This is a repost of an episode from 2003, but with an added leadoff that we recorded recently.

This episode discusses a topic that bears constant revisiting: our pessimism (because of intellect) and our optimism (because of will). No, it's not just a doomer affectation that we can use to sound as cool as we look; it's a critical method of engaging with the bleak reality that faces us. The only way out is through, but getting through is possible. Revolutionary Pessimism: The Worst is Yet to Come https://www.christiansocialism.com/2020/05/12/covid-peter-fleming-revolutionary-pessimism-capitalism/ Pessimism of the Will https://viewpointmag.com/2020/05/28/pessimism-of-the-will/ CRITICAL PESSIMISM AND THE LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL MARXISM https://www.jstor.org/stable/657342

For A Refresher: The Proper Amount of Bumming People Out: Pessimisms and Optimisms of Intellect and Will https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/1410229-the-proper-amount-of-bumming-people-out-pessimisms-and-optimisms-of-intellect-and-will Scattered Thoughts on Melancholia and the Organization of Pessimism https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/1320682-scattered-thoughts-on-melancholia-and-the-organization-of-pessimism Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessimism of the Will https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/889740-pessimism-of-the-intellect-pessimism-of-the-will Music- Англия - Сказочный мир

This week, we get together to talk through a sort of brief overview of the era of the Pink Tide in Latin America and try to draw out some of the lessons and implications for the future of Socialism for the 21st Century... What Happened to the Pink Tide? https://jacobin.com/2016/07/pink-tide-latin-america-chavez-morales-capitalism-socialism/

The Rise and Fall of the Latin American Left https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-ebb-and-flow-of-latin-americas-pink-tide/

What Is Socialism for the Twenty-First Century? https://monthlyreview.org/2016/10/01/what-is-socialism-for-the-twenty-first-century/

21st Century Socialism: What It Will Become and Why? https://ibw21.org/commentary/21st-century-socialism-what-it-will-become-and-why/

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Here it is comrades, the long-awaited fourth patron Q&A. We answer questions about America's humiliation, Chinese communism, AI in schools, and our favorite revolutionary books and/or pamphlets. This is only half the questions we received this time, the second half will be posted in Patron Q&A V next week...

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The Iran Regime Change that Wasn't, Canada and China are Pals Now, Greenland Idiocy, Ukraine's Mass Desertion Crisis, Ukraine's Corruption Crisis, Ukraine's Fiscal Crisis, Ukraine's Fortification Crisis, Ukraine's Losing the War Crisis...

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Once again, the boys are back... again. We return to our long-neglected "Decadence Theory" project with Varn Vlog. This week, the boys try to get back in the swing of things with a reorientation episode.

Varn Vlog

https://www.patreon.com/c/varnvlog/posts

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This week, we finally finish off the a close reading of The Concept of Left by Leszek Kolakowski.

Kolakowski was a dissident Polish Marxist who later turned against the project altogether. However, before he did, he wrote much that is worth reading.

The Concept of the Left- Leszek Kolakowski

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The Venezuelan Regime Change that Wasn't, Oil Companies don't Want Venezuelan Oil, Machado Sidelined by Trump, Israeli False Flags, Israel Persecutes Christians, AIPAC Goes Underground, The CIA's Role in the Ukraine War, Ukraine War Summary 2025...

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This week, the Regrettable Christian Caucus finishes Chapter II of Laudato Si' by the late Pope Francis. You can follow along by grabbing the PDF from Verso or from the Vatican website.

This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to a sustainable economy and for the protection of the world's most vulnerable populations.

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