logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
2h 4m

Marxism and the Radical Enlightenment: A...

Daniel Tutt
About this episode

What is the legacy of the Enlightenment in political struggles today and how are socialists and Marxists to relate to the Enlightenment? Must we rely on first principles and an a priori theory of knowledge in our understanding of capitalism and exploitation? Or must we proceed on the basis of an appeal to empiricism and experience primarily in our understanding of social struggles? What is the role of philosophy in our political practice? How do we know that the political causes we champion are just or right?

We welcome Marxist thinkers Landon Frim and Max Tomba for a debate on Marxism and the Radical Enlightenment to help us get at the heart of these questions, and much more! For background reading, please see Max Tomba's Introduction to his book Insurgent Universality (download here) and Landon Frim's "Reason is Red" essay (download here).

Max Tomba is Chair and Professor of at the History of Consciousness in the Politics Department at UC Santa Cruz. His research examines time and temporalities, Marxism, critical theory (especially the first generation of the Frankfurt School), and modern and contemporary political thought. He is the author of several books, and most recently Insurgent Universality. An Alternative Legacy of Modernity, with Oxford University Press, published in 2019, which was the co-winner of the 2021 David and Elaine Spitz Prize for the best book in liberal and/or democratic theory published in 2019. 

Landon Frim is Associate Professor in Philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University and he is a specialist in Spinoza, enlightenment rationalism and he has written in popular outlets including Jacobin Magazine, The New Republic, Salvage Magazine, and Inside Higher Ed. With Harrison Fluss, Landon wrote Prometheus and Gaia: Technology, Ecology and Anti-Humanism which is an examination of the ideological positions of Futurism and Eco-Pessimism. You can catch a great interview I conducted with Landon and Harrison Fluss on the Zer0 Books YouTube channel and on the Emancipations podcast.

Up next
Jul 31
The History of Riots and the Left (feat. C. Derick Varn)
C. Derick Varn, host of the ‪Varn Vlog‬ is a Marxist theorist, poet and political commentator. Varn join our show to discuss the protests and riots against ICE in Los Angeles and across the country that popped off in late spring and early summer 2025. We examine the history of ri ... Show More
2h 16m
Jul 23
A Social History of Analytic Philosophy (feat. Christoph Schuringa)
Analytic philosophy is the leading form of philosophy in the English-speaking world and most academic philosophy departments are analytic. But what explains this power and what is the history of analytic philosophy. Where did it begin and how did it rise to such prominence? I am ... Show More
2h 21m
Jul 22
Gramsci's Theory of Bonapartism (feat. Francesca Antonini)
My guest is Dr. Francesca Antonini, a historian and scholar of Antonio Gramsci. Dr. Antonini teaches at the Ca' Foscari University in Venice Italy. Her latest book is an exhaustive study of Gramsci's theory of Bonapartism, and it is entitled, Caesarism and Bonapartism in Gramsci: ... Show More
1h 47m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Matthew McManus, "The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity" (Routledge, 2023)
McManus presents an intellectual history of the conservative and reactionary tradition, stretching from Aristotle and Filmer to Alexander Dugin and Patrick Deneen.Providing a comprehensive critical genealogy of the intellectual political right, McManus traces its core to a nostal ... Show More
30m 45s
Jun 2023
Marcello Musto, "The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual Biography" (Stanford UP, 2020)
In the last years of his life, Karl Marx expanded his research in new directions-studying recent anthropological discoveries, analyzing communal forms of ownership in precapitalist societies, supporting the populist movement in Russia, and expressing critiques of colonial oppress ... Show More
2h 7m
Nov 2022
Marxist Theory: Engels, Lenin, and Dialectical Materialism
Thomas Riggins is a New York university lecturer in philosophy and ancient studies. He is a retired city housing manager and a veteran of the peace and civil rights movements of the 1960s. He holds degrees from Florida State University and the CUNY Graduate Center. He is currentl ... Show More
1h 28m
Jan 2023
Transcending Capitalism: Insights from Buddhism and Marxism
Professor of Philosophy and author, Graham Priest, joins Breht to discuss his latest book Capitalism - it's Nature and Replacement: Buddhist and Marxist Insights. Together, they discuss the problems of capitalism, the utter necessity of its transcendence, what Marxism can offer B ... Show More
1h 20m
Nov 2023
The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity
Professor Matthew McManus returns to the show to discuss his newest book "The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity" Together they explore over 2,000 years of conservative, anti-egalitarian, and reactionary political thought to get a better ... Show More
2h 11m
Feb 2021
Republicanism and Freedom in Marx with William Clare Roberts
Ian and Donald join William Clare Roberts (@MarxInHell), author of Marx's Inferno for a discussion on the wider themes of his book: republicanism,  non-domination, theories of freedom, the early communist movement, and  how to read capital both politically and scientifically. 
59m 32s
Mar 2017
Intersectionality: Identity Politics and Class Consciousness.
Brett sits down with two university professors of sociology and a masters candidate in sociology to discuss the issues of intersectionality, the weaknesses of class-less identity politics and of class reductionism, the influence of Karl Marx on the field of sociology, Malcolm X a ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2022
Virtue Ethics and The Quest for Character
Massimo Pigliucci, philosophy professor and author, joins Breht once again, this time to discuss his newest book "The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders". Topics include: Ethical theories in philosophy, stoi ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 2023
FADI BARDAWIL | Arab Marxism, the New Left & Political Realities | Conversations
Learn about Arab Marxism, radical patriarchal politics, and Lebanon’s political economy over the last century in this conversation with professor Fadi Bardawil from Duke University. Starting with his book “Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation” ... Show More
1h 6m
Nov 2023
Jennifer Burns on Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand
Jennifer Burns is a professor history at Stanford who works at the intersection of intellectual, political, and cultural history. She’s written two biographies Tyler highly recommends: her 2009 book, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right and her latest, Milton Fr ... Show More
59m 44s