Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber

Democratic voters are enraged by their party’s spineless “resistance” to the Trump administration’s draconian agenda. But the party’s dysfunction goes far deeper than just cowardly, uninspiring leaders. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber speaks with Philip Rocco about how the Democrats’ abandonment of organized labor has resulted in a party that is ineffective at fighting th...

US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last month were a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict with Iran. But while a ceasefire has remained in place, there’s good reason to believe that Iranian regime change isn’t off the table just yet. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber looks back on how the US pursued regime change in Iraq and why that disastrous invasion may wind up...

Much of Trump’s popular appeal was wrapped up in his anti-establishment and anti-war posture on the campaign trail. But in only a few months, Trump’s populist mask has slipped completely and revealed him to be just another neoconservative Republican. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber and Paul Prescod discuss Trump’s phony right-wing populism, the US involvement in the war w...

The Left often invokes the media’s power of persuasion to explain why people accept their situation within capitalism. But what if instead the system remains stable by “the dull compulsions” of economic life? In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber discusses the difference between consent and coercion, the real role of the media, and the conditions for organized resistance.

The Cold War is often portrayed as a great power struggle between the forces of democracy and a spreading communist threat. But what if the conventional story gets it exactly backwards? In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek discuss the rise of the American empire and how the US used the Cold War to spread capitalism across the globe.

The past fifty years have been the era of unchallenged market dominance in all areas of life. But with the global upheaval brought on by the Trump trade war, are we seeing the neoliberal order unraveling? In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek discuss the historic origins of neoliberalism, so-called “pro-worker” conservatism, and the prospects for deglobaliza...

It’s often said that the working class drifted away from the Democratic Party in response to cultural backlash and globalization. But what if the truth is more damning? In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber speaks with Neal Meyer, author of “The Democrats Embrace Dealignment,” from the latest issue of Catalyst . They explore how Democratic leaders — from Clinton to Obama to Bid...

April 30th marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. But although the conflict still looms large in American memory, the reasons why the US went to war have been distorted in the mainstream account. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek explain the real imperialist history and remember the courageous struggles of both the Vietnamese resistanc...

President Trump has threatened to upend the US’s role in NATO unless the Europeans increase their military spending. But far from just a budget reshuffling, European remilitarization massively increases the prospects for war and austerity. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek explain the Cold War origins of NATO, how the US organizes European geopolitics, a...

The Republican Party has become a hegemonic force in US politics today. But how much of their dominance is predicated on Donald Trump’s personal rule? On this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber discusses the historic evolution of the Republicans with Paul Heideman, author of “Trump’s Takeover of the Republican Party,” an essay in the upcoming issue of Catalyst . Vivek and Paul focus...

Donald Trump has made restoring American industry a priority across his administrations. But rather than continue Biden’s efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing through subsidies, Trump has instituted a series of tariffs intended to reshore former pillar industries and improve US trade balance. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Catalyst editor Vivek Chibber and Jacobin contributor Mel...

Among the many government agencies facing cuts from President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, USAID has garnered wide support in the media. But for whatever humanitarian good it’s done in the world, the agency has played a role in US imperialism. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber examines the true history of USAID and breaks down the false dichotomy between sof...

Within weeks of assuming the presidency, Donald Trump has instituted tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. Trump has touted protectionism as a way of supporting American workers. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Catalyst editor Vivek Chibber and Jacobin contributor Melissa Naschek discuss how nineteenth and twentieth-century protectionist trade policies helped build domestic manufacturi...

There is no cultural phenomenon more hated today than what is called wokeness. While it is wrongly associated with the Left, the Right is very successfully taking advantage of it. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber traces the political and economic origins of it, and argues that the Left should be at the forefront of criticizing it.

Foregrounding workers’ material interests used to be commonplace among socialists. But as the Left faced decades of defeat, a materialist approach to politics fell out of favor. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber defends materialism from its critics and discusses how a materialist perspective understands rationality, the challenges around collective organizing, and cultural...

In the wake of Kamala Harris's defeat, the Left's association with identity politics has been a major focus of public debate. But what identity politics is or who primarily benefits from it remains contested. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber discusses the Democrats’ long-standing attachment to identity politics, why this form of politics can't fight oppression, and the rea...

Bernie Sanders resurrected socialist politics in the United States after many decades of defeat. But what socialism will entail or how we get there remains unclear. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber discusses the difference between social democracy and socialism, how progressives won policies in the past, and where the Left should go after the Bernie moment.

The Democratic Party has long clung to the notion of “demographic destiny,” the view that minorities will vote blue no matter who. But now it is clear that workers of all races are abandoning the Democratic Party, either by moving to the right or dropping out of politics altogether. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek discuss how Donald Trump’s recent victo...

In the inaugural episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber is joined by Jacobin 's editorial director, Bhaskar Sunkara, to discuss why Trump won the election, how socialists should think about strategic alliances with liberals, and what it means to be an anti-capitalist. Read the articles mentioned in this episode: https://jacobin.com/2024/09/liberalism-marxism-cohen-rawls-workers https://...