What Would Marx Say?
Mitch Abidor on idealism’s losing battle, multi-generational memory in Wendy Xu’s poetry, and more
June 23, 2022
In this week’s issue of Public Seminar: divergent approaches to left-wing idealism, poetry as sound wave, the national tampon shortage, and more.
Does the Left Have a Future?
“If we look at the policy proposals of Sanders or the notorious members of “The Squad,” what we find is not the good society as Marx imagined it, but a return to the tax rates when Eisenhower assumed office, a restoration of union rights as they existed under Truman, plus a reassertion of the spirit of social solidarity that once flourished in America under FDR.” Reviewing our failure to live up to Marx’s vision, Mitch Abidor arrives at a painful proposition: Could it be that radical movements fail because socialists simply misjudge what humanity is capable of?
Poetry Out Loud
“It’s so evocative to think about a poem as something that can sound. It is sound, but it can also sound as an act, right? I think to think to send out a wave of sound introduces the possibility that it will, if you’re lucky, ping off of something . . . I think to sound is to wish, to reach. ” In Episode 2 of Multi-Verse poetry podcast, poet Wendy Xu chats with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham about approaching history, family, and migration in her poem “A Sound Not Unlike a Bell.”
The Next Generation
It may seem counter-intuitive, but nationalism may be the way to save liberalism, Sophie Boulter argues. “From the virtually infinite amount of agency offered by liberalism to the cultural commodification resulting from capitalism’s byproduct, globalization, the young people of my generation yearn for more than our era offers. Negative forms of nationalism—rooted in an oppositional “us” vs. “them” mentality—have already appeared as an answer to this yearning feeling. Most notoriously, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents a form of militaristic nationalism that recalls historic injustice. But Ukraine shows us what nationalism can and should—be something inclusive, unifying, and unabashedly liberal. Ukraine inspires my generation—and so can liberal democracy, when infused with civic nationalism.”
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Modern Periods
In the latest episode of the Past Present podcast, hosts Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the national tampon shortage and the history of feminine products.