Consigned to the Jaco-dustbin of History -- Ep. 21

Owing to the leading role of African-Americans, Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign imploded, and now an uprising for Black lives and against police violence has swept the US and the world. The co-hosts lay out the case that these events have delivered body blows to the theory and strategy of Jacobin magazine and others on the anti-neoliberal “left,” consigning them to the Jaco-dustbin of history. Brendan and Andrew argue that the recent upsurge constitutes mass repudiation of so-called “class-based”—economistic and color-blind––politics. They also argue that Sanders’ campaign imploded, not because of directives issued by Democratic Party bosses, but because voters, led by millions of Black “neoliberal shills,” wanted to end Democratic Party infighting in order to concentrate on removing Trump from office. And they discuss why it is so difficult for the anti-neoliberal “left” to learn from its repeated errors. The discussion refers to works by Raya Dunayevskaya (American Civilization on Trial) (http://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/American-Civilization-on-Trial.pdf), Sydney Ember (New York Times) (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/us/politics/bernie-sanders-protests.html), Dustin Guastella (https://jacobinmag.com/2020/05/we-need-a-class-war-not-a-cultural-war), Tucker Carlson (https://video.foxnews.com/v/6161246981001#sp=show-clips), MHI’s 2018 Perspectives (https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/mhieditorial/resisting-trumpist-reaction-and-left-accommodation-marxist-humanist-initiatives-perspectives-for-2018.html), Zack Beauchamp (Vox) (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/4/10/21214970/bernie-sanders-2020-lost-class-socialism), Nathan J. Robinson (https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/03/what-the-stakes-are), Matt Karp (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/03/bernie-sanders-can-still-win-matt-karp-joe-biden-democrat), Edward-Isaac Dovere (The Atlantic) (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/04/bernie-sanders-thinking-he-will-win-it-all-2020/587326/), Daniel De