ROTTEN ESTABLISHMENT

P. GREANVILLE—This is perhaps one of Caleb’s most important chats, fundamental for those who wish to clear their minds of revolutionary claptrap, particularly the possible roads to an American brand of socialism.

Maupin systematically debunks various erroneous concepts still held by many sincere, self-defined socialists, starting with the idea that socialists must embrace violence a fortiori if they are serious about revolution. Next Caleb discusses some wrongheaded strategies that guarantee failure, including Bernstein’s “evolutionary socialism” (revisionism), embraced by social democrats and liberals for over century (most recently followers of Bernie Sanders) with little to show for it, certainly nothing resembling genuine socialism.  “Building socialism gradually, one step at a time…with no true event horizon, is a huge delusion,” argues Maupin. “Social system change is always born in crisis.” Also included: Tactics and strategies of the Bolsheviks • Role of Zionism regarding the anti-Czarist revolution, and the malign influence of contemporary Israel.

CHRIS HEDGES—The two warring factions within the ruling elite, which fight primarily over the spoils of power while abjectly serving corporate interests, peddle alternative realities. If the deep state and Venezuelan socialists or Russia intelligence operatives are pulling the strings no one in power is accountable for the rage and alienation caused by the social inequality, the unassailability of corporate power, the legalized bribery that defines our political process, the endless wars, austerity and de-industrialization. The social breakdown is, instead, the fault of shadowy phantom enemies manipulating groups such as Black Lives Matters or the Green Party.

Harding’s support for the coup plot of 14 fascist militiamen to kidnap and murder a government official is telling and raises concerns about how many people with possible ties to the Trump administration share his views. He has accused Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters of being “psychopaths who are inciting riots,” further stating that “I don’t know why that isn’t treason, I don’t know why they aren’t being arrested.”

YASHA LEVINE—The book’s generally great, but it does have a some flaws: One is that it gives almost no space to America’s deep involvement in the Rape of Russia. The other is that it has kinda comic antisemitic and Russian chauvinist vibes. Both of these flaws are actually very instructive, betraying the biases of Paul’s elite American-White Russian background.

ERIC ZUESSE—The article does make clear that Navalny has been hoping to use these accusations in order to rise in Russian politics. It would be a dangerous way to rise in any nation’s politics, regardless of whether those accusations are true. The idea that Putin was behind this is insane. Is Putin so stupid as to poison the U.S. regime’s most-heavily propaganda-favored Russian precisely at the time when the EU is about to grant final approval to Russia’s vast (and virtually completed) NordStream 2 pipeline?