Actually Existing Socialism

After a long hiatus, AES is back — and we're kicking things off with the return of a favorite guest: Holly High! In this episode, we dive into Holly's latest project, her substack Laos: Revolutions in Reproduction, exploring how socialist ideals shape everyday life. We discuss: socialist housing and urban planning in Laos, property ownership under socialism, the evolving role of the socialist state and much more! Join us for a thoughtful conversation on how revolutions live on in the structures and systems of everyday life. https://substack.com/@revolutionsinreproduction hollyhigh.net patreon.com/aesthepodcast

Since March of this year I have been the co-host of another podcast called Prolespod (my tenure starts on Episode 49). On that show we have been working extensively on producing a special event series known as The Stalin Eras. The key focus of this series is to illuminate the early history of the Soviet Union and the life of its longest lasting leader, Joseph Stalin, using some of the latest scholarship. It features both narrative history and discussion. This upload is the full introductory episode for the series. If you wish to listen to 10+ hours of content released thus far in the series I recommend subscribing to Prolespod on your choice of podcast platform and begin diving into this unique presentation of Soviet History that doesn't exist elsewhere! To get more episodes of The Stalin Eras - subscribe to Prolespod - wherever you listen to podcasts! Support Actually Existing Socialism at: patreon.com/aesthepodcast Support Prolespod at: patreon.com/prolespod

In this fascinating episode Alexander Herbert joins to discuss his book "What About Tomorrow?: An Oral History of Russian Punk from the Soviet Era to Pussy Riot". As always on this show, we're covering something new by talking about both counterculture music and the late Soviet Era. I myself have virtually no understanding of the punk genre, so don't think you need to be a Punk Rock enthusiast to enjoy this episode as the topics we broach include: soviet regulation of media, how all of this ties into the end of the soviet union and more! Alexander Herbert, who holds a Masters in Russian history from Indiana University, and a PHD in Modern Russia from Brendeis University, is an expert in the history of the Soviet Union and Global Environmental History. His research examines the interrelations of science, technology, and environmental change in the late USSR. Alexander is additionally interested in the intersection of popular culture and education and has published two books: the first on the history of punk rock in the Soviet Union and Russia, and another that uses horror films in the late USSR to examine the anxieties and fears of late Soviet society. He has also taught classes on the history of capitalism, radical politics in Europe, film history, and underground culture. Support the podcast at patreon.com/aesthepodcast Alex's Substack "Nothing lasts forever: Russian Punks in Georgia" (Alex's documentary mentioned in the episode) Lenin in 45 Volumes Intro Music Outro Music

Gabriel Rockhill joins to talk about a controversial concept for Western socialists: "siege socialism". A term coined by the great Michael Parenti. Unlike most episodes of this show we won't be focusing on a specific country but examining the variety of past and present socialist countries through the lens of historical materialism and dialectics, two concepts Gabriel explains for us. Gabriel Rockhill is the Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop, Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University, and the author or editor of over nine books, as well as numerous scholarly and general public articles. He is the editor of the upcoming translation of Domenico Losurdo's magisterial Western Marxism: How it was Born, How it Died, How it can be Reborn. It is is a paradigm-shifting book that provides a trenchant critique of the Western left intelligentsia. It reveals how its dominant ideological orientation—characterized by defeatism, utopianism, and anti-communism—is rooted in the political economy of imperialism. You can support the show at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast To learn more about Gabriel's work check out the following links: https://x.com/GabrielRockhill https://monthlyreview.org/product/western-marxism/ https://gabrielrockhill.com/ https://criticaltheoryworkshop.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@criticaltheoryworkshop5299 https://monthlyreview.org/product/western-marxism/ Intro/Closing Music Lil Baby Type Beat - "God's Work" Carl Doy - Bella's Lullaby (Twilight Theme)

Sardana Nikolaeava joins this episode to discuss her recent study published through Ziibiing Lab "Indigenous Diamonds : Extractivism and Indigenous Politics in the Diamond Province of Russia." In our discussion we delve into the impacts extractivism has had on the people of the Sakha Republic before, during, and after the Soviet Union (USSR). Sardana, who is Sakha, also gives her own personal and community experiences of growing up both Indigenous and Soviet. Sardana Nikolaeva is a Postdoctoral Fellow with Ziibiing Lab (Global Indigenous Politics Collaboratory) at the Department of Political Science of the University of Toronto. Her work broadly centers on Indigenous politics, Indigenous classed and gendered experiences, geopolitical 'economy, economic sanctions, and extractivism. The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 1) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels Support the show at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast Find me on twitter @AESThePodcast Sardana's study Indigenous Diamonds :Extractivism and Indigenous Politics in the Diamond Province of Russia. Sardana's appearances on other podcasts Indigenous diamonds w/ Sardana Nikolaeva Indigenous People and the Soviet Union: a Sakha perspective w/ Sardana Nikolaeva (pt.1) An Other's view of Russia w/ Sardana Nikolaeva

In this episode, Charles Xu of the Qiao Collective (a diaspora Chinese media collective challenging U.S. aggression) joins to walk us through the long history of solidarity between China and Palestine. We do this through discussing "The Gates of the Great Continent: Palestine, China, and the War for Humanity's Future" which is Charles' recent article published on the Qiao Collective website. We're going to be talking about the origins and basis of this revolutionary solidarity between the people of China and Palestine, how this relationship has changed over the years, China's stance today on Palestinian resistance and how this revolutionary history manifests in the present. If you found this episode useful - Charles and I had an extended discussion on the state of China's support for other global south countries in general which is accessible via Patreon. www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast www.twitter.com/aesthepodcast The Gates of the Great Continent: Palestine, China, and the War for Humanity's Future Qiao Collective Twitter

