The Regrettable Century
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you. “The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” -- Antonio Gramsci
PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 05/02/2025
Trump/Zelensky Meeting, Minerals Deal, US Arms Sales to Ukraine, Superhornet Down!, North Korean Troops in Kursk, Russian Gains in April
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The Stumbling God Emperor (or the 100 Days of Gomorrah)
The boys got together to take a look at the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. We talk about inept bumbling, cruelty, misery, war, and how it's still not fascism.
Jacobin: This Is America by Daniel Bessner
The Nation: The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals by Jeet Heer
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PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 04/24/2025
Trump Talks Truce, Iran Nuclear Deal, What's the Point of the EU?, Don't Bluff China, Sumy Missile Strike, Russia Rolls On
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Patreon Preview -- For What We Will: A Brief History of American Socialism (For the New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies)
A couple of weeks ago, Jason gave a talk to the New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies about the history of American Socialism. Here is the audio of that talk...
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Freedom Stumbles On: Hegel and the Slaughter-Bench of History (PART II)
The boys (featuring the return of Mir) return to the slaughter-bench to finish discussing Terry Pinkard's article "The Spirit of History."
The Spirit of History by Terry Pinkard
https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-history-nobody-gave-a-deeper-answer-than-hegel
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PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 04/12/2025
Kursk Losses Breakdown, China China China, Israel Executes UN Worker and Paramedics, Ansar Allah Reaps Reaper Drones, Renewed Russian Offensive?
And so on...
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Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities and Social Democracy by Otto Bauer: Regrettable Book Club (Episode X)
The gang tackles Chapter 06 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation.
The Transformation of the Principle of Nationality (pg. 355)
National Autonomy and the Principle of Nationality
The Roots of Capitalist Expansionism
The Working Class and Capitalist Expansionism
Imperialism and the Principle of Nationality
Socialism and the Principle of Nationality
Read along with us:
https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer
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Unbreakable Union: Introductions (With an introduction to the introduction by Jason and Chris)
Here's a bonus episode for you on what is normally an off week.
Listen now to hear Jason and Chris give an introduction to the introduction of the Unbreakable Union podcast, then listen to the introduction.
Unbreakable Union Podcast
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PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 04/02/2025
Rare Earths Deal, War Footing in the Pacific, Coalition of the... Willing?, Ceasefire Breaches, Le Pen Convicted, Trump is Pissed off at Putin, NYT Says Ukrainians are Stupid Losers, Russian Offensive Isn't Stalling After All...
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Introducing The Unbreakable Union Podcast: The Contemporary Importance of Soviet History
This week Chris talks to Jason and Matthew about their new podcast: Unbreakable Union. This ambitious project will span six seasons with roughly one decade being covered per season.
Check out our episode then listen to the podcast below or on your preferred podcatcher. It should be showing up everywhere in the next few days.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2462690
Also, come join our Patreon and get access to our discord!
Click below:
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*REUPLOADED* PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 03/29/2025
Signalgate, Yemen, Ceasefire Failures, Russian Advances, and Ukrainian Flailing.
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Patreon Preview: Patron Q&A #3
Ok, finally we get around to answering questions about religion and parenting... also some other stuff. Just go listen.
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Freedom Stumbles On: Hegel and the Slaughter-Bench of History (Featuring Mir)
The boys (featuring the return of Mir) kick back on the slaughter-bench to discuss Hegel's philosophy of history by discussing Terry Pinkard's article "The Spirit of History."
The Spirit of History by Terry Pinkard
https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-history-nobody-gave-a-deeper-answer-than-hegel
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PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 03/23/2025
Regrettable Geopolitics - 03/23/2025 (Israel Turns the Genocide Machine Back On, Yemen/Iran, Kursk, Other Ukraine Things, and Cease-Fire Talks)
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Patreon Preview: Patron Q&A #2
Finally, the long-awaited second Q&A episode. We talk USSR, religion, parenting, and all sort of other stuff... but some of it will have to wait until Q&A #3, which will be soon. Enjoy!
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Bring the Race-War Home: Foreign Fighters, Neo-Nazi Networks, and Domestic Terrorism
This week Chris and Jason read and discussed a paper Chris wrote for a strategic studies project about neo-Nazi terror networks and their links to far-right militias in Ukraine.
The influx of foreign fighters to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022 has outpaced US intel and law enforcement agencies' ability to monitor potential radicals going to and coming from Ukraine. Far-right extremists have been drawn to the conflict in Ukraine since 2014 due to affiliated organizations that belong to a web of loosely related violent neo-fascist organizations. Several affiliated extremists have been apprehended planning terror a...
PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics -- 03/09/2025 (a little Syria, a little Europe, and a lot of Russia/Ukraine)
Another lightly edited casual conversation about geopolitics. We do a whirlwind summary of the stuff that has happened since last week and land back on the subject of Ukraine for most of the program.
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From Dawn to Decadence (Part III): With Varn Vlog *UNLOCKED*
The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, talking about "Decadence Theory" and how it differs from "crisis theory" and "breakdown theory." We discuss Samir Amin's third-worldist (and not very Marxist) take on decadence theory.
Revolution or Decadence- Samir Amin
https://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/
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PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 03/01/2025 (Ukraine: Trump vs Zelensky, Manpower Crisis, Dictatorship, Attritional Warfare)
Welcome to a new series that we are trying out for Patrons. This is a lightly edited casual conversation between Jason and Chris about Geopolitics. We aren't really preparing for these by doing a lot of research and we certainly aren't doing much editing. We are going to try to do these semi-regularly and hopefully we can figure out how to do video versions as well.
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The Neverending Pursuit of Truth: T.G. Masaryk's Challenge to Marxism
This week we discussed the thought of one of 20th-century Marxism's socialist opponents, Tomáš Masaryk. Masaryk was reviled by Czech communists until they appropriated him and he was an opponent of capitalism until the champions of capitalism did the same. He was a social democrat with an ethical and Christian-humanist vision of socialism that inspired the Prague Spring but was later coopted by the opponents of the working class and human liberation.
A State without Suicide
https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/state-without-suicide
Betts, R. R...
Patreon Preview -- A Refutation of All Judgements... (A Discussion of the film by Guy Debord)
So, you think you had some judgments? TOO BAD THEY ARE ALL REFUTED!
This week Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's follow up to his Society of the Spectacle film, which is essentially a clapback at his haters. As any good Regrettable discussion goes, the film was the anchor, but the topics ranged far and wide. Enjoy!
Refutation of All the Judgements, Pro or Con, Thus Far Rendered on the Film “The Society of the Spectacle" (1975)
https://www.ubu.com/film/debord_refutation.html
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In Defense of Proletarian Idealism
This week we read and discussed an article by Richard Seymour that explores Marxism's relationship with materialism and idealism. Seymour argues that the Hegelian inheritance within Marxism forces it in the direction of an idealism which is essential for a successful revolutionary politics.
Duel and duality, or, degrowth and dialectics https://www.patreon.com/posts/81735357?pr=true&fbclid=IwAR2ftGQudDJQhykIW4rv_3F34xqP8RGHZdyZyb4JsGQgxzQ7qxvRNI9BP7k
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Patreon Preview -- Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer: Regrettable Book Club (Episode IX)
The gang tackles Chapter 5 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation.
Read Along With Us:
https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer
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Partisans of a Dying Dream: The Populist Moment and American Socialism
This week we delve into what is sort of a pre-history of the American Socialist movement. Though the populist movement undeniably kept its Jeffersonian character, it was the first (arguably only) significant challenge to the dominance of the two major capitalist parties in the US. Much of the energy and the spirit of American populism flowed into and colored the burgeoning American workers' movement.
From Populism to Socialism and Back
https://jacobin.com/2019/08/populism-socialism-daniel-de-leon-eugene-debs
American Populism, 1876-1896
https://digital.lib.niu.edu/illinois/gildedage/populism
Populist Party Platform July 4, 1892
<...
Patreon Preview -- From Dawn to Decadence (Part III): With Varn Vlog
The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, talking about "Decadence Theory" and how it differs from "crisis theory" and "breakdown theory." We discuss Samir Amin's Third-Worldist (and not very Marxist) take on decadence theory.
Revolution or Decadence- Samir Amin
https://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/
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Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VIII)
The gang tackles Chapter 4 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation...
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Our Regrettable Trash Can of Ideology
This week we entered the archives and poured through the codices and scrolls containing the wisdom of past episodes to give you this curated trash can of Ideology. We highlighted some themes from the past six years of podcasting that we thought were worth underscoring and how our ideas may have changed...
Our Underlying Philosophy of Dialectical Pessimism
Making Sense of Our Past
S...Patreon Preview -- Film Review: The Society of the Spectacle (w/Grindhaus Podcast)
This is an old episode of our friend Andrew's podcast that was recorded a few years ago. The podcast is now defunct, but we thought y'all deserved to hear it.
In this episode Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's 1974 film version of The Society of the Spectacle.
Enjoy and Happy New Year.
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The Long, Slow Death of the 5th Republic
We are joined again by our official France correspondent, Matthew. Matthew is a veteran of American Trot sectarian organizing and the labor movement who lives in France and is more intimately involved in the happenings than we are.
We discuss the failure of the popular front, the ham-fisted triumph of Macron, and the death throes of the French political system.
