logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
1h 4m

79 | What Could It Mean to Say, “Capital...

Lillian Cicerchia, Owen Glyn-Williams, Gil Morejón, and William Paris
About this episode

In this episode, we are joined by George Washington University Assistant Professor Vanessa Wills to discuss her article “What Could It Mean to Say, ‘Capitalism Causes Sexism and Racism’?” We try to figure out why critics badly understand the Marxist concept of causation as it concerns identity-based oppression, why labor and production provide the conditions of possibility for science, and whether the abolition of capitalism would automatically mean the end of racism and sexism (no, but it sure would help!). And as a treat, Hegel shows up to school us on the appearance/essence distinction! 

leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphil

References:

Vanessa Wills, “What Could It Mean to Say, ‘Capitalism Causes Sexism and Racism?’” Philosophical Topics 46 no. 2 (2018): 229-246.

Music:

Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

Up next
Oct 2
121 | The Federalist Papers
In this episode we discuss the essays of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton compiled as the Federalist Papers. We talk about the philosophical justifications of the recently signed US Constitution, focusing especially on the tension between, on one hand, their passionate defens ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 16
120 TEASER | Raymond Williams on Literature and Cultural Materialism
In this episode, we discuss the literary and cultural theories of Raymond Williams. Famous for classic works of literary analysis like The City and the Country and concepts like ‘structures of feeling’, we join Williams in analyzing how our emotions, impulses, and tone in poetry ... Show More
9m 33s
Sep 1
119 | Exploitation and the Theory of Domination w/ Prof. Nicholas Vrousalis
In this episode, we welcome Nicholas Vrousalis onto the show to discuss his recent book Exploitation as Domination: What Makes Capitalism Unjust. The basic thesis of the book is that capitalist exploitation should be understood as a problem of domination, and thus freedom, rather ... Show More
56m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
Dr Stephen Hicks - Cultural Marxism, Colonialism and Racial Rhetoric (Part 2 of 2) [E150]
In this episode, Dr. Stephen Hicks (@SRCHicks) and I continue our conversation about the fruits of radical Marxism.He elaborates on the danger of prioritizing the collective over the individual and explains the process through which individuals adopt their worldviews.Dr. Stephen ... Show More
43m 30s
May 2019
"Féminisme pour les 99%", de Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya et Nancy Fraser
Dans ce troisième épisode du Deuxième Texte, Aude Lorriaux, Nassira El Moaddem et Marie Kirschen se sont plongées dans Féminisme pour les 99%, de Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya et Nancy Fraser (éditions La Découverte). Un manifeste pour un féminisme à la fois anticapitaliste, ... Show More
37m 20s
Oct 2023
122/1. Les boniments du capitalisme ? - FRANÇOIS BÉGAUDEAU
Partie 1 - De l’importance de prendre du recul sur les mots et concepts dominants. Une critique du capitalisme et de ses “boniments” François Bégaudeau est un écrivain, ancien enseignant et journaliste qui s’est fait notamment connaitre pour son roman, entre les murs, inspiré par ... Show More
1h 1m
Jan 2021
#59 - L'art peut-il être raciste ?
Nombreuses sont les voix prêtes à affirmer que non, l’art ne peut pas être raciste. Derrière cette posture, un déni - très français - autour du barbouillage (blackface en anglais), de la perpétuation des stéréotypes racistes dans les représentations artistiques contemporaines et ... Show More
36m 59s
Jun 2023
Why antiracism means anticapitalism
The Metropolitan Police’s diversity and inclusion strategy claims it is determined to “eliminate racism and discrimination”. But the force was branded ‘institutionally racist’, and not for the first time, in an official report this spring. Recently, a Met firearms officer has bee ... Show More
39m 17s
Dec 2023
Transgender Marxism Against the Backlash (A Spectre Live Presentation)
Join trans theorists and activists for a discussion of how "Transgender Marxism” can explain the backlash and help guide the resistance. This event took place on July 16, 2023. The right has launched a systematic backlash against trans people. It has introduced hundreds of anti-t ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2022
[BEST OF] Critical Race Theory and Black Liberation w/ Zoé Samudzi
[Originally released Oct 2017] Zoe Samudzi is a black feminist writer whose work has appeared in a number of spaces including The New Inquiry, Warscapes, Truthout, ROAR Magazine, Teen Vogue,BGD, Bitch Media, and Verso, among others. She is also a member of the 2017/18 Public Imag ... Show More
1h 9m