of ‘Pure Capitalism’ in Light of Marx’s Critique of Political Economy, Elena Lange

The second part of our double ep on France's presidential election. Ahead of the second round, we discuss how likely a Le Pen victory could be and the effect of Zemmour’s candidacy – which appears to have made her seem more centrist. We also debate how the French deep state and EU might react to a Le Pen victory. We also ask Chris, co-author of Technopopulism, whether this is a classically 'technopopulist' election. Reading: Technopopulism: The New Logic of Democratic Politics, Chris Bickerton The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide, Chris Bickerton

On France's presidential elections.   We talk to Charles Devellennes to digest the first round, which saw centre-right Macron and far-right Le Pen come out on top, with leftist Mélenchon missing out. How similar are Macron and Le Pen's proposals actually? And has Macron's attempts to play statesman over Ukraine affected his chances?   With Le Pen and Macron both going after Mélenchon's 20% of the voter share, how will each approach this challenge?   Readings: Charles' twitter thread on the similarities between Macron and Le Pen Why the French left keeps failing, Charles Devellennes, spiked The Gilets Jaunes and the New Social Contract, Charles Devellennes The Macron Régime: The Ideology of the New Right in France, Charles Devellennes (forthcoming)     

[Patreon Tier 2 Exclusive] On Corey Robin's Fear: The History of a Political Idea.  This is March's Reading Club, the third in the Emergency Politics section of the 2022 Syllabus.

[Patreon Exclusive]   On US proxy wars, Russia's elite, Ukrainian neutrality.   'Three Articles' aims to provide serious political discussion on current affairs that we feel is lacking elsewhere, drawing out the logical conclusions of the three pieces' arguments.   Articles: A proxy war in Ukraine is the worst possible outcome — except for all the others, Sam Winter-Levy, War on the Rocks “Now we're going to f*ck them all.” What's happening in Russia's elites after a month of war, Farida Rustamova, Faridaily Zelensky’s muddled neutrality plan is not the answer for Ukraine, James Sherr, FT (attached)