This episode features sociologist Dr. Agata Zysiak talking about her recent work "Limiting Privilege: Upward Mobility Within Higher Education in Socialist Poland" (2023), which examines first-generation students' struggles with reluctant academia in a developing socialist world that was looking for equality. We talk about the successes and failures of this ambitious socialist program, its similarities and differences to race based affirmative action in North America, and what this tells us about social reproduction and the zombie impact of social systems even in the face of dramatic social revolution. Agata Zysiak, PhD, is a historical sociologist working at Vienna University in Austria and the University of Łódź in Poland. You can get 30% off Limiting Privilege: Upward Mobility Within Higher Education in Socialist Poland and any other Purdue University Press book by ordering from their website and using the code PURDUE30 at checkout.

Iskolat, a Latvian communist, returns to teach us more about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union, officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic continuously from 1944 to 1990. In this second and final part we'll be discussing the post-World War II era of building socialism in Latvia and the Baltics at large. We cover the successes of socialist construction, its weaknesses, and ultimately the downfall of soviet system in Latvia in the early 1990s and how that played out. Iskolat also delves into present day realities of Latvia that don't always make international news. www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast Isoklat twitter: twitter.com/iskolat Workers' Struggle (English/Latvian/multilang): https://t.me/StradniekuCina BalticSSRs (Reddit): https://reddit.com/r/BalticSSRs/ Riga History Group (Russian): https://t.me/RigaHistoryGroup… School of Scientific Communism/Ruslan Dzugov Channel (Russian section): https://t.me/rusdzugov Dictatorship of the Proletariat (YT channel of the Russian section of the Political School): https://youtube.com/@user-xk6xj4xm4n Anna Louise Strong's The New Lithuania: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89017381948&seq=5 The Baltic Riddle by Greg Meiksins: https://archive.org/details/TheBalticRiddle

Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this final part of a three part discussion we'll be discussing the propaganda war against China and the socialist developments all leftists should be following. Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a co-founder of No Cold War, and a coordinating committee member of the International Manifesto Group. He writes regularly in the Morning Star, Global Times, China Daily and CGTN. Carlos' website: https://invent-the-future.org/ Carlos' youtube: https://www.youtube.com/inventthefuture Support this podcast at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast Podcast twitter @aesthepodcast Intro/Outro Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUPx2jKjkwE

Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this first part of this three part discussion on China we'll be delving into why socialist China remains but the USSR doesnt. We'll be tackling this question through the lens of how these two communist juggernauts approached the necessity of controversial political and economic reforms in the 1970s in China under Deng Xiaoping and in the USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s. Next episodes in this series will look at Chinese socialist democracy, and the propaganda war against it! Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a co-founder of No Cold War, and a coordinating committee member of the International Manifesto Group. He writes regularly in the Morning Star, Global Times, China Daily and CGTN. Carlos' website: https://invent-the-future.org/ Carlos' youtube: https://www.youtube.com/inventthefuture Support this podcast at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast Podcast twitter @aesthepodcast Intro/Outro Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jP5r2b7hew

In this episode we'll be discussing the subject of Julia Mead's (@JuliaKMead) PHD research on an often forgotten socialist nation: the nation formerly known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Julia covers for us the pre-history, emergence of the communist state, political struggles as well as socialist successes and failures. She also gives us some insight as to why this socialist nation often falls to the wayside in popular Western imagination. Julia Mead is an environmental historian of modern Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on energy, gender, and labor. Her dissertation, "Socialist Rust Belt: Energy, Masculinity, and the End of Czechoslovak Socialism," traces the rise and fall of the Czechoslovak coal economy from 1948 to 2004, and its relationship to changing norms of masculinity. She shows how coal miners in socialist Czechoslovakia achieved an elite social status, and how they lost it almost overnight during the transition to capitalism. Follow Julia at https://twitter.com/JuliaKMead and https://juliamead.squarespace.com/ Support the show at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast

Henry Hakamäki (@huck1995), host of Guerrilla History podcast (@guerrilla_pod) and Professor Salvatore Engel Di-Mauro join the show to talk about their recent english translation of historian Domenico Losurdo's "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend". This episode is the first part of a longer discussion. In this part we talk about what a black legend even is, the general thesis behind Domenico Losurdo's controversial book, what academic consensus has to say about the realities and myths surrounding historical presentations of Stalin, and how his often distorted legacy impacts left wing movements to this day. And that just gets us started! You can access a free (yes, free!) copy of the PDF and/or order a physical copy at https://www.iskrabooks.org/stalin-history-and-critique Henry and Salvatore have talked at length about the process of translation and who Domeinco Lusurdo is in the discussion linked below. https://guerrillahistory.libsyn.com/stalin-history-critique-of-a-black-legend-w-salvatore-engel-di-mauro-david-peat You can always support the show at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast and don't forget to follow on twitter @aesthepodcast.

In this episode we discuss Alice Malone's essay entitled "Concessions" which contains a well sourced and foundational explanation regarding 20th century history that every socialist should be aware of! Alice illustrates how the gains and progressive feats won by workers of the Soviet Union challenged capitalist elites in the West to concede social reforms in their own countries. Reforms such as desegregation, home ownership, investment in education, public health care and more! We cover some of these concessions as well as how they have been noticeably negatively impacted by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Alice's article: https://redsails.org/concessions/ Alice's app on word frequency's in Marxist texts: https://alicirce.shinyapps.io/mlds/ Intro/Outro Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itA4uQvnhyc