What Is To Be Done? Understanding Communist Strategy
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UPSTREAM INTERVIEW W/ BREHT AND ALYSON:\\xa0
What Is To Be Done?\\xa0This is the question so profoundly posed by the Russian Revolutionary and Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, in his landmark text of the same name. Although it was written well over a century ago, this text, the questions it asked, and the paths forward that it provided, are just as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago. And just as urgent.
What roles do spontaneity and disciplined organization have in leftist movements? Can we focus simply on economic reform, or do our actions need a larger political framework to structure, guide, and propel them?\\xa0
Why does it feel like even though so many of us are motivated to work towards structural change, that things continue to get worse? Why does it seem like potential revolutionary struggles in the West always seem to stall and fail to move from a singular moment to a protracted movement?\\xa0
These are old and familiar questions \\u2014 a lot of ink has been spilled and speeches made exploring them \\u2014 and in this Conversation, we\\u2019ve brought on two guests who\'ve not only thought about these questions in depth, but who have some pretty compelling answers that draw from revolutionary theory and practice in both their personal lives and from the deep well of wisdom bequeathed by theorists Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Mao.\\xa0
Breht O\\u2019Shea is the host of the podcast\\xa0Revolutionary Left Radio\\xa0and a co-host of\\xa0Guerrilla History. He\\u2019s been on the show multiple times so you may already be familiar with his voice. Alyson Escalate, who has also been on the show, is the co-host, along with Breht, of\\xa0Red Menace, a podcast that explains and analyzes revolutionary theory and then applies its lessons to our contemporary conditions.\\xa0
Further Resources:
- Red Menace \\u2013 What Is To Be Done? - V.I. Lenin\\xa0
- Revolutionary Left Radio \\u2013 Politics in Command: Analyzing the Error of Economism\\xa0
- Red Menace \\u2013 The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon: On Violence and Spontaneity
- Red Menace \\u2013 Understanding Settler Colonialism in Israel and the United States
- Revolutionary Left Radio on Instagram
- Upstream \\u2013 Buddhism and Marxism with Breht O\'Shea (In Conversation)
- Upstream \\u2013 Trans Liberation and Solidarity with Alyson Escalante (In Conversation)
- Upstream \\u2013 Revolutionary Leftism with Breht O\'Shea (In Conversation)
This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love \\u2014 we couldn\'t keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at\\xa0www.upstreampodcast.org/support
If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at\\xa0upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship
For more from Upstream, visit\\xa0www.upstreampodcast.org\\xa0and follow us on\\xa0Twitter,\\xa0Instagram,\\xa0Facebook, and\\xa0Bluesky.
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