Episode 333: #219 Does Capitalism Deskill Workers? w/ Paul S. Adler

This episode I’m delighted to welcome my friend and collaborator Ferdia O’Driscoll to the podcast for the first time. Ferdia is a radical socialist,  host of the ‘Bright Age Beyond’ formerly the After the Oligarchy youtube channel. Ferdia is currently writing a book about Parecon with his co-author Anders Sandström, author of the book Anarchist accounting. Ferdia was one of the co-founders of INDEP, the International Network for Democratic Economic Planning, and together we organised last years panels at Historical Materialism. This is first of a two parter where Ferdia tells us all about Self Determination Theory, and why it matters for socialism.https://www.youtube.com/@BrightAgeBeyond

This episode I’m delighted to welcome David Camfield podcast to talk about his recent book ‘Red Flags - A Reckoning With Communism For The Future Of The Left’. David is a professor in the Labour Studies Program and the Department of Sociology and Criminology, at the University of Manitoba. He is also the host of the radical left podcast Victors Children. Make sure to check it out.The Book: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/red-flagsThe Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user-737267994

Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/FromAlpha2OmegaThe Book Project:https://theclasslesssocietyinmotion.com/I answer your questions on the recent lecture I gave entitled 'Unifying Marxism and Cybernetics'

This is a re-recording of a talk I gave recently at the 'Complex Anarchism Symposium' in Brussels Belgium this May. I present some research from the book we are writing about socialist political economy and planning, where we unify the fields of Marx's value theory and cybernetics. We discuss the scientific implications for socialism, with the aim of synthesising Marxism and Anarchism thought. If you want to see the slides, head on over to patreon to watch the video: https://www.patreon.com/posts/unifying-marxism-136243120You can also watch it on the youtube channel: Enjoy!PS - If you have any questions, please leave a comment on patreon, youtube, bluesky, or email me. I will be doing a Q&A video if there is enough demand. 

https://www.patreon.com/FromAlpha2OmegaWe continue our discussion with Paul S. Adler, this time about his 2019 book “The 99% Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitalism”. In particular we talk about how capitalist firms are helping to show us how democratically planning in socialism would work. We also discuss the impact of AI on the capitalist economy.The 99% Economy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-99-percent-economy-9780197656952?cc=gb&lang=en&

We interview Prof. Adler about his 1990 paper 'Marx, Machines, and Skill'.This is part one. In part two we discuss his 2019 book "The 99% Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome The Crises of Capitalism".

This week we continue our conversation with Anna Fielder about her recent book ‘Going  Into Labour: Childbirth in Capitalism’. Anna is a sociologist in the Midwifery Department, Auckland University of Technology and a former practicing midwife.https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349497/going-into-labour/Book Project: https://theclasslesssocietyinmotion.com/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FromAlpha2Omega

This episode I’m delighted to welcome Anna Fielder to the podcast to talk about her recent book ‘Going  Into Labour: Childbirth in Capitalism’. Anna Fielder is a sociologist in the Midwifery Department, Auckland University of Technology  and a former practicing midwife.https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349497/going-into-labour/Book Project: https://theclasslesssocietyinmotion.com/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FromAlpha2Omega

This we continue with our discussion with Roger Arevalo to the podcast to talk about the Vanguard method, the brainchild of the British management consultant John Seddon.Next week i will be giving a talk at the innaugral Complex Anarchism Symposium in Brussels, about a unifying value theory and cybernetics. You can find out more about the event here:https://clea.research.vub.be/complex-anarchism-symposium-19-23-may-2025-in-brusselsBook Project: https://theclasslesssocietyinmotion.com/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FromAlpha2Omega

This episode we welcome Roger Arevalo to the podcast to talk about the Vanguard method, the brainchild of the British management consultant John Seddon. Roger is an admirer of the Vanguard Method and argues for its applicability for a socialist economy.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/FromAlpha2OmegaBook Project: https://theclasslesssocietyinmotion.com/