Jacobin Radio: Imperialism Today w/ Robert Brenner

On October 8, the Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign held an online conference on “Boris Kagarlitsky and the Challenges of the Left.” Although Kagarlitsky is serving a five-year sentence in a Russian penal colony, he has just published a book called The Long Retreat: Strategies to Reverse the Decline of the Left. The conference addressed Kagarlitsky’s wide-ranging analysis of the left’s dilemmas in the face of multiple global crises, including the rise of right-wing authoritarianism. We will bring the whole conference to Jacobin Radio with a stellar lineup of international scholars and activists.

Today we hear the panel “Imperialism(s) Today,” looking at the nature of imperialism historically and in the present. Robert Brenner begins with the theory of imperialism from before WWI through the post-war period and up to the present, essentially arguing that in the present period of American hegemony, imperialism is the weapon of weaker powers. Ilya Matveev follows by examining three theorists of imperialism—Lenin, Schumpeter, and Mearsheimer—and looks at the Russian case through the lens of their different theories. Hanna Perekhoda, originally from Donetsk in the contested Donbas region, examines Putin's view of Ukraine as a creation by Russia's enemies. According to Putin, Lenin's support of the self-determination of Ukraine divided Russia, preventing it from becoming a leading power in the world. For proponents of this view, Russian sovereignty is under threat so long as Ukraine exists.

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.