/512/ Reading Club: Middle-Class Dreams & Nightmares

On the weakness of state and capital – and their fusion. Ilias Alami joins Alex and Lee to talk about his essential co-authored book, The Spectre of State Capitalism. Why is state capitalism not just a China story, but is global? What does the rise of state capitalism tell us about the health of contemporary capitalism? How did globalisation and stagnation combine to give birth to it? Is this an extension of neoliberalism or something new and different? Does this represent a 're-politicisation' of the economy – and does it open up more hopeful political futures? Links: The Spectre of State Capitalism, Ilias Alami & Adam D Dixon, Oxford UP [OPEN ACCESS]  

On living with modernity. Richard J Williams talks to Alex and George about his new book, The Expressway World and how cities have adapted to the infrastructural legacies of the mid-20th century. We talk about New York, London, São Paulo, Madrid, Glasgow and Seoul. Why do people hate expressways – and who actually loves them? What are Big Man cities? How do expressways bring together populism, authoritarianism, and capital? Why is the antidote to 20th century car-centricity always gentrified and sanitised public space? What are the class struggles that emerge over the expressway world? Is there a basic lie behind many "ecological" infrastructure projects? Links: The Expressway World, Richard J Williams, Polity Intersections, Owen Hatherley, Sidecar /113/ Globoville ft. Richard Williams

On the Bolsonaros, Milei and MAGA. Alex talks to Guilherme Casarões, Associate Professor of Brazilian Studies at Florida International University, about Bolsonaro's sentencing, Trump's tariffs on Brazil, and the bailout of Milei. Is the motivation behind the tariffs on Brazil just partisan interest? How has Jair Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo, become point-man for the Latin American radical right's connection to MAGA? Is Bolsonarismo the closest to MAGA among the global radical right? Will a "Populist International Order" follow the Liberal International Order? Why is the nationalist Trump bailing out the libertarian Milei? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Then George, Alex and Ryan Zickgraf discuss the global radical right and whether Charlie Kirk's killing was its "George Floyd moment". Finally, the boys take listener questions & comments from the past month. (NB recorded 25 September)

On Göran Therborn's article, "Dreams and Nightmares of the World's Middle Classes". The penultimate episode of this block on the middle class, we discuss the differing fortunes and politics of the global North and South middle-classes – as well as ways they may be similar. Subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Is the middle-class dream increasingly only a dream? Can the "ever-rising middle-class wave" in China and India sustain itself? Is being middle-class defined by one's consumption? By income? By something else? How have fears changed: from being politically "squeezed" between to proletariat and bourgeoisie, to being economically "squeezed" and fearing falling? What politics do the middle-classes generate? What kind of populism?

On the UK's working-class unrest. Sociologist Lisa McKenzie talks to Alex and contributing editor Lee Jones about why the country feels like a powder-keg. What's behind protests like Unite the Kingdom? How responsible are far-right agitators? Why are threats posed to women and children such an explosive issue? What is the type of nationalism that is behind the proliferation of English and British flags? What are Farage's Reform promising and will they deliver? What of the immigration question? How is Corbyn's "Your Party" going, and why can't the Left seem to speak for or to the working class? Links: Getting By: Estates, Class and Culture in Austerity Britain, Lisa McKenzie, Bristol UP Lockdown Diaries of the Working Class, Lisa McKenzie James Treadwell thread on raising of flags, X

On critiques of entertainment. New contributing editor Ryan Zickgraf joins Alex and George to talk about the history of media critique and contemporary cases. How does consensus-age comedy like King of the Hill deal with hyperpolitics today? Is the reliance on archetypes a problem, or inherent to all comedy? Why is Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death still relevant? Is the Gen X critique of 'couch potatoes' and TV-watching similar to today's techlash? Have we become insensible to contradiction? Links: We’re still distracting ourselves to death, Ryan Zickgraf, UnHerd  King of the Hill reboot is ill-suited to the Trump age, Ryan Zickgraf, UnHerd

On slavery, racism, and the politics of freedom. Renowned sociologist Orlando Patterson talks to contributing editor Alex Gourevitch about themes brought up by his recent The Paradox of Freedom as well as his works as a whole. Why is the study of slavery too affected by the exceptional US American experience? In what way is violence a constitutive feature of slave relations that aren’t true of others? Are we still mired in a politics of ethnic chauvinism? What does it mean for ethnic minorities to engage in self-criticism? Is there a politics of freedom that is hopeful today or has it been eclipsed?

The fifth and final part of a series on generational consciousness and conflict. In this episode, we examine the Millennials and Generation Z. Uniquely, generation war today seems to be a conflict over resources more than over values. Is there any basis for this, and what do Millennials actually want? With generational and class conflict seemingly bound together today, we analyse 'Generation Left' and 'Millennial Socialism'. And we ask what the effect of the pandemic may be on the creation of a Gen Z consciousness. Guests include: Paul Taylor, former director, Pew Research Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative Clive Martin, journalist who has written for VICE Magazine Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow Jennifer Silva, assistant professor in sociologist, Indiana University Original music by: Jonny Mundey Additional music: Cacti / I Will Be Waiting / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Filthy the Kid / Vampire / courtesy of epidemicsound.com

The fourth in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict. In this episode, we examine Generation X – the generation of the End of History. How was this generation overshadowed by the Boomer's failures? In the Eastern Bloc, the fall of Soviet regimes was a traumatic moment – how did this shape consciousness? And how did the Iranian Revolution – and subsequent war – shape the political perspectives of Iranians? Guests include: Maren Thom, film scholar Alexei Yurchak, professor of anthropology at Berkeley Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow Arash Azizi, historian of Iran at New York University Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin Original music by: Jonny Mundey Additional music: Kit Kruger / Freakin' Freefall / courtesy of epidemicsound.com

The third in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.   In this episode, we examine the Baby Boomers – myth and reality. The revolt of the '60s has been misunderstood in many dimensions. Was it betrayed or did it always express capitalist ideology? Were the Boomers the ones who really did the 1960s anyway? And what world have the Boomers created as they passed through life – and institutions?   Guests include: Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow Jeffrey Alexander, professor of sociology at Yale University Holger Nehring, chair in contemporary European history at the University of Stirling Kristin Ross, professor emeritus of comparative literature at New York University Original music by: Jonny Mundey   Additional music: Medité / A Change in My Heart / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Ondolut / Blumen / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Elliott Holmes / Bull Chase / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Kick Castle / Kick Down / courtesy of epidemicsound.com T. Morri / Nuthin' but Nuts / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Other Clips: American Pastoral Trailer © 2016 - Lionsgate Mai 1968 © France 3 Paris Ile-de-France Imitation de Daniel Cohn-Bendit © C'est Canteloup Baader Meinhof Complex © 2008