An Arduous March: The Development of North Korea's Political Economy

Amelia, Rudy and Matt sit down to discuss the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's political economy, with a focus on the distinct periods. We discuss the "information problem" and how it frames the discussion, before detailing the history of the DPRK's formation after Japanese colonialism and the Korean War. We then discuss the detailed planning period, its unraveling in the mid 80s, and the Arduous March period after the collapse of the USSR, before finishing off with the present periods of market reform and market elimination. References: Charles K. Armstrong - The North Korean revolution, 1945-1950 Ellen Brun, Jacques Hersch - Socialist Korea: a case study in the strategy of economic development Liu Jinlong - Crying Forests: Political Ecology in the DPRK Yang Mun-su - North Korea's Planned Economy and Marketization Daniel Schwekendiek - A Socioeconomic History of North Korea Phillip H. Park - History of Economic Management in North Korea Zhihua Shen, Yafeng Xia - A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-Sung, and Sino-North Korean Relations, 1949-1976

This is the audio of the Cosmostream of December 7th 2025 on Your Party with guests Bryce Bailey and Charlie Porter from the Democratic Socialists of Your Party. We cover the origins of Your Party, why the guests have chosen to intervene in YP and not the Greens and what kind of intervention they are performing and the kinds of politics they are looking towards. We also cover the contested process of formation of YP, the sects and factions involved, the intricacies of the founding conference and what kind of limitations it had as well as DYSP as a group and its principles. Core reading: Archie W commissioned by Novara media Ewan T on DSYP's vision for Your Party Ewan C on DSYP's structure Kieran G on DSYP's strategy  Founding conference Background reading: Corbyn argues against a centralised party after the 2024 general election in an Guardian article  Guardian article on one of the first of Collective's secret conferences: After Memorandum of Understanding takes over the party-building process from Collective, Andrew Feinstein and Jamie Driscoll outline their vision for a Party The big TWT factions: https://prometheusjournal.org/2025/10/22/democratic-socialists/ https://prometheusjournal.org/2025/10/22/the-democratic-bloc/  https://prometheusjournal.org/2025/10/22/organising-for-popular-power/  https://prometheusjournal.org/2025/10/22/trans-liberation-group/  https://prometheusjournal.org/2025/10/22/greater-manchester-left-caucus/ Socialist Unity Platform: https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1562/all-out-for-liverpool/ https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1564/ideas-unity-action/ Inacio on the crowdediting process: https://inacioinvita.substack.com/p/protecting-your-partys-crowdediting  Founding Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk0FjNyvfgI  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UrxGlrFRpg 

Dónal Ó Coisdealbha analyzes the history and results of the management and production system (TPS) developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation, arguing that the cooperative effects the TPS had on Toyota's internal labor relations contain the seeds of a successful model of socialist industrial production. Ó Coisdealbha is the director of process control, smart and digital development at a factory owned by a multinational electrical equipment manufacturer who is currently co-authoring a book with Tom O'Brien on labour time planning. His blog can be found here.   Reading: Carlos Campos Jr. 

In this episode, Rudy joins Iker Suárez, author of The Migrant Genocide: Toward a Third World Analysis of European Class Struggle, to delve into the politics of migration and borders in Europe, examining how imperialism, class, and race intersect in what our guest describes as a "genocide at sea." We explore who the people migrating to Europe are, why they move, and how their journeys expose the contradictions at the heart of European liberalism. Our guest argues that immigration today represents the return of Europe's colonial past, and critiques how both the right and the nominal left continue to enforce violent border regimes -from the Tarajal massacre to ongoing state repression- while masking them as "human rights" issues. We also discuss the limits of NGO-led antiracism, the weak state of immigrant organizing across Europe, how the concept of race is undeveloped, and how citizenship itself becomes a new class divide.

Steve Bloom ruminates on the meaning and practice of democratic centralism, arguing that respect for minority positions is key to building a truly disciplined revolutionary formation. Reading: Felix Bauer

On this episode of Cosmopod, Isaac and Jack talk with Jarrod Shanahan about his new book, Every Fire Needs a Little Bit of Help: A Decade of Rebellion, Reaction, and Morbid Symptoms. From Occupy to Black Lives Matter to the George Floyd Rebellion, Shanahan reflects on a decade of struggle, and shares his experiences with and analysis of Trumpism and the alt-right. We explore lessons from mass movements, the fate of abolitionist politics, pop culture's apocalyptic turn, the connections between today's cultural landscape and the 1970s, the legacies of Noel Ignatiev, and what it means to build revolutionary organization in a time of crisis. References: Don Hamerquist - A Brilliant Red Thread Elizabeth Henson - Phantom Pheminists The film Betrayed (1998)

Carlos Campos Jr. analyzes the disunity of electoral campaigns pursued by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), argues for the strategic infrastructural integration of the organization's state-level electoral efforts, and provides a tentative plan for doing so. Reading: Felix Bauer

Rudy joins Jeremy Rich for a discussion on the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the late 80s to the present. We cover the decay of Mobutu's regime, the changes in the 90s, how the Rwandan Civil War prompted an invasion and the first and second Congo Wars, the factions involved in these wars including the special role of Rwanda and Paul Kagame. We discuss the transitions of power, from Mobutu, to the Kabilas, and to the present president Tshisekedi; the role of the U.S. and China, the recent rise in "rebel" activity and the outlook for the future. References: Orgs - Friends of the Congo (www.friendsofthecongo.org). Twitter: Gaeten-Dauphin Nzowo (@GNzowo) and Benedicte Njdoko (@babisema) Readings on the 1990-2020s: Jason Stearns's The War That Doesn't Say Its Name; writings by Kristof Titeca and Judith Verweijen. Cold War in DRC: Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Patrice Lumumba; Piero Gleijses's books Visions of Freedom and Conflicting Missions; Pedro Monaville's Students of the World; James H. Smith's The Eyes of the World: Mining the Digital Age in the Eastern DR Congo

Rudy sits down with Hank Kennedy, author of From Champion of the Oppressed to Truth, Justice, and the American Way: Who Took the Socialism Out of Superman? to discuss the surprising political journey of Superman, tracing his evolution from a Depression-era defender of the oppressed to a complex symbol shaped by changing American ideologies. We dive into the roots of Superman's creation by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, how Superman originally tackled social injustices head-on and follow his evolution from his early anti-authoritarian stances to his shifting roles in WWII, the Cold War, and beyond -including his emergence as a "SuperRepublican" in the 1980s and a more progressive figure in the 21st century. We also talk about the broader role of comics as a political tool in the left, and how they correspond to the Zeitgeist and culture.

We join Gabriel Tupinambá from the Subset of Theoretical Practice for a discussion on the Japanese Marxist Kojin Karatani. We discuss what Karatani's project is, why we should care about it, before focusing on his magna opus The Structure of World History. We discuss his approach to modes of exchange, and why it is a novel lens, how communism fits on his scheme before mentioning some weak points. We end up with a discussion of how Gabriel´s reading of Karatani has affected his organizing.