A while back we did an episode titled Capitasociafascilibdemarxism. It was an expression of the confusion surrounding the casual way insults are hurled in the political sphere. You’re a Marxist and fascist! That’s socialism! Capitalist pig! I’m a libertarian. Anarcho syndicalist. Communist. Minarchist. It’s the original form of identity politics, meant to convey a sweeping ideology to explain our worldviews or criticize others for theirs. We’re going to continue building on this for the foreseeable future because I recently found myself in a precarious position. When asked to define socialism, I realized I didn’t have all that great of an answer. 

I’ve studied it to a degree. Read a bunch. Engaged in conversations and thought experiments, but when pressed to really nail it down I struggled. And for good reason. Socialism is a concept. A theory. It’s not in and of itself a practice. It’s a framework open to interpretation and constantly influenced by environmental circumstances. 

So here I am with a podcast and now a video channel. Offering viewpoints and perspectives about socioeconomics and politics and yet incapable of delivering precise definitions that provide clarity on arguably the most important aspects of these disciplines. I suppose many of us suffer from imposter syndrome to an extent, but there’s something about not being schooled in the fundamentals of political science that, honestly, kind of haunts me. I know it’s true that the older we get, the less we understand. And the process of curating these shows an antidote to ignorance that I take very seriously. It’s why we painstakingly source our information and try hard to be nuanced and not reactive. There’s an inescapable emotional element to the work we do. Things that offend our sensibilities tend to elevate passion over reason and I think that’s okay. It’s empathic. But it’s also important to be critical and self aware, to constantly look for holes in our knowledge so we can make better connections. So that’s what this is about. 

―

In today’s cure for insomnia episode, we explore the origins of the ISMs the pundit class abuses each and every day. We’re focusing on the big ones. Fascism, Socialism, Communism, Marxism and Capitalism. The show covers the theorists who created these theories, touch on the circumstances that inspired their thinking and how far from these concepts we have moved as a society. Plus, we’ll talk through how most of these theories (except fascism) are more alike than we’ve been led to believe. (99 and Manny note: “Not the most scintillating episode, but Max was so excited we didn’t have the heart to tell him.”) 

Visit the episode's accompanying site page.

Resources

Truthdig: Sheldon Wolin and Inverted Totalitarianism

Book Love

Joseph A. Schumpeter: Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

Karl Marx: Das Kapital

Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations

Pod Love

Pitchfork Economics

American Scandal: The Ice Pick Surgeon

--

If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR

Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565

Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com.

Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.

Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.

Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."

A while back we did an episode titled Capitasociafascilibdemarxism. It was an expression of the confusion surrounding the casual way insults are hurled in the political sphere. You’re a Marxist and fascist! That’s socialism! Capitalist pig! I’m a libertarian. Anarcho syndicalist. Communist. Minarchist. It’s the original form of identity politics, meant to convey a sweeping ideology to explain our worldviews or criticize others for theirs. We’re going to continue building on this for the foreseeable future because I recently found myself in a precarious position. When asked to define socialism, I realized I didn’t have all that great of an answer. 
I’ve studied it to a degree. Read a bunch. Engaged in conversations and thought experiments, but when pressed to really nail it down I struggled. And for good reason. Socialism is a concept. A theory. It’s not in and of itself a practice. It’s a framework open to interpretation and constantly influenced by environmental circumstances. 
So here I am with a podcast and now a video channel. Offering viewpoints and perspectives about socioeconomics and politics and yet incapable of delivering precise definitions that provide clarity on arguably the most important aspects of these disciplines. I suppose many of us suffer from imposter syndrome to an extent, but there’s something about not being schooled in the fundamentals of political science that, honestly, kind of haunts me. I know it’s true that the older we get, the less we understand. And the process of curating these shows an antidote to ignorance that I take very seriously. It’s why we painstakingly source our information and try hard to be nuanced and not reactive. There’s an inescapable emotional element to the work we do. Things that offend our sensibilities tend to elevate passion over reason and I think that’s okay. It’s empathic. But it’s also important to be critical and self aware, to constantly look for holes in our knowledge so we can make better connections. So that’s what this is about. 
―
In today’s cure for insomnia episode, we explore the origins of the ISMs the pundit class abuses each and every day. We’re focusing on the big ones. Fascism, Socialism, Communism, Marxism and Capitalism. The show covers the theorists who created these theories, touch on the circumstances that inspired their thinking and how far from these concepts we have moved as a society. Plus, we’ll talk through how most of these theories (except fascism) are more alike than we’ve been led to believe. (99 and Manny note: “Not the most scintillating episode, but Max was so excited we didn’t have the heart to tell him.”) 
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr-fb38">Visit the episode's accompanying site page.</a>
Resources
Truthdig: <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/sheldon-wolin-and-inverted-totalitarianism/">Sheldon Wolin and Inverted Totalitarianism</a>
Book Love
Joseph A. Schumpeter: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780061561610">Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy</a>
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780140447576">The Communist Manifesto</a>
Karl Marx: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781420944457">The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte</a>
Karl Marx: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781453886328">Das Kapital</a>
Adam Smith: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780553585971">The Wealth of Nations</a>
Pod Love
<a href="https://pitchforkeconomics.com/">Pitchfork Economics</a>
American Scandal: <a href="https://wondery.com/shows/american-scandal/episode/5678-the-ice-pick-surgeon-search-for-a-cure/">The Ice Pick Surgeon</a>
--
If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@UNFTR">www.youtube.com/@UNFTR</a>
Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://unftr.com/rate">unftr.com/rate</a> and follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/unftrpod">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/">Instagram</a> at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/">unftr.com</a>.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565">facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565</a>
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at <a href="https://shop.unftr.com/">shop.unftr.com</a>.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/blog#subscribe">unftr.com/blog</a> to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1PpzNXBub9FLngMradJByC?si=abaed3d396504fae">spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.</a>
Visit our bookshop.org page at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod">bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod</a> to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at<a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations"> bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations</a>.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility">unftr.com/accessibility</a>.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (<a href="https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com">mannyfacesmedia.com</a>). Original music is by Tom McGovern (<a href="http://www.tommcgovern.com/">tommcgovern.com</a>). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 

Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 

As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 

Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 
Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 
As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 
Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

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