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Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VII)
Soldiering on and finishing Chapter 3 of Bauer's excellent Marxist analysis of the nation.
Read along with us:
https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer
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Patreon Preview -- Books Chris Read in Grad School: The Peculiarities of German History
This week, we read and discussed Eley and Blackbourn's indispensable discussion of the Sonderweg, or special path, of German history. It is often said that Germany's path to the Holocaust begins with the failure of the bourgeois revolution to take hold. This book posits a top-down Bonapartist "revolution" led by Otto von Bismarck which thoroughly bourgeoisified German society from the top to the bottom.
Blackbourn, David, and Geoff Eley, The Peculiarities of German History: Bourgeois Society and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Germany (Oxford, 1984; Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011)
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Class Struggle & Christian Love: Herbert McCabe & Marxist Christianity
Kicking off Year VII, Chris and Ben are joined by Daniel Saunders to discuss Herbert McCabe's Class Struggle and Christian Love. The intention was also to cover pieces by Dennis Turner and Terry Eagleton but time got away from them, so Daniel will have to return again...
Herbert McCabe: The Class Struggle and Christian Love https://www.christiansocialism.com/2020/05/14/herbert-mccabe-class-struggle-capitalism-marxism-christianity/
More of Daniel:
Ideology, Fetishism, Apophaticism: Marxist Criticism & Christianity
https://www.buzzsprout.com/220523/episodes/14978167-ideology-fetishism-apophaticism-marxist-criticism-and-christianity-with-daniel-saunders
Ideology, Fetishism, Apophaticism: Marxist Criticism and Christianity:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...
Year VI In Review: More Geopolitics but Finally Also Podcast & Personal Stuff (II of II)
The long-awaited part two of our year six in review episode. We kick it off with a little geopolitical discussion but get around to discussing our personal lives and the podcast.
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From Dawn to Decadence (Part II): With Varn Vlog *UNLOCKED*
We are back at it again talking decadence theory with Varn. This week, we dig into Samir Amin's piece from Monthly Review.
We discussed the following materials:
Morley, Neville. "Decadence as a Theory of History." New Literary History, Vol. 35, No. 4, Forms and/of Decadence (Autumn, 2004), pp.573-585
Decadence: The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory?
https://libcom.org/library/decadence-aufheben-2
Revolution or Decadence?
https://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/
Check out Varn Vlog Here
https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Send us a mes...
Year VI In Review: US Elections, Gaza, & Ukraine (Part I of II)
As we wrap up another year of podcasting, we offer our expert opinions on everything that sucks about the world. Stay tuned for part II.
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Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VI)
The long march through the text continues as the gang tackles chapter three.
Read along here:
https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer
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The Socialism of Fools: Weimar National Bolshevism & Strasserism (Part II of II)
This is part two of a discussion based on a paper Chris wrote about the concept of "German Socialism" from which groups like the NSDAP, the National Bolsheviks, Conservative Revolutionaries, and Black Front draw the basis for their ideologies.
Mosse, George Lachmann. The Crisis of German Ideology. 1964. Reprint, New York: Schocken, 1981.
King, John. “Writing and Rewriting the First World War: Ernst Jünger and the Crisis of the Conservative Imagination, 1914-25.” St. John’s College, 1999.
Kedar, Asaf. “National Socialism Before Nazism: Friedrich Naumann and Theodor Fritsch, 1890-1914,” PhD diss., (University of California, Be...
Patreon Preview -- Boundless & Bottomless Seas: Dugin's 4th Political Theory (Part VIII)
The boys dive in to Dugin's thoughts on civilization, colonialism, and imperialism.
Don't worry, there are literally no digressions and the guys stay on point the whole time.
Check out the full episode here:
https://www.patreon.com/c/theregrettablecentury
Check out Varn Vlog here:
https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog/posts
Check out Antifada here:
https://www.patreon.com/theantifada
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The Socialism of Fools: Weimar National Bolshevism & Strasserism (Part I of II)
First of all, if you are listening to a version with bad audio, don't worry, I reuploaded a version with good audio and you can probably just refresh your podcasting app to get the newer version.
This is a discussion based on a paper Chris wrote about the concept of "German Socialism" from which groups like the NSDAP, the National Bolsheviks, Conservative Revolutionaries, and Black Front draw the basis for their ideologies.
Mosse, George Lachmann. The Crisis of German Ideology. 1964. Reprint, New York: Schocken, 1981.
King, John. “Writing and Rewriting the First World...
Patreon Preview -- The Tragedy of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
In what turns out to be an offshoot of our Czechoslovak socialism series, we dive in to the ill fated and short lived Hungarian Soviet Republic. This also turns out to be incredibly relevant to anyone who is following along with our series on Otto Bauer and the national question.